Graham Taylor

[hippo]

Been trying to work why I was so gutted - and it comes down to this:-

Late eighties I was doing a shitty job - and the idea for me was to get though the week with as few bollockings as possible - and do the bare minimum to keep my job. predictably my boss hated me - I hated her - I bemoaned my shit job - and my shit pay. 

I remember Graham Taylor saying something like - "if you do the right things, long enough , well enough, you will most times succeed - sure there's the  odd time the ref has a stinker, or the ball just doesn't go in - but on the whole it gets results". He was talking football - But it struck a chord with me - I just kept thinking do your best it, will work out , if it doesn't at least you gave it your best shot. I didn't become rich, I did become happier,  - I now hollier at my kids - 'at all times do your best' 

Thank you Sir Graham 

 

[TrentVilla]

9 minutes ago, RimmyJimmer said:

 

I'll try but I might be on my own in the billy wright stand! 

Don't care, on your feet and belt it out fella!

[Xela]

A 2015 interview about the abuse he suffered due to being England manager

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04p8l7z

Quote

Graham Taylor: Media treated me like dirt after England job

Speaking in 2015, Graham Taylor reveals how his treatment by the media after England failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup affected him.

The son of a sports journalist, he said he understood the famous headline after England's exit from Euro '92: Swedes 2 Turnips 1.

However, Taylor, who died on Thursday, told Jeremy Vine failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup gave members of the media opportunity to treat him "like dirt".

This clip was first broadcast on 5 live Sport, Thursday 12 January 2017.

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by Xela

[PaulC]

He said when he became Watford Manager that you cant just buy your way out of trouble, that's not the way to manage. He was also on 60k a year when manager first time around at villa. How times have changed! mind you it was only £3.50 to get in the Holte end then.

Edited January 13, 2017 by PaulC

[RimmyJimmer]

18 minutes ago, PaulC said:

He said when he became Watford Manager that you cant just buy your way out of trouble, that's not the way to manage. He was also on 60k a year when manager first time around at villa. How times have changed! mind you it was only £3.50 to get in the Holte end then.

£1.50 for under 16's 

[briny_ear]

As far as I can see, no-one has posted this tribute by Gordon Cowans in today's Guardian...

Quote

Gordon Cowans: Graham Taylor was someone we all wanted to play for

The former Aston Villa midfielder pays tribute to a ‘kind, generous, good man’ whose success was rooted in his honesty, coaching ability and man management

I’m very privileged to have known and played for Graham Taylor. I’d like to thank him for all he did for me – and for all he did for Aston Villa where we very nearly won the title in the season before he became England manager. He was one of the best managers I played under – and I’m lucky enough to have worked with some very good ones.
Graham had brought me back to Villa from Bari, which is something I’ll always be grateful for. I’ll never forget the day he came over to Italy to watch me and talking to him after the game.

It was wonderful to be back “home” playing in front of Villa fans again and being coached by a manager whose teams were extremely well organised but who placed no restrictions on players who had ability.

Graham created a framework whereby everyone knew exactly what their role entailed but, within it, you had absolute freedom. It meant everyone was able to play to their strengths and, earlier in his career at Watford, had enabled John Barnes, among others, to really flourish.

By the time he got to Villa, Graham’s football had evolved – and continued evolving – considerably from his days at Vicarage Road when he was sometimes unfairly labelled “long ball” but certain principles remained.

Graham was a very kind, very honest, straight, helpful man, he was always true to himself

Importantly we all understood exactly what we were supposed to be doing in any given situation – Graham’s instructions were really clear and he was very good at communicating them, very good at explaining things in a simple way. A big part of his success, though, was due to his honesty and personality, the excellence of his man management, as well as the strength of his coaching and the brilliance of his teams at getting behind opposing defences.

Graham was a very kind, very honest, straight, helpful man, he was always true to himself, never pretended to be something or someone he wasn’t and all the Villa players bought into that.

We all really wanted to play for him; we appreciated that he’d be straight with us – even if it meant him telling us something we didn’t really want to hear. With Graham you knew exactly where you stood and that’s very important. It was also how he got the best out of people.

His honesty meant he was a manager you never felt disappointed in. We had a great time with him at Villa but he was never frightened to tell someone that things weren’t going right, to make it clear that they had to improve or work harder.After Villa we stayed in touch and, when I was 36, he took me to Wolves from Derby in December 1994 – which was a really good Christmas present! – and, after that, remained someone who was always incredibly helpful towards me. He was very down-to-earth, very grounded; a friend of mine lived next door to Graham and they’d chat over the garden fence. I used to say “give Graham a shout for me”.
Even though it didn’t work out quite as planned – and it’s a shame we didn’t see how far he could have taken our Villa team after that season when we finished second in the old First Division; who knows what we might have achieved had he stayed on? – he couldn’t possibly have turned down the England job. I know how very proud he was to have been offered it.
He was proud for his family – they were extremely close and I remember he used to talk a lot about his father Tom, who was a sports journalist and, for many years, covered Scunthorpe United for the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. His father was a big influence on him – and perhaps explains why he always had time for journalists and wanted to help them.

Graham was a kind, generous, good, man; he’ll be missed by so many people.

Gordon Cowans played for Graham Taylor at Aston Villa during the manager’s first spell at the club between 1988 and 1990.

 

[markavfc40]

@briny_ear cheers for posting that mate. My all time favourite players tribute to my all time favourite manager.

[briny_ear]

26 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

@briny_ear cheers for posting that mate. My all time favourite players tribute to my all time favourite manager.

It was a masterstroke for Taylor to bring him back for a second spell. So characteristic of the clever way he managed the team at that time.

