Maidstone United manager Jay Saunders' chance meeting with Cambridge United captain leads to signing of Bobby-Joe Taylor
Published: 00:01, 19 June 2015
A chance meeting abroad led to one of three new midfield arrivals at Maidstone United.
Stones boss Jay Saunders signed Bobby-Joe Taylor from Cambridge United after bumping into the League 2 club’s captain Ian Miller while on holiday in Kos.
Miller alerted Saunders to the 20-year-old’s availability and the Maidstone boss moved just in time.
Saunders, who has also signed Joe Healy from Welling and Eastbourne Borough’s Simon Johnson, said: “I got chatting to Ian Miller by the pool and he said Bobby had turned down a new contract at Cambridge, that he only lived in Ashford and did I want a chat with him.
“I’d seen him a few times last season and Ian gave me his number.
“He was about to sign for another club but he agreed to meet me on Saturday morning and we did a deal. ”
Welling midfielder Healy, 28, was one of United’s main targets after winning promotion to National League South – but they didn’t expect to get him.
Saunders said: “Joe’s quality – he was at the top of our list. I rung him a couple of weeks ago and he said he’d be re-signing for Welling but he then got in touch with Jamie Coyle (Stones player-coach) and said that actually he was being released."
Johnson, 24, arrives at Maidstone after six seasons in the first team at Eastbourne Borough.
Read more
Football Maidstone Sport Maidstone United Malling Sport Non League Sevenoaks Sport Tonbridge Sport Tunbridge Wells Sport Weald SportMore by this author
Craig Tucker