Home
About the TTFF
Teams
Latest News
TTFF Events
Links
Search
Contact us
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors
GRAHAM TAYLOR SENDS GREETINGS TO T&T AHEAD OF SUNDAY'S AFFAIR Print E-mail

Former England manager Graham Taylor, the man noted for first taking Dwight Yorke to England when he signed him as a teenager at Aston Villa, has issued a congratulatory message to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation on its 100 year anniversary and says he expects the “Soca Warriors” to present a good challenge to England on Sunday.

Taylor,  now a commentator for BBC Radio Five Live, usually works at all England matches but missed the current tour after committing to a Grassroots Football Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham this weekend.



“I thought the Trinidad and Tobago team were excellent in the World Cup in 2006, and all the players and management team should be congratulated for their efforts. They gave England a game, and there is no reason why they should not repeat that this Sunday,” Taylor told TTFF Media on Friday.

“I am sure Fabio Capello will be looking at a number of “squad” players in this match, and of course whoever he chooses to play the team should be strong but in the years to come if the record books show a win for Trinidad and Tobago… no one will worry about the strength of the England team! We shall see.”

Taylor commented on his brief spell as technical advisor to the T&T team in 2005, a role he was offered by TTFF Special Advisor Jack Warner while here on a FA workshop.

“I can say that I enjoyed my very brief spell helping Bertille St Clair by keeping an eye on the Trinidad and Tobago players here in England . I also had a long conversation with Dwight here in my home about him returning to play for the national team. I think he had already decided he was going to return before our meeting, but I was very pleased he chose to. Dwight has done fantastically well. His fitness levels have always been good and of course he has to go down as one of the best signings I ever made. I knew when I left Aston Villa for the England job in 1990 that he was a “special talent”. In fact I had already given him his debut – against Manchester City if I recall correctly in 1989/90.

“I must tell you one special story about him  which I will always hold dear to me. In 1999, when I had returned to Watford I was due to watch the European Champions League Final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich on TV at home. At about 5.00pm local time my phone rang and on picking it up, it was Dwight who informed me that he was just leaving the hotel to get on the United team coach to go to the ground for the game.

“He wanted to tell me that he would not be doing this if it had not been for me and wanted to thank me for all of the help and advice I had given him. Lump in my throat! You bet – and a few tears when I explained to Rita, my wife who had been on the phone and heard what he had said. The public do not always get to know the real person,” Taylor added on Friday.

 But with Yorke’s days as an outfield player running out, Taylor didn’t forget to express his views on some of the current talent in the T&T team.

“I have always taken a special interest in Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards since my association with Trinidad three years ago. Both are talented players and I watch their football career developments with much interest and I will do the same when I watch the game back here in England on TV,” Taylor concluded. (May 30, 2008)
<Previous   Next>