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Author Topic: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives  (Read 9935 times)

Offline LTA

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1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« on: July 28, 2015, 07:07:52 PM »
Sir Graham was the first Villa boss I can remember and was in charge for my first game on Boxing Day 1989.

I've been looking at some videos from his first spell and was wondering what people's memories of his arrival in 87 and how they felt about his appointment at the time.

Offline peter w

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2015, 07:10:41 PM »
brilliant signing as he was clearly a manager on the up. Was staggered that he left Watford for us but genuinely excited.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2015, 09:49:00 PM by peter w »

Online Legion

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2015, 08:45:51 PM »

Offline LTA

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2015, 09:44:11 PM »


I've seen that video before.  I remember some moron on WM last season saying he was the worst manager we've ever had.  Outrageous.

His second spell was a mistake, but every Villa fan owes this man so much for what he did in the late 80's.

Offline Damo70

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2015, 10:32:33 PM »
If I remember right all the talk was about BFR, who was out of work at the time or possibly Dave Bassett taking over. I don't recall any talk of SGT before his appointment. It was quite surreal for me as he was appointed on the day I left school. I ducked into a newsagents to avoid a schools out forever eggs and flour rampage and saw the front page of the Evening Mail announcing his appointment.  I was there for his first game at Ipswich, where we got to have a quick chat and autograph after the game (the joy and freedom that £28.50 a week YTS money brought) and his last game at Everton three years later and about 95% of the games in between, the vast majority of them with Nev. We also got to meet him and have a chat and a picture after the Nigel Spink testimonial forum, which was in Sutton Coldfield if I remember right.


Offline dave.woodhall

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2015, 10:35:17 PM »
If I remember right all the talk was about BFR, who was out of work at the time or possibly Dave Bassett taking over. I don't recall any talk of SGT before his appointment. It was quite surreal for me as he was appointed on the day I left school. I ducked into a newsagents to avoid a schools out forever eggs and flour rampage and saw the front page of the Evening Mail announcing his appointment.  I was there for his first game at Ipswich, where we got to have a quick chat and autograph after the game (the joy and freedom that £28.50 a week YTS money brought) and his last game at Everton three years later and about 95% of the games in between, the vast majority of them with Nev. We also got to meet him and have a chat and a picture after the Nigel Spink testimonial forum, which was in Sutton Coldfield if I remember right.



BFR was never in the frame, which was strange as he was out of work at the time. The odds-on favourite was Bassett, who ended up replacing Sir Graham at Watford.

Offline RichardBatchelor

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2015, 11:03:27 PM »
He was and is a wonderful man and a legend to me. His compassion towards God was not only decent, but also brilliant man management - he turned an alcoholic crock into the best centre back in the world, which was largely why we came second.

Offline KevinGage

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2015, 12:54:07 AM »
It's largely forgotten now just how much of a coup it was to get him.

He was Sir Bobby Slaphead's choice when Yanited were thinking of getting rid of BFR (according to BFR himself).

Offline Louzie0

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2015, 12:58:41 AM »
I remember feeling so angry when England nicked him.
It was exciting when he was manager.

Offline Villan For Life

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2015, 07:22:32 AM »
I remember my brother ringing me at work and telling me. I was shocked at his appointment and he came out of nowhere. He was the right man at exactly the right time and will always be a Villa legend to me, regardless of what happened in his second spell.

I always felt that SGT "got" the Villa, he understood us and what the club and it's history meant. A man of the highest integrity and one of my favourite Villa managers.

Online Ian.

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2015, 07:25:01 AM »
It was a massive appointment for us who were in complete free fall. He was a brilliant boss who could run a football club from top to bottom. He's probably in my lifetime the most decent and and in many ways the most successful manager we have had. Maybe not for silverware but for turning us around and making us a force to be feared again. Great times.

I thought at the time the MON appointment was up there with on the same scale as Sir GT's arrival and thought MON would be reshaping the club from top to bottom in similar fashion. I was quite wrong.

Online rob_bridge

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #11 on: July 29, 2015, 08:36:33 AM »
He'd left to me what appeared to be a job for life. I was absolutely shocked as, like others thought Bassett was most likely to take over.

Prior to this I thought we were in serious decline. There was a genuine malaise around West Midlands football. Wolves were in the bottom run having lost to Chorley I think in the FACUP. Blues and Albion had been relegated the season before and nearly fell through to the 3rd tier.

I think we had some pretty rubbish results to start with though signing the 2 Grays seemed to make a real difference.


Offline tomd2103

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #12 on: July 29, 2015, 08:38:21 AM »
I think this has been posted on here before, but this article gives an insight into how he set about changing things:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2135123/Garry-Thompson-Graham-Taylor-sorted-Aston-Villa-team-need-same.html&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ved=0CBQQFjAAahUKEwiz1PPY6f_GAhXrFNsKHbpsDzw&usg=AFQjCNGHSiDNKAvCGO4NNc5KXX3C7tfB6w

It's always been a case of 'what if' when considering what he might have achieved had he not left for the England job. 
« Last Edit: July 29, 2015, 08:40:24 AM by tomd2103 »

Offline Villan For Life

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #13 on: July 29, 2015, 09:16:32 AM »

Prior to this I thought we were in serious decline. There was a genuine malaise around West Midlands football. Wolves were in the bottom run having lost to Chorley I think in the FACUP. Blues and Albion had been relegated the season before and nearly fell through to the 3rd tier.


I've always thought that with someone other than Taylor in charge we could have stayed down in the old second division for many years like Blues, WBA and Wolves did. He really turned us around.

Offline JD

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Re: 1987 - Graham Taylor arrives
« Reply #14 on: July 29, 2015, 09:19:40 AM »
I was very happy when he left Watford to join Villa. He was a top young manager on the way up and Villa were in danger of falling further than we already had. SGT stopped the rot almost immediately. A great manager in his first spell and I was gutted when he took on the poison chalice role that is England (both for Villa and him).   

 


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