Graham Taylor
Steered Aston Villa back to the top flight and to second place in 1990 before managing England.
Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He managed the England national team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln City, Watford, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
- Tenure End
- July 1990 (first spell); 2003 (second spell)
- Major Trophy
- None (lost 1994 League Cup final to Manchester United)
- Key Achievement
- Promotion to First Division (1988); Second place in First Division (1989–90)
Lore & Background
Taylor took over at Aston Villa in 1987, leading the club to promotion in 1988 and finishing second in the 1989–90 Football League First Division. He left Aston Villa in July 1990 to become England manager. He returned to Aston Villa for a second managerial spell in 2002, leaving at the end of the 2002–03 season.
In Their Own Story
The rain lashed down on the pitch at Villa Park as Taylor paced the technical area, his eyes scanning the defensive line. It was a tense moment in the 1993 FA Cup semi-final replay. He didn't shout; instead, he offered a quiet word of encouragement to the center-backs before the restart. The atmosphere was electric, the noise of the faithful rising with every pass. Taylor knew that this season would be defined not by flashy goals, but by the grit and unity he had forged in the dressing room over the previous six years.
Reader's Guide
Taylor's most significant contribution at Aston Villa was guiding them back to the First Division after relegation and then to a runners-up finish in the top flight in 1990. He did not manage Villa in any FA Cup finals or League Cup finals; his only FA Cup final was with Watford in 1984.
Did You Know?
- Taylor was the only manager to twice lead teams to over 70 points in a Football League season under the original two-points-for-a-win system.
- He took Watford from the Fourth Division to the First Division in five years.
- Taylor permitted a television documentary, 'An Impossible Job', to film his failed England campaign from behind the scenes.
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