Matt Taylor joined West Ham United in 2011 as one of many former Bolton Wanderers players whom Sam Allardyce knew. This also included the likes of Kevin Nolan, Jussi Jaaskalainen, Joey O'Brien, Ricardo Vaz Te and Abdoulaye Faye
Allardyce had success with this group, gaining them promotion from the Championship back to the Premier League. He then guided them to a 10th-place finish in English soccer's top flight. This was followed by 13th- and 12th-place finishes.
Despite Allardyce restoring the Hammers to the Premier League, supporters were unhappy with the style of play. This sounds familiar, as David Moyes' demise at the club was also partly due to fan fury over performances despite the Scotsman winning the Europa Conference League.
Taylor was a key part of Allardyce's side until he left the Hammers in 2014. He scored three goals, with 14 assists in 90 games for West Ham. He played in the Championship playoff final at Wembley, where he assisted Carlton Cole's opener.
How has Matt Taylor fared as a manager?
After leaving West Ham, Taylor went on to play for Burnley, Northampton Town, and Swindon Town before retiring. Swindon was where he started his coaching career. He was their caretaker boss before working as an assistant for both Phil Brown and Richie Wellens.
Taylor was then Tottenham Hotspur's Under-18s manager before roles in the EFL with Walsall and Shrewsbury Town. After losing these jobs, Taylor had to go into the National League with Wealdstone before a brief stint at Solihull Moors last year.
Taylor is currently out of work, and it remains to be seen if he will get back into coaching. It might be worth his working as someone's assistant to rebuild his reputation. After losing his job at Notts County, Nolan worked as Moyes' assistant at West Ham before taking over at Northampton Town.
Many other players who played under Allardyce at West Ham have gone into management. Gary O'Neil has had a great start at Strasbourg after being the boss at AFC Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Scott Parker has won three promotions from the Championship and is currently the manager of Burnley.
Management is not for everyone, as the likes of Rob Green, Matt Jarvis, and Cole have gone into the media rather than testing themselves in the dugout.