I got an email from a (Spurs supporting)
friend the other day. He was all of a dither.
“What
an amazing man. What a gentleman.
Nothing was too much for him, he signed about a million autographs, chatted to
anyone that wanted to talk and posed for photos with all and sundry.
I’m in
total awe of him.”
He’d just spent the afternoon with Graham
Taylor.
My friend was speaking after GT had spent
the afternoon opening a new sports facility at the school at which he works and could clearly now be added to the enormous list of people whose lives have
been touched by Watford Football Club’s greatest servant. Of course, the thing
is, it doesn’t (shouldn’t) come as any surprise to any of us that Graham (I’m
going to call him Graham, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind) continues to have this
effect on people. We know that he is
no ordinary man.
 |
| GT doing what he did so wonderfully - making someone's day. FTRE Jason on the right. |
As a Manager Graham Taylor utilised
discipline, attention to detail, hard work and belief in his methods and players to bring success to the clubs he
managed. As well as his incredible achievements with Watford, he will also be
fondly remembered by Wolves and Aston Villa fans after bringing relative
success to both Molineux and Villa Park.
In between his two stints at Watford and
Villa he was rewarded with the top job and became England boss. It didn’t end
well of course, but as Graham rightly points out, regardless of results, he
reached the top of his profession and no amount of ill informed, malicious
tabloid nonsense can take that away from him.
As a Manager he was tough. We’ve all winced
at the tales of horrific pre-season training regimes and giggled nervously as
we enjoy archive video footage of him telling his players in no uncertain terms
that “You don’t get cramp at this club!” In being a strict, demanding disciplinarian,
he achieved what he craved – success for himself and the teams he managed, but
perhaps more importantly than that, he delivered success for the supporters.
Graham has always shown empathy for
football fans. He gets it. He gets us. After being critical of Watford fans in the
Watford Observer, there was an angry reaction from the terraces. At the next
home game, Graham marched to the centre circle, held up a hand-made sign and
showed it to all four corners of the ground. It had two words on it. “I’m
sorry”.
Throughout the 80’s fans would often
comment on the dugouts at Vicarage Road. Unlike most grounds, they were
uncovered – if it rained, the managers and staff got wet. This was Graham
Taylor’s decision; the dugouts wouldn’t be covered until the fans got
protection from the elements too. He cared about Watford supporters and their
experience, and it was this evident understanding and willingness to act in our
best interests that made the bond between Manager and supporters so strong.
When it came to Watford, it wasn’t just the
club and its supporters that Graham cared about. He was a big believer in the
responsibility the club had to the town itself, and it is gratifying to see
that so much of the community work that was pioneered under his stewardship
continues today. Graham expected his players to get out there and meet the
people whose town they represented, again showing his understanding of the
wider importance and impact of football.
Following his two stints as Watford
Manager, GT took on a number of boardroom roles, finally ending up as Chairman.
During this time he and other like-minded individuals worked tirelessly to keep
Watford afloat during some exceptionally trying circumstances. The issues
Watford have faced have been well documented, flirting with complete financial
meltdown on an all too regular basis. Graham helped to steady the ship, and in
simply remaining part of the club, provide an air of reassurance to Watford
fans that everything was going to be alright.
From an outsider looking in, I’d suggest
the things Graham Taylor has done for Watford have entailed an awful lot of
hard work and more recently, no little heartache. I don’t think it’s overstating
the case to say that Graham Taylor has dedicated much of his life to Watford
Football Club. He’s been Manager, a community ambassador, Board Member,
Chairman and has conducted countless personal appearances, giving his time free
of charge to help projects, places and people that stood to benefit from the
publicity or advice he could provide. He’s done all these things for a
lifetime, and the entire time he has acted in a friendly, approachable, kind,
selfless and gentlemanly way. With
football becoming an increasingly cynical, money driven, materialistic
industry, for him to remain as committed and as generous of spirit as he does
is a true sign of the man.
There aren’t the words to describe the
gratitude I feel towards Graham Taylor. I feel
lucky that fate decreed he should become involved with Watford Football
Club. I feel privileged. I feel happy. I feel protective of him. I feel proud.
And when he resigned this week I felt sad. Not for long though – I don’t think
Graham would have approved. He’d want me, us, the club to get on with it. So I will.
Given time to reflect, I’m glad he will now
have some time to relax. To watch Warwickshire play cricket. To have a few
glasses of wine in the garden. To take Rita out to the Theatre. Silly as this
sounds, I just want him to be happy.
You’ll read and hear this a lot in the
coming days, but it isn’t going to stop me saying it.
Thank-you
Graham. For everything.
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