Graham Taylor death: Tales of boss’s kindness continue as former Watford striker Gifton Noel-Williams reveals Taylor gave him £1000 when he was struggling
Noel-Williams was about to have a child when Taylor intervened... and since his passing stories of his generosity have flooded in from all areas of football
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TALES of former England manager Graham Taylor's generosity and kindness have continued after he died on Thursday at the age of 72.
Tributes poured in from all parts of the world of football - and one story from former Hornets and Stoke striker Gifton Noel-Williams demonstrates the extent of his generosity.
Noel-Williams, now 36, spent seven years at Watford having come through the ranks at Vicarage Road around the turn of the century when Taylor was in his second spell at the club, first as general manager and then as team manager.
Struggling for money before footballer's wages got truly exorbitant, and with a baby on the way, Noel-Williams benefitted from Taylor's financial affection, giving him £1,000 from his own pocket.
Speaking to Watford history book , he said: "For me personally, he's one of the most amazing men I've ever met.
"Our relationship was really solid before he became team manager.
"The year before, when he was general manager, he found out about my situation with expecting a kid and he pulled me into his office.
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"I explained about the whole situation and he said: 'How are you for money? How are you getting by? Because you can't be getting by.'
"I said: 'I'm trying. I'm trying my best to just get by'.
He said: 'What do you need?'
"I told him all the things I needed for the baby... I said it would be about £300, maybe £400, and he said: 'Are you sure that's all you need?'
"He pulled out his personal cheque book and he wrote me a cheque for a grand. 'There you go', he said. Make sure you get everything you need. If you need anything else, come back to me.
"While you are here, I need you to concentrate on football. When you are at home, I want you to look after your baby'.
"Before I went in, I thought I was going to be sacked. He said, 'Don't tell anyone about this'. I've kept it from all the boys over the years.
"Every time I've seen him over the years he asks how my family is, how my mum is. My mum used to love Graham Taylor. She'd give him a big cuddle."