Watford Forever: How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town and Each Other

(Paperback)

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Description

The story of how one of Britain's biggest stars transformed the fortunes of a struggling football club Britain in the 1970s was beset by unrest and unemployment. Meanwhile, Watford FC were floundering in 92nd place at the bottom of the entire Football League. Enter Elton John, now the most successful rockstar in the world and a lifelong fan of the club. Made in Watford is the remarkable story of Elton John's ownership of Watford Football Club and its transformational journey to the top of the first division under iconic manager Graham Taylor. Filled with incredible stories about legendary players and unlikely heroes, from Luther Blissett to Ross Jenkins, and a loveable supporting cast of eclectic characters, this a tribute to football's unlikeliest friendship and one of sport's great underdog stories.

Reviews

If John Preston hasnt already sold the film rights to this book, he surely will soon. Watford Forever is the heartwarming story of the collaboration and friendship between English footballs oddest couple, Elton John and Graham Taylor -- Robert Crampton * The Times *
A wonderful, feel-good account of an ultimately English provincial story -- Simon Kuper * The Spectator *
A rollicking period tale of footballing success . . . Watford Forever teems with unforgettable images . . . from first to last, this is an ever-entertaining telling of a remarkable sporting fairy-tale -- Declan Ryan * Daily Telegraph *
Entwining sport, music and social history, the absorbing Watford Forever is masterfully judged, saccharine-free, true-life fairy tale, which showcases another side of Elton John -- John Aizlewood * iNews *
A warm and redemptive tale . . . packed with anecdotes, moments that skewer the times with economy and prevision. Plus endless laugh-out-loud yarnsas Preston tells [Elton John and Graham Taylors] story, it rattles along at page-turning pace.it reads, indeed, like the script of a movie -- Jim White * Independent *
It is hard to read Watford Forever without becoming overwhelmingly nostalgic . . . Preston burrows to the heart of what for a while Watford got so right -- Simon Burnton * Observer *
John bought his beloved Watford FC when it was near the bottom of English football, then carried it to glory in alliance with manager Graham Taylor his polar opposite. The rock star collaborated with Preston, a skilled and versatile writer, for this English-odd-couple feelgood story * Financial Times *
The original football fairytale of a small club rising from the bottom to the top * Watford Observer *
You don't have to be a Watford fan to enjoy this terrific book. It is about much more than the unlikely friendship between one of the most famous stars on the planet, who as a boy had loved being taken to Watford matches by his distant father, and the fiercely ambitious son of a sports editor who wanted, in his managerial achievements, to make up for an undistinguished playing career * Daily Mail *

Author Bio

John Preston (Author) John Preston is a former Arts Editor of the Evening Standard and the Sunday Telegraph. For ten years he was the Sunday Telegraph's television critic and one of its chief feature writers. His novel, The Dig, based on the 1939 archaeological excavation at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, has been filmed starring Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan and Lily James. His first nonfiction book, A Very English Scandal, was published to great acclaim in 2016 and turned into BAFTA-winning BBC drama series. His latest book Fall- The Mystery of Robert Maxwell was published to great acclaim in February 2021. It has been shortlisted for both the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Costa Biography Prize and is being adapted for television by Working Title productions.