When I joined the Army at 16, SGT was in his first year at VP.I was missing home and missing going to the Villa, my mum wrote to the club saying I was homesick and suffering a bit and asked if anyone could help (all unknown to me)At mail call a few weeks later a large brown envelope appeared for me stamped 'Aston Villa F.C' when I opened it there was a hand written letter from SGT asking how I was and that he hoped I would get over the homesickness. He said the Villa would always be here for me whenever I needed the club. He also sent me a glossy colour photo of the first team signed by him. (Not the usual type of print but an actual glossy photo) He wrote on the back 'Thanks for the service your doing, Graham.'It made my day, and made helped me to get over my homesickness.
The more you read the more you hear of an epic man he was.
A true gentleman.[..........] Brilliant man, brilliant. I loved him.I feel extremely sad today.Rest in peace Graham, you'll never be forgotten. I'll try digging out some photos of that evening and will post them on here when I do.And thank you for everything.
I'm not sure if this has been posted on here already but, talking about the family-man side of Taylor, do you remember when we played Man United at Old Trafford and he decided that it was more important for him to attend his daughter's graduation than to sit on a bench watching his team play?There's a man with his priorities in the right order.
I had liked Graham Taylor from the first time we spoke. He had a quirky way about him. He'd bounce up and down out of his chair, all energy and business. Even those chats in his office, they weren't all doom and gloom. He had a lovely way of lightening things. 'Ah big man, step into my clinic'.The thing that struck me above all else was that he was interested in me. I mean he had every reason to be furious. One of his big summer signings had turned out to be a walking mess. I couldn't have argued if he was obnoxious, if he'd turned on me saying 'What the fuck are you like you dozy twat?'But he was open and caring. I always felt welcome in his office. He'd say to me, 'Look, if you need something, come to me. We're all here to help you.' That was his attitude. He gave me his home number. I felt I could talk to him on a level I had probably never talked on with anyone else in football.He even said to me that if I ever felt things getting on top of me again, I would be welcome to come and stay with him and his wife, Rita. I don't think I'm being melodramatic when I say that he literally rescued me from a very bad, bad scene.It wasn't just a case of giving me the time of day. He was giving me time. I was getting a lot off my chest when I'd go to see him. In many ways, I was at a point of crisis in my life and I needed someone to pull me back from it. My confidence was in ribbons.
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Topic: Sir Graham Taylor (Read 102579 times)
