Aston Villa and Watford pay tribute to Graham Taylor in pre-season clash

Taylor’s wife Rita and daughters Joanne and Karen were among the crowd at Villa Park for a fixture organised in memory of a man adored by fans of both clubs.

The game was preceded by a minute’s applause for the former England boss, who died in January at the age of 72.

Also, on the 72nd minute, both sets of fans stood and sang Taylor's name in memory of the former manager.

Villa produced a 52-page programme which included tributes from former players, colleagues and family members.

Taylor’s appointment as Villa boss in 1987 is regarded as among the most important in the club’s history.

Relegated from the First Division the previous year, he successfully engineered an immediate return to the top flight, before leading the club to the runners-up spot behind Liverpool in the 1989-90 season.

Taylor left to manage England in the summer of 1990 but returned for a second spell between 2002 and 2003.

His achievements at Watford, meanwhile, were even more remarkable.

When he arrived at Vicarage Road in 1977 the Hornets were in the Fourth Division but within five seasons he had taken them to the First, where they finished runners-up during the 1982-82 campaign.

Following a spell at Wolves between 1994 and 1995, he would return to again lead Watford up through the divisions, this time from the third tier to the Premier League, between 1996 and 2001.