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Sportrait: Graham Taylor
With England Management being very much the in topic of conversation, we caught up with an “old boss”,Graham Taylor, newly appointed Ambassador to Reydon Sports new brand, Precision Training.
Whether or not you regard GT as a good or even great Manager is all a matter of football’s fickle perspectives.
Question England supporters and the response may on occasion be less than kind, although the question mark over Gary Lineker’s substitution has now been superceded by the removal of Michael Owen against Paraguay. Everyone and anyone in the pub can do the job better than anyone that the FA appoint.
Ask any Watford fan and they will tell you that Taylor is nothing short of a saint. The man who was not only instrumental in making the club what it is today through his team management, but someone who was the very heart and soul of the club. It is a reputation deservedly won, for Taylor breathed his passion and humour into every aspect of Watford’s football business, from community development to commercial gain. The team and its performance belonged to the fans who paid the ticket price and “the Family Club” was a reflection of that ownership and pride in Taylor’s football ethos.
So, why the new association with Precision Training?
Well I have been involved in pro football all of my working life and it all starts from grass roots. Even World Cup players all have to develop. What sometimes happens I feel is that we stop being supporters and forget those roots. Working with Precision Training enables me to support that fundamental side of football.
Consider the fact that there are 2.5 thousand professional players but 43,000 clubs registered (my own grandson plays for an under nines team) with the FA and that shows you how important supporting grassroots football is.
What attracted you to the role?
The work that I can do in the role for those that need it. People associate me with community ideas of being with a pro football club. I am a big believer that this game, which we call national game, belongs to all of us. Not just the pros and the League and pro clubs. It is our national game and through grass roots development I can continue to try and further that belief.
How much input will you be making towards Precision Training’s development?
At the moment I am working with the existing products, but in future that may well change. I looked at the company’s input into product and saw that what they were offering was first class. What is important is that by seeing and recommending product is an input anyway. Similar products have been available for last 10 years but not readily available and there has been no real awareness of their significance outside the profssional world. I have signed with the brand for 2 years, so I guess that I will have even more input in future.
It sounds as though the launch of a quality training range was well timed?
Non pro players takes their lead from the pros and awareness of all their equipment is part of that today. People are far more worldly and know exactly what is available now. When they go to their own clubs they want to use the same equipment.
Training definitely seems as important as match performance now, particularly with television exposure of “soccer life”?
Absoutely, there is far more coverage about training and programmes such as The Match are extremely popular, people take on board everything about becoming a footballer, not just 90 minutes of a game. That programme is coming back on and the celebrity manager is worth watching! In that week I try and take them close to what being a pro player is all about.
So programmes such as Soccer Icon, Dream Team and, of course, The Match do benefit the game rather than stopping people from being out there playing?
There is more and more emphasis on that kind of thing. We live in an instant world now, people have and want access to the whole picture and are far better informed,. I am amazed at what my grandson knows about the sport, it goes far beyond local or even national teams and players. When I was his age we had 2 jumpers in the street and kicked a ball about. But there were hardly any cars. It’s all had to move with times.
So why would they be interested in training – isn’t that too much like hard work?
What I like about this kit is that it encourages people of all ages and sizes interested in football to get out there and not be watching but taking part. That’s good for them as it creates better mental application. Instead of just kicking a ball about and coming home. What Precision Training are doing gives them a purpose, they can create their own objectives. Far better than just staying in watching. Fitness and running have always had that sort of application.
Football sponsorship has always been player and club related. Is associating with training quite the same?
These products bind the pros and non pros. Being part of real football is more than just a replica shirt now. Grass roots has been slower to emerge as a market, awareness almost has to start from the top and work down in football. It simply could not work its way up.
So what will make the Precision Training concept and product attract the football consumer?
I am just completing a DVD that will retail with the kit to explain the equipment , and show people how and why to use it.We produced the DVD training with 17-18 year old boys – there’s also a lady coach taking the boys through training aids sessions.
Obviously you wouldn’t put your name to something that you felt didn’t make a real contribution to football?
Absolutely. I looked at the concept over a period of time and it was clear that the brand seem to be getting most things right and taking time to put the whole thing together. My relationship with Precision Training has taken time to put together too, I like the people I am working with and what we can achieve between us.
Editors note: I actually worked for Taylor during his last spell with Watford and the charisma and character that encouraged the best out of everybody under his football leadership is a most genuine legacy.
