Reporting For Duty – Of A Confidential Kind

If you thought a football writer’s job was only about describing the on-field action and keeping fans up-to-date with injury and transfer news, think again. In his first article for Wolves Heroes, the Express & Star’s Molineux man from more than 40 years ago, David Harrison, reveals the part he played in some delicate behind-the-scenes deliberations long after he had swapped evening newspaper journalism for employment in the national press.

Graham Taylor’s tenure as Wolves manager was a tumultuous one. It was his first job after the controversial spell he had in charge of England and was always going to be closely monitored by those who had cruelly labelled him The Turnip.

But he nearly missed out on becoming Molineux boss because Sir Jack Hayward took a dim view of his behaviour on the touchline in international management.

Graham became one of the few men ever to lose his job on the back of a 7-1 victory when he resigned a few days after overseeing the slaughter of San Marino in Bologna in November, 1993.

The victory was largely irrelevant because England were already in grave danger of failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals and results elsewhere on the last night did indeed see to it that they missed out.

Several hours after attending his last game and no doubt asking a pointed question or two at the press conference, I was waiting alone in the arrivals area at Luton Airport when Graham approached in a rather jovial mood and quietly asked: “Hey Dave, what’s happening at your club?”

He knew I was a massive Wolves fan and had noted that Graham Turner was under big pressure, with the team languishing in mid-table despite a major spending spree in the previous summer. He also knew me pretty well from his successful time on this patch at Villa in the late 1980s.

After Taylor confirmed he would be interested if the job became vacant, I told him I would find out how the land lay and, on returning home, I contacted the club secretary, Keith Pearson, and told him of the interest for if and when an opening came up.

Keith, who had done so much to keep Wolves afloat in the mid-1980s, said he would let Sir Jack know about my call and I believe the situation was subsequently discussed in a meeting of the directors at the Shropshire home of former chairman Jack Harris.

Sir Jack seemed to be very interested in the possibilities but Keith rang me soon after and said the situation had changed.

Apparently, Wolves’ owner had spoken to his close friend at Reading, John Madejski, and been told about the An Impossible Job TV documentary containing Taylor’s expletive-laden outbursts when he was in charge of England.

Sir Jack, who spent most of his time in the Bahamas, had reservations about appointing a man who used such foul language, so Keith asked me to break the news to Graham, which I did.

Wolves then hit some excellent form in mid-season, winning five games in a row and lifting much of the pressure on Turner.

But their fortunes tailed off again and, three days after a defeat at Chelsea in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, Graham resigned following a 3-0 midweek League defeat at Portsmouth.

Graham Taylor’s name again cropped up and this time the possible link became very publicly known, all the previous conversations having remained totally off the record.

Taylor, by now a little refreshed four months down the line, told me he was going on a hiking holiday in the Peak District with his wife, Rita, but gave me his sister’s phone number and told me to ring her if there was any change of heart with Sir Jack.

Sure enough, Sir Jack did relent in his stance, so it was my job to pass on the message and Graham returned from his break to become Wolves’ manager.

It was a thankless task. Often still referred to by the name given him by the tabloid press after England had lost to Sweden in the European Championships finals in Stockholm in 1992 (the front-page headline in one paper read Swedes 2 Turnips 1), he had to work hard to win over Wolves fans.

In the only full season he was given at Molineux, he took the club to a fourth-place finish and to the last eight of the FA Cup but an unlucky play-off semi-final defeat against Bolton meant he had to get it right next time round.

His popularity plummeted that summer when he accepted a bid from Coventry for Steve Bull, who thankfully rejected the move to the Premier League and reaffirmed his loyalty to Molineux.

With the striker still on board after, at different times, also turning down the chance to sign for Torino, Newcastle, Villa and Celtic, the 1995-96 season started poorly.

Wolves won only four of their first 16 League games and the curtain came down on Taylor’s reign in the November.

Supporters had got on his back again and he described his departure from Molineux as his lowest ebb in football.

He had set up a revolutionary youth academy at Wolves and also pushed hard for a new training ground but, with his failure to deliver the big promotion prize, both projects went largely unacclaimed.

Then, irony of ironies, he returned to his first football love, Watford, and led them from the third tier to the Premier League in successive seasons, briefly leaving Wolves behind as he did so.

Graham died aged only 72 in January, 2017 and thousands lined the streets of Watford in the rain on the day of his funeral. I felt privileged to have been invited by Rita to join the mourners.