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James · 12-01-2017, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Former England manager Graham Taylor has died at the age of 72.

As a club manager, he led Watford from the Fourth Division to runners-up in the old First Division in five years and to the final of the 1984 FA Cup.

He guided Aston Villa to second in the First Division, returning to Watford and Villa after his England stint as well as managing Wolves.

He became England boss in 1990 but resigned in 1993 after the team failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.

Following his spell with England, Taylor returned to club management and also became a renowned pundit for BBC Sport.

A family statement said: "With the greatest sadness, we have to announce that Graham passed away at his home early this morning of a suspected heart attack.

"The family are devastated by this sudden and totally unexpected loss."

Taylor started out as a player and, after coming through the youth ranks with Scunthorpe, was a defender at Grimsby and Lincoln City.

He became manager at Lincoln in 1972 and led them to to old Fourth Division title in 1975-76 before joining Watford.

In his first spell as Hornets boss between 1977 and 1987, Taylor took the club to the top flight and they finished second to Liverpool in 1983.

He was appointed by Aston Villa in 1987 and, after leading them to promotion into the top tier, took them to second in 1990.

His exploits led to the England job but he had a turbulent spell in charge of the national team as they failed to make it out of the group at Euro 92 and did not qualify for the World Cup in the United States two years later.

Taylor's return to club management came with a brief stint at Wolves before he returned to Watford, leading them to two promotions in as many years as he guided them back into English football's top flight.

He also returned to manage Villa in 2002 but retired a year later.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38599231