The death has occurred of former Aston Villa and England manager Graham Taylor. He was 72.
After making more than 300 appearances as a player for Grimsby Town and Lincoln City, Taylor went into coaching, and, in 1972, became the Lincoln manager at the age of just 28. He was then hired by Elton John to manage Watford, and led them from the fourth division to the first division in just five years. Remarkably, his Watford side finished second in the first decision in 1983, and reached the 1984 FA Cup final.
From there Taylor went to Aston Villa, following their relegation to the Second Divison. He had them promoted at the first attempt, and three seasons later, they finished second to Liverpool in the league 89/90.
Taylor then managed England at Euro 92, resigning following failure to qualify for the World Cup in 1994.
He returned to club management with Wolves, before further spells with Watford and Aston Villa.
In recent years, Taylor had been working as a pundit with BBC Radio.
Graham Taylor has died aged 72. Couldn't have met or dealt with a nicer and more genuine man. Very sad news.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) January 12, 2017
One of the better men in football was Graham Taylor. Genuinely nice
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) January 12, 2017
Graham Taylor was one of the first pundits I ever worked with. So kind, so generous, so warm, so mischievous and just so so lovely.
— Mark Chapman (@markchapman) January 12, 2017
Very sad to hear the news about Graham Taylor. A @WatfordFC legend and an absolute gentleman 🙏🏾
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) January 12, 2017
Sad sad news that my old and last manager at #AVFC Graham Taylor has passed away. Deepest condolences to all of Graham's family and friends.
— Ian Taylor (@IanTaylor7) January 12, 2017
Graham Taylor: a charming man, and very kind. His time with England might have soured him. He refused to let that happen.
— Paul Hayward (@_PaulHayward) January 12, 2017
