Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor told ‘you can’t make yourself look a fool’ by rival ahead of Senior Darts Championship
BOBBY GEORGE has warned Phil Taylor to practise hard to avoid ending up looking like a fool on his Circus Tavern swansong.
The 50-year-old Essex nightclub, which is close to the M25 Dartford bridge, is renowned for staging the first 14 years of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Taylor, 63, won 11 of his 16 world darts titles there, between 1995 and 2006, before the tungsten roadshow decamped to its permanent home of Ally Pally.
Tomorrow, the Power is in action in the World Seniors Darts Championships, his final ever appearance at the venue.
This is the start of his last year throwing competitive darts before he hangs up his case for good.
George, aka the oche King of Bling, told SunSport: “I was talking to Phil in January. He said he was going to practise for the Worlds.
“I said: ‘You can’t make yourself look a fool. You have to practice. You cannot make yourself look an idiot.’ He’ll have to put some hours in.
“I think he’ll play a lot better. It would be good if he does as it is his last time.
“Phil did remarkably well, 16 times a world champion.
“When they opened the PDC doors up, it flooded with good players, and they wanted to be like Phil Taylor.
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“He’s getting on now. I’m 78. I’m right old in the game.
“Phil said to me the other week, ‘I’m gone 60 now. Ain’t it gone quick?’
“I said: ‘We’re both getting near The Gates now. But you can go in front of me if you like, I don’t mind…’ We had a bit of a giggle about that.
“He has got his money. He won a lot of tournaments. He did what he wanted to do.
“Phil sacrificed a lot of hours of his life to play darts. He used to practise a lot. But he has had enough. You cannot blame him.”
Taylor – who faces German oldie Manfred Bilderl in the first round from 9pm – has not played well since leaving the full-time PDC circuit in 2018 and switching to the Seniors circuit.
Scotsman Robert Thornton is the two-time defending world champion and Taylor went out in the quarter-finals of the draw 12 months ago.
East London-born George – a two-time winner of the now-defunct News of the World Darts Championship – will be in the familiar position of working alongside old TV mucker Ray Stubbs for the BBC.
The Lakeside favourite – he was a two-time BDO world finalist – is one of the most popular and flamboyant personalities in the sport’s history.
Reminiscing about the days he went up against the likes of Eric Bristow, John Lowe and Jocky Wilson, George recalled: “In my day, when we played at the News of the Worlds, we had wooden boards.
“And there were tiny trebles and doubles from a distance of eight foot.
“Today’s players couldn’t play on those boards. They have trained themselves to play nearer and with bigger trebles.
“They all play from seven foot nine-and-a-quarter inches.
“People say to me, you started off at eight foot, does that make any difference to you?
“I reply: ‘Does two-and-a-three-quarter inches make any difference?’ Well, you better ask my wife. Or failing that, my girlfriend…’”
Bobby George will be on TV during the Jennings Bet World Senior Darts Championship, which is live on BBC red button, iPlayer and digital services.