Graham Taylor In His Own Words: The autobiography

by Graham Taylor

In His Own Words is the autobiography of former Lincoln City, Watford, Aston Villa, Wolves and England manager Graham Taylor. Written in the two years before he died in January 2017, the book tells the story of a life and career spent working with the people and the game he loved. It is an intimate and affectionate depiction of how English football changed during the forty years of his career, and a lasting portrait of a man whose humour and decent values saw him cherished by so many. The foreword is by Sir Elton John, who hired Graham to manage Watford in 1977 before the club's dramatic rise through the divisions.

Genres: Football, Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

Published December 4, 2017

Reviews

[Hugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight to the life of a great man🙌🏻

[Keith Jahans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book from sports journalist Lionel Birnie (who helped Graham Taylor in writing his story) when he gave an inspiring talk at a Watford Writers meeting in March 2018. I reported this on my blog at the time (see https://peatmore.wordpress.com/2018/03) but such is the length of my reading list it is only now that I have managed to read the book in its entirety.

I have not read many books by sports celebrities because I feel that most seem to be written to enhance the subjects' own, often shallow, personalities. But this story is clearly an exception as Taylor was a giant among his contemporary football managers. As one who has competed at a very amateur level and watched many more, sporting outcome is often dependent on luck. In general good luck and bad luck will balance itself out and class will shine through. But the history of international English football has shown that this has rarely been the case. During his time managing the English football team, Taylor suffered more than his fair share of bad luck and in this book he shows that he accepted this along with the mistakes he made. But what is extremely unfair was the way he was vilified by the media for England's failure to qualify for two major sporting competitions and the cruel insults by caricature that were depicted on the front pages of many popular newspapers.

This account also shows what an exceptional club manager he was. In taking Watford Football Club from obscurity under the Chairmanship of Pop singer Elton John he proved how good he was at man management. He discovered two major football stars in John Barnes (while at Watford) and David Platt (while managing Aston Villa) and these two went on to have successful international careers and excelled at other major football clubs. Anyone who has worked with people at all levels will understand the skills needed to be successful and by reading his book will see that Taylor had those in abundance. It is a tragedy that he died so young as he clearly had so much more to offer in life and to football. Football is not just a sport; it is the heart of many British communities. I have been living in Watford for only a few years but I can see clearly how he was much loved by the town. Taylor's own words are well worth the read.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can hear Graham's voice as you read this, occasional reputations and clumsiness included. It's a fairly straight re-telling of a life spent in football, with no great surprises for anyone who has followed his career, more of a pleasant refresh. That said, you wouldn't really expect Graham to offer controversy and gossip, and this adds to the overall sense of an authentic summary.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Watford fan since 2006, this was required reading but, like most sports bios, not horribly enlightening or even, in this case, particularly inspiring. The Great Man was a terrific asset to Watford in an exciting era.

[Peter Tennant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Man, fascinating Read

[Nicholas Chainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely outstanding. A fabulous read of the life and times of one of the great club managers of the late 20th century.

[Stephen Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book from an excellent man.

[Peter Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The man is a legend and the author captures GT - warts and all. A fantastic read, for Watford supporters and fans of all other football clubs.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

First hand experience of a very good manager, who knew the football league inside out. Very touching experience especially the England years. A very good read indeed.

[Stephen Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captures the essence of the man perfectly.

[Paul Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was a man whose values and principles came from another time and place. Watford's greatest ever manager.