The Rush For Graham Taylor
Back to 1990
The Rush For Graham Taylor
For a number of reasons, I’m fascinated with Graham Taylor’s brief stint as England manager.
My fascination comes partly because I know so little about it. I was only 6 years old in 1990, and knew nothing about the World Cup, being carefully sheltered by the American press. Like my compatriots, I knew a bit more in 1994, but didn’t really notice the absence of England, nor did I know anything about the controversy of that failed World Cup qualifying campaign.
That’s why it’s so much fun to look back.
What surprises me the most in doing my research is that Graham Taylor was marked for the England job long before West Germany knocked England out of the World Cup on July 4, 1990.
That is alluded to in this piece only a week after the fateful exit:
“The most open secret in world sport” is an understatement. But what I wasn’t prepared for were the numerous articles about Taylor before England had even been eliminated.
The day of England’s group match with the Netherlands, this article appeared in the Hull Daily Mail:
But the crazy thing here is that England was still in the World Cup. That’s not even mentioned here.
I agree with Brian Glanville, by the way. Taylor had no continental experience and was completely unprepared for the job ahead of him. All of that came to haunt him in 1993.
But it really amazes me just how quick the Football Association was to move on to a new manager. The team had not even been eliminated yet.
Why the rush?