John Barnes On What Graham Taylor Did At Half Time In 1983

In 1983, nobody in English football was talking about racism. Abuse happened at grounds every week and went unremarked on afterwards. John Barnes was 19 and playing for Watford. During a home game against Oldham, Graham Taylor heard a handful of Watford supporters abusing an opposition player from his seat on the bench. At half time he took a microphone into the centre circle and told his own crowd that if he heard it again, about any player from any team, they would never come back to the club 👏 Then he walked into the dressing room, said "right lads, let's go", and never mentioned it. Not to his players. Not to the press. Barnes only found out years later, from Luther Blissett 🙌 He tells Jeff Stelling that story alongside what Taylor meant to him more broadly - why he was his favourite manager, the advice he gave a 19-year-old about press criticism that Barnes still lives by, and why a Watford side with most of its players drawn from the fourth division finished second in the league behind Liverpool ❤️ And on Elton John, who owned the club and called Taylor "boss" in front of the players. Barnes explains why that mattered, and why he thinks it's the thing most modern owners get wrong ⚽️ Graham Taylor died in 2017. This account is John Barnes's. From the full episode with John Barnes on The Jeff Stelling Show, filmed on Thursday 25th June 2026. ▶ Watch the full episode:    • John Barnes: The Truth About My Time At Ce...   🔔 Subscribe to OLBG so you don’t miss an episode of The Jeff Stelling Show:    / @olbguk   🚨 Win THREE football shirts from a club of your choice Enter NOW - it's completely FREE! 👕 Enter at 👉 https://prizes.olbg.com/raffles/your-... 18+ | UK Entrants Only | T&Cs apply #JohnBarnes #GrahamTaylor #Watford #EltonJohn #JeffStelling