[Zatman]

While dont want to bring it off-topic but listening to people in the game giving tributes you can tell they realised what BS the media labelled at him. Wenger, Pulis and Moyes were on Sky earlier and said he was a great man and everybody in football knew it.

Its just a pity their is nobody to monitor the media during times like this, Roy Hodgson seems very similar to Taylor in terms of coming across as a genuine nice guy but he has also been personally ridiculed by the media just because they didnt get results in a football match. it is disgusting

[markavfc40]

35 minutes ago, briny_ear said:

It was a masterstroke for Taylor to bring him back for a second spell. So characteristic of the clever way he managed the team at that time.

It was quite remarkable what he did in that first spell really. He brought players into the club and they just fitted together perfectly. Cowans and Platt had an almost telepathic understanding, McGrath, Nielsen and Mountfield up there with the best centre back partnerships we have ever had. But around the bits of class like Cownas, Platt, McGrath and Daley he put some real rough diamonds and got way more out of them as a team than you'd ever of thought on paper. Players like Kevin Gage, Stuart Gray, Chris Price, Ormondroyd, Birchy none of them technically gifted but with in the team they could give as good as they got up against any opponent.

The team was way greater than the sum of its part suggested it should be and it showed what a great manager he was, and how he could get the best out of players, in that the same squad of players that finished 2nd battled relegation the very next season after he had departed.

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by markavfc40

[Xela]

23 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

It was quite remarkable what he did in that first spell really. He brought players into the club and they just fitted together perfectly. Cowans and Platt had an almost telepathic understanding, McGrath, Nielsen and Mountfield up there with the best centre back partnerships we have ever had. But around the bits of class like Cownas, Platt, McGrath and Daley he put some real rough diamonds and got way more out of them as a team than you'd ever of thought on paper. Players like Kevin Gage, Stuart Gray, Chris Price, Ormondroyd, Birchy none of them technically gifted but with in the team they could give as good as they got up against any opponent.

The team was way greater than the sum of its part suggested it should be and it showed what a great manager he was, and how he could get the best out of players, in that the same squad of players that finished 2nd battled relegation the very next season after he had departed.

 

Tony Daley being the icing on the cake. A truly exciting player. I can still hear the gasp from the Holte End when he got the ball, put his head down and ran. Defenders used to be petrified.

We would have won the league with a striker like Steve Bull that year (I believe GT enquired about him at the time) 

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by Xela

[markavfc40]

9 minutes ago, Xela said:

Tony Daley being the icing on the cake. A truly exciting player. I can still hear the gasp from the Holte End when he got the ball, put his head down and ran. Defenders used to petrified.

We would have won the league with a striker like Steve Bull that year (I believe GT enquired about him at the time) 

 

Tony Daley loves him and has said again the last couple of days how he knew exactly what to say to get the best out of him and made him feel like a world beater.

You're right he did enquire about Bully and I think we offered 1 mill but he was really loyal to Wolves. I would be nit picking here and I am loathe to do so but the only mistake he made that season was bringing in Cascarino as it didn't quite click. In hindsight we'd have been better carrying on with Olney up top, another he got the best out of. Bottom line is though it was a miracle he took that squad of players to second.

Edited January 13, 2017 by markavfc40

[GrassyNoel]

Came here to write something but it's all been said, and better. It's Interesting what isn't said about Mr Taylor, and speaks volumes. To a man, people have spoken of his decency and of being a gentleman through and through.

A top man. Rest in peace.

Damn it's sad. Wolves Villa will be emotional. 

[Xela]

The comments made by GT a the beginning could have been said about Villa in the last couple of years! 

 

[Xela]

Another example of the kind of man he was 

 

 

[Grasshopper]

9 hours ago, NurembergVillan said:

Best case scenario = goosebumps.  Likely outcome = tears.

 

tears

tears and more tears

[VILLAMARV]

54 minutes ago, Xela said:

Another example of the kind of man he was 

 

 

I'm glad you found that. I was reminding someone of this earlier this afternoon.

[John]

1 hour ago, markavfc40 said:

Tony Daley loves him and has said again the last couple of days how he knew exactly what to say to get the best out of him and made him feel like a world beater.

You're right he did enquire about Bully and I think we offered 1 mill but he was really loyal to Wolves. I would be nit picking here and I am loathe to do so but the only mistake he made that season was bringing in Cascarino as it didn't quite click. In hindsight we'd have been better carrying on with Olney up top, another he got the best out of. Bottom line is though it was a miracle he took that squad of players to second.

As I recollect Bully said that he met with our then chairman (whose name is now on the Witton Lane Stand) on his boat and discussed a move to us with him. He expected things to happen following that but said that was the last he ever heard of making a move to Villa. I also recall that Graham had wanted to bring in Teddy Sheringham but that same chairman went for the cheaper option when Millwall offered Tony Cascarino to him instead. 

[NoelVilla]

1 hour ago, Grasshopper said:

tears

tears and more tears

That story and Carlton Palmer's words really describes Graham well. Him and Roy Hodgson have always been the managers for me. Hodgson for his time in Malmö if anybody wonders.

[Dave J]

23 hours ago, VILLAMARV said:

Love Tony Daley. My hero.

GT was so instrumental in his career in particular. Some of his best years here were under GT. I think I'm right in saying he handed him his England debut too. Took him to Wolves despite the injuries when he was there and then again to Watford on his return to Vicarage Road.

Is he still coaching at the Wolves? (Why have we never brought him home?) If so or either way it seems fitting our next game is against them. Even more so if he'll be on the bench.

I wasn't his greatest fan as a player - a little to loose and inconsistent for me- however I loved his attitude and personality. I believe he is still at the Dingles and I agree with you - he should be bought home.