We asked if it was good or bad for the team, but Taylor says they are not missed.
Ryan Taylor: “There’s no one in the dressing room on the scale of Kevin and Joey, they were quite vocal, but I think as a team for some reason it just seems to work better.
“The manager has taken over from the likes of Kevin and Joey and that’s how it should be."
Yet over at Stamford Bridge Andre Villas-Boas has denied accusations of player power at Chelsea when Didier Drogba stood at the tunnel and gave a talk to each Chelsea player as they took to the field against Birmingham City.
After making a sarcastic comment, the Portugese said in his post-match press conference: “It is ridiculous to say that Didier gave a team talk. It didn’t happen. It makes no sense. I have nothing to say. I just gave an interview to ESPN. If I had known they were saying this I would have refused.”
Nevertheless, Villas-Boas said he was aware that John Terry approached referee Martin Atkinson during the interval even though he was only a spectator at Stamford Bridge.
“We were worried about the time-wasting from the goalkeeper.
“I went to the dressing room to prepare my team talk. He [Terry] might have gone in [to see Atkinson]. It was because of the time wasting. At the end the referee only gave three minutes of added time, which was shocking.”
It was another difficult afternoon for under-fire boss Villas-Boas, who was playing against the manager (Chris Hughton) who encouraged his Newcastle players to voice an opinion.
Former Boro boss Gareth Southgate said on ITV: "Some managers like their players to have a say in the dressing room, and I think there is nothing wrong with that.
"It shows passion and a bonding with the players, and I would encourage it. I certainly did it as a player.
"But I know some managers like to be in control, and I understand that too."