Graham Taylor dead at 72 – Dan King looks back at the former England, Watford and Aston Villa manager
Sun man recalls his days working down at Vicarage Road, calling the boss one of the most humble and professional ever
GRAHAM TAYLOR was on the phone and he was furious.
My boss was taking the brunt of it as Graham, then in his second stint as Watford boss, made it clear in basic Anglo-Saxon just how upset he was about a piece a colleague and I had written about the club.
But as the Watford correspondent for Hayter’s Sports Agency, it was eventually my turn to speak to him.
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By then, though, Graham had thankfully calmed down.
After a less X-rated dressing down and a follow up meeting at the Watford training ground, a positive working relationship began which eventually became a friendship.
He will always be one of the most honest, kind and thoughtful people I have met in my career.
One of Graham’s catchphrases was “I don’t mean to be boastful, but…”
It was usually the prelude to him reminding you of one of the major triumphs or little innovations of his long and distinguished career.
But the thing was, he had plenty to boast about and in reality he never received the credit he deserved for the achievements which had earned him the England job in the first place and for what he did afterwards.
That experience and Graham’s love of the game came through whenever you spoke to him.
He told the story of how his passion for football had been fuelled by holding the stopwatch in the press box while journalist dad Tom and his colleagues covered Scunthorpe United games.
Graham knew what reporters needed and despite bearing the brunt of media attacks during his career, he was always generous with his time and thoughtful in his opinions.
On the rare occasions he did not pick up the phone, he would always call back, sometimes days or even weeks later, always with apologies for having missed you and always with a genuine interest in how you and your family were.
Graham should be remembered not only as one of the best managers England has ever produced, but also as one of the game’s greatest and most likeable characters.