|
Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Watford captain Troy Deeney were among the mourners to attend Graham Taylor's funeral at St Mary's Church in Watford on Wednesday. The former England, Watford and Aston Villa manager died on Jan. 12, aged 72, following a suspected heart attack. An estimated 1,250 to 1,500 people gathered, many in the gold, black and red of Watford Football Club, to pay their respects. Some scaled a multi-storey car park to view proceedings. Born on Sept. 15, 1944 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, to his mother Dorothy, a postwoman, and father Thomas, a sports reporter for the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph, Taylor enjoyed a solid, if unremarkable playing career with Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Lincoln. He retired in 1972 due to a serious hip injury and soon gained a reputation as one of the country's brightest coaches. Taylor led Watford from the old Fourth Division to runners-up in the top flight in his first spell in charge, when Sir Elton John owned the club. John's tribute to Taylor was to be read by John Motson, the BBC football commentator. Taylor took Aston Villa from Division Two to top-flight runners-up in the 1989-90 season and was appointed as England manager soon afterwards. But his spell with the national team was less successful and he resigned in November 1993 after failing to qualify for the following year's World Cup. Before retiring from management, Taylor spent a brief second spell at Villa in 2002 -- a return he later said he regretted. He then became a pundit, working on both radio and television, but found time to return to Watford as chairman from 2009 until 2012, with a stand at the club's Vicarage Road ground being renamed in his honour in 2014.
|
