Born in Worksop, Taylor grew up in Sblockedhorpe, the son of a sports journalist who wanted to write about his son for a living.
Taylor showed promise as a player and soon turned professional, becoming The Apprentice at Sblockedhorpe Town FC but he was eventually fired for not selling enough sausages at a continental market. After this, he turned in performances for Grimsby, scoring 37% on Rotten Tomatoes.
It was as a manager, thought, that Taylor will really be remembered. He found success as manager of Watford Town, a team captained by pop superstar Elton John who was notorious for getting booked for aggresive conduct if the game was scheduled too late on a Saturday. Taylor guided star names such as Jaqueline Blisset and rapper John Barnes to take Watford to the first division.
After this, Taylor went repeated his success with Aston Villa. Then in 1990 he got the job of managing the England team.
Unfortunately for Taylor, his squad included Alan 'Sheep' Shearer, comedian Robin Ince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Peter Beardsley and a load of jizz in goal, none of whom could knock it.
As a result, England was knocked out in the qualifying stages, causing The Sun newspaper to liken Taylor to a turnip, cleverly implying that he was useless, whilst retaining the opportunity should he have turned into a success to use the headline 'That's a turnip for the books'.
This frustrating period was captured memorably in the film The Impossible Job, where he became known for his catchphrases including 'Can we not knock it', 'Do I not like that' and 'You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off'.
Sadly, Taylor was unable to inspire the England players to the heights they have subsequently proved incapable of reaching. In 1993 he resigned to spend more time in his allotment talking to vegetables, who were at least more likely to listen to him.
Further management stints at Watford and Hi Ho Wolverhampton followed, along with a late-life career as a pundit on Radio 5 Live.
After returning once more to Watford as Director and Interim Chairman, Taylor was made honorary president for life of the club he loved. A stand at the Watford ground on Vicarage road bears his name to this day. It is not a turnip stand.
Graham Tayor has passed away. Do I not like that?
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