Overview

Nothing has brought English soccer more immediately into the American mainstream than Ted Lasso, which captivated the nation in thirty-four episodes over three seasons. But before there was Jason Sudeikis’s lovable and, at first, hapless AFC Richmond, there was Watford Football Club, a team from the outskirts of London with barely enough fans to fill its stands—and which, in the mid-1970s, was languishing in 92nd place at the bottom of the last division of the English Football League. That is, until rock superstar Elton John—who, with his dad, had followed the team as a boy—bought the lowly franchise and, with legendary manager Graham Taylor, transformed the luckless football club into a top-seeded Premier League team. Inspiring, funny, and ultimately heartbreaking, Watford Forever recalls the improbably tender relationship between Elton John and Taylor, a straight-talking former fullback, who together beat the odds and their personal demons to save a club and a struggling community.

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9781324095477

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Reviews

""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 ""A warm and redemptive tale...packed with anecdotes, moments that skewer the times with economy and prevision. Plus endless laugh-out-loud yarns…as Preston tells [Elton John and Graham Taylor’s] story, it rattles along at page-turning pace...it reads, indeed, like the script of a movie."" -- Jim White - Independent ""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 ""The original football fairytale of a small club rising from the bottom to the top."" -- Watford Observer ""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 ""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 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 ""A wonderful, feel-good account of an ultimately English provincial story,"" -- Simon Kuper - The Spectator ""If John Preston hasn’t 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 football’s oddest couple, Elton John and Graham Taylor"" -- Robert Crampton - The Times ""Affectionately rough-and-tumble portrait of a small-town British soccer team. A real-life Ted Lasso tale of a perennial underdog sparked to life—and fans of Sir Elton will enjoy it, too."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""Preston skillfully spins Watford’s ascent into a rousing underdog story, and his access to John reveals a more intimate side of the pop star... This will have readers cheering."" -- Publishers Weekly

"""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 ""A warm and redemptive tale...packed with anecdotes, moments that skewer the times with economy and prevision. Plus endless laugh-out-loud yarns…as Preston tells [Elton John and Graham Taylor’s] story, it rattles along at page-turning pace...it reads, indeed, like the script of a movie."" -- Jim White - Independent ""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 ""The original football fairytale of a small club rising from the bottom to the top."" -- Watford Observer ""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 ""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 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 ""A wonderful, feel-good account of an ultimately English provincial story,"" -- Simon Kuper - The Spectator ""If John Preston hasn’t 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 football’s oddest couple, Elton John and Graham Taylor"" -- Robert Crampton - The Times ""Affectionately rough-and-tumble portrait of a small-town British soccer team. A real-life Ted Lasso tale of a perennial underdog sparked to life—and fans of Sir Elton will enjoy it, too."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""Preston skillfully spins Watford’s ascent into a rousing underdog story, and his access to John reveals a more intimate side of the pop star... This will have readers cheering."" -- Publishers Weekly"

Author Information

John Preston was the Sunday Telegraph's television critic and one of its chief feature writers for ten years. He lives in London. Elton John’s honors include two Oscars and six Grammys. The honorary lifetime president of Watford FC, he was chairman of the club from 1976 to 1987 and 1997 to 2002. He lives in England.

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