Originally posted by captainfog
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I have a mate who was a family friend of his when growing up.
His dad was shouting so much abuse at him from the terraces of Watford that Taylor turned on him and demanded they meet up after the game to have a proper debate. They ended up going for a meal and getting on like a house on fire.
My mate has got loads of letters from Taylor documenting his Watford years right through to a letter he wrote to them days after leaving the England set up.
He comes across as a thoroughly decent man. There is even one letter where my friend had told Graham that none of his school friends would belive he had gone to Graham Taylors house to stay for the weekend and so Graham wrote a short letter detailing the days activities, signing his name at the bottom, so my mate could show his classmates when he got back to school.
My mates dad is a bit of a nutter and the general theme of the letters is Graham defending himself from constant accusations that he is 'cutting them out of his life', there is one classic quote where Graham writes 'Keith, you must understand, I have two aging parents in Scunthorp, my dad's memory is getting worse by the day and I am having to drive to see them on a regular basis, plus my daughter is going through a separation and I am having to travel up and see her.' Fecking classic it is...
A few years ago my mates dad (the aforementioned keith) cut Graham out of his life because the christmas card he got from him did not have a personal message in it.......what a loon
There are interesting nuggets where he is commenting about how certain press will be sharpening the knives over his decision drop Gazza, and when he was at Villa he is very scathing about the lack of ambition at Watford board level and there is a very funny anecdote about him and Elton John drunkenly stumbling down the road singing songs together.
The most moving letter, is the one he wrote after leaving the England set up, he accusing the certain FA officials of stabbing him in the back. He even quotes Kipling......
He also writes a cracking letter on the eve of a game against Liverpool and he jokes about how hard it will be to play against Fagan's boys.
It is a remarkable collection of correspondences and a terrific incite into Graham Taylor, he seems like he has a heart of gold.
His dad was shouting so much abuse at him from the terraces of Watford that Taylor turned on him and demanded they meet up after the game to have a proper debate. They ended up going for a meal and getting on like a house on fire.
My mate has got loads of letters from Taylor documenting his Watford years right through to a letter he wrote to them days after leaving the England set up.
He comes across as a thoroughly decent man. There is even one letter where my friend had told Graham that none of his school friends would belive he had gone to Graham Taylors house to stay for the weekend and so Graham wrote a short letter detailing the days activities, signing his name at the bottom, so my mate could show his classmates when he got back to school.
My mates dad is a bit of a nutter and the general theme of the letters is Graham defending himself from constant accusations that he is 'cutting them out of his life', there is one classic quote where Graham writes 'Keith, you must understand, I have two aging parents in Scunthorp, my dad's memory is getting worse by the day and I am having to drive to see them on a regular basis, plus my daughter is going through a separation and I am having to travel up and see her.' Fecking classic it is...
A few years ago my mates dad (the aforementioned keith) cut Graham out of his life because the christmas card he got from him did not have a personal message in it.......what a loon
There are interesting nuggets where he is commenting about how certain press will be sharpening the knives over his decision drop Gazza, and when he was at Villa he is very scathing about the lack of ambition at Watford board level and there is a very funny anecdote about him and Elton John drunkenly stumbling down the road singing songs together.
The most moving letter, is the one he wrote after leaving the England set up, he accusing the certain FA officials of stabbing him in the back. He even quotes Kipling......
He also writes a cracking letter on the eve of a game against Liverpool and he jokes about how hard it will be to play against Fagan's boys.
It is a remarkable collection of correspondences and a terrific incite into Graham Taylor, he seems like he has a heart of gold.
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