R.I.P. Graham Taylor

Thanks Smudger.
Brings a tear ...

 

Thanks - I'd never seen that one before - brilliant!

 

Great effort by London Midland with the GT train naming ceremony today. Good turnout of ex Villa players, none of ours, not even Luther, who generally shows up at these things. Quite surreal sight of a (quite superb) string quartet sawing away against a backdrop of Pendolinos and Class 66 hauled freight thundering through.
Only about a dozen ordinary punters, which surprised me, having got there an hour early to beat the 'rush'.

 

On skysports website http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11686/10902375/graham-taylor-has-new-train-decidated-to-him-at-watford-junction

There's a brief video but you only need to watch up to 1.07mins

 

Anybody know if the statue of GT will be ready and in place for the Villa game?

 

As long as they don't get the same bloke who did the Ronaldo one

Seriously - I don't mind if it takes ages, as long as the final result is decent and worthy to the great man himself. A poor effort will really undermine the whole thing, especially positioned just outside the shop where everybody will see it.

 

Just bumping this for anybody that might've missed it. A very nice tribute by the club, the last 10 seconds always brings a tear to my eye.

 

Really needs to be somewhere secure or you just know that some teenage lowlife from Beds will destroy/deface it.

 

Brilliant to watch that again. Gutted to be missing the Villa game

 

Do they 3D print the master for the casting these days or is it still a traditional method used for statues?

 

I'm reliably informed that Carlos is doing it.

 

I've no idea to be honest. Maybe depends on who the sculptor is? As far as I'm concerned, this isn't a vanity project for an artist to make a name for himself - it's about creating a worthy memorial to a club legend and thoroughly decent man. Nobody cares what the process of producing a statue is, as long as the finished result does GT justice. If 3D printing means a better statue, then I'm all for it and to hell with tradition. Really hope they get it right, not just for everybody at the club but for his family to.

 

I hope us fans continue to remember the great man on the 72nd minute of each game during next season and the seasons after

 

Really good 4min ITV tribute to GT. I'd never seen this before - well worth a watch if you haven't either:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154280305722944

 

Am I the only person who doesn't? I worshipped GT, the man was a role model in so many ways, particularly in his modesty and good grace.

Most of all he was a football man and I don't believe he would wish to interrupt his beloved Hornets concentration at 72 minutes into every game in perpetuity.

Unless you believe that children not yet born will be required to continue the ritual it will, at some point, have to end.

 

Agree with you Moose...

The statue should be the ongoing reminder not the 72nd minute clap

 

I couldn't agree more. I wasn't at the tribute match last week but I assume that it was done then, that should have been the last time.

 

I agree that it's time to move on

 

Perhaps we clap until the statue is ready?

 

Not continually of course!

 

I had this discussion with friends last night and I am on the fence a bit, I only think the 1 minute clapping is good if everyone does it, the bloke was God in my eyes and he walked on water as far as I am concerned and could do not do any wrong. Maybe do it at the anniversary of the closest home game to his the date he died, or the first home game of each season or the last home game of each season or maybe all three, whenever it happens I want the whole Stadium to do it, stand up and give 100%.

 

Agreed. Just because the clapping will stop eventually does not mean he's forgotten in any way. Did anyone notice we nearly went through on goal during the 72 minute clapping yesterday, it was like a sign GT was motivating them from above!

 

Did the Abbots Langley Graham Taylor Tough Ten run yesterday, was not the same without the great man starting the race, thought Luther was meant to be there but did not see him, the great mans wife was there. Also now a bench in the park in his memory, hope no scumbag vandalises it, thought they should have had a minutes silence at the start of the race as it was the first one since his death. The medal has a nice big GT in the middle and in Watford colours.

 

Forgive the link to the Daily Hate, but they're serialising his posthumous autobiography, In His Own Words. If you've not bought the book yet, then well worth a read of this plus any future extracts. Fascinating insight regarding his substitution of Lineker.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Graham-Taylor-World-Cup-failure.html#comments

 

The book is on my christmas list - looking forward to reading it.

 

Had decided to get it after Xmas but after reading that I'm going to buy it now.
Excellent excerpt.

 

The only silver lining that's come out of GT's death is that people seem to have taken time to reassess their knee-jerk biases and actually look at the man. A cursory look at the comments section on the Daily Mail article is but one example: comment after comment saying the press were wrong to treat him the way they did and recognising what a good man he was.

5 years ago that never would have happened.

Still, every time this thread gets bumped I feel like someone has kicked me in the gut again.

 

I had this feeling today in light of the increasingly half-hearted 72nd minute applauses of late and thought of posting something similar to Moose's post but decided against it for fear of getting shouting down, before actually spotting his post above for the first time and noticing the 8 likes it received (though I wonder if it would have received dislikes on the old forum?). I remember West Ham equalising last season when the chant was going on in full force and wondering whether the chant would prove more of a distraction than an inspiration.

It was a great idea, but I don't remember having one-minute applauses in the 83rd minute for so long after Ken Furphy's death the year we got promoted (and he arguably set the ball rolling), so I think it's probably best to lay it to rest now, until as iamofwfc suggested the Southampton game and every home game immediately following his anniversary thereafter.

 

Another good read here. Not so much an extract, but a complimentary piece on both GT and Elton: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...utobiography-shows-importance-wise-owner.html

 

Got the book and just flicking through it still brings a tear to my eye.
As my forum name suggests I am, like most Watford fans, in awe of the man but I do feel the 72nd minutes applause has run its course. There are plenty of reminders of him like the stand I sit in but I’m pretty sure he would want us to move on.