Cleverley discusses the importance of the Graham Taylor Matchday
This afternoon is the annual Graham Taylor Matchday, and current head coach Tom Cleverley says being the current incumbent makes the occasion even more special for him.
A large number of former players who were at Watford under the club’s greatest ever manager will return to Vicarage Road today and be introduced to the crowd, both before the game and at half-time.
It is always an emotional occasion with scarves and shirts worn proudly in all home stands, and Cleverley is very aware of the importance of it.
“It might be a little bit more significant for me this time because I’m following in his footsteps,” he said.
“That is something I am very proud to do.”
Cleverley’s first game back at Watford in his second spell was also the first match after Graham Taylor died – a 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough at Vicarage Road on January 14, 2017.
“Returning to the club that was a really emotional week,” Cleverley recalled.
“My honest memory of the game is a trickling shot I had that hit the post, and thinking what a special goal that would have been to score for the club with a really sentimental value to it.”
He did manage a goal in a later GT Matchday, netting in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield on January 16, 2021, but the game was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic.
“I scored with a heart-and-desire sliding tackle, the sort of thing he would probably have been proud of.
“It’s always a really special time for us to celebrate what he brought to this club.
“We continue to pay tribute to GT with the foundation that Richard Johnson and Jimmy Gilligan provide in the Academy.
“They are two people who knew him very well and we try to follow the values and morals that he set.
“Then we try to continue it within the first team by hopefully playing with the heart and desire this season that he would be proud of.”
Cleverley said that as his ties to Watford grew stronger during his career, he took the time to go back and look at what Taylor achieved at Vicarage Road.
“I was very naïve to it when I was here first time, but then as you get older and you read and research about the job he did from Division Four all the way to second in the First Division – it’s incredible,” he said.
“If it happened in football today it would be an unbelievable story.
“First time round I wasn’t so knowledgeable but I researched it later in my Watford career.”
Since then, Cleverley has been mindful to help educate others at the club.
“I did it in the Academy with the young players, who absorb information really well and take that with them,” he said.
“It was something Sir Alex did really well at United, asking if you understand as a player what has gone before you at this club.
“It’s probably something I could do better at and I’ll take opportunities like this where we celebrate Graham’s life to educate a few players.”
