He got a stunt crew to kidnap Carlton Palmer!

I WAS immensely impressed with Graham Taylor from the moment I met him. I could see his determination to succeed. I remember almost word-for-word our first meeting. he arrived at Aston Villa at a turbulent time and the players gathered in the canteen to meet the new manager. Graham swept into the room with Doug ellis, the chairman. Once we had been introduced, Graham said: ‘Mr Chairman, there’s the door, I’m in charge now, thank you very much!’ he then said: ‘The difference between me and the previous managers was that he chose them. I have chosen Doug ellis and it is my ambition to make this club successful.’ You always got the feeling Graham wouldn’t make you do anything he wasn’t prepared to do himself. Graham would make us run four laps of the training ground at Bodymoor heath each Tuesday — and he would join in. he was a good runner and if you finished behind him, he would make you do it again. I never allowed that to happen! I always had the utmost respect for Graham in our time at Villa and for giving me my first england cap. With england, I thought he was a different Graham Taylor — he seemed under more pressure. But I always really enjoyed his england camps. he was concerned about the players getting bored, so planned activities. he once took us to Pinewood Studios, where we met a stunt crew. Later that day we were eating a meal and suddenly two men came flying through the window and kidnapped Carlton Palmer! I remember seeing Graham laughing in the background — he had set it all up. Whether it was go-karting or going to the theatre, Graham always organised something to break the tension before matches.