Dick Taylor

Richard Eric Taylor (9 April 1918 – 1995) was an English professional footballer and manager. Taylor made 167 appearances in the Football League playing as a centre half for Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United. He went on to coach at clubs including Scunthorpe, Sheffield United and Aston Villa, where he was manager from 1964 to 1967.

Playing career Taylor was born in Wolverhampton, and began his career as an amateur with hometown club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made his debut in the First Division with Grimsby Town in the 1938–39 season, According to a Scunthorpe United match programme feature, he was "the old fashion centre half, brilliant in the air, accurate in his passing and cool in the tackle. Nothing frustrated him".

Coaching career After retiring as a player Taylor joined Scunthorpe's coaching staff, moving on to Sheffield United in 1956 to work under Joe Mercer, and two years later joined Aston Villa as Mercer's assistant.

Aston Villa were bottom of the First Division. Although Mercer & Taylor led them to the FA Cup semi-finals, they were relegated to the Second Division once again. They moulded a talented young side at Villa and the team became known as the "Mercer Minors". Mercer led Villa to victory in the inaugural League Cup in 1961, but suffered a stroke in 1964 and was then sacked by the Aston Villa board upon his recovery in July 1964.

The 46-year-old took over as Villa manager late in the 1963–64 season after Mercer resigned due to ill-health, and succeeded in avoiding relegation, which resulted in him being handed the job on a full-time basis. The next and following season saw little improvement in form, leading Taylor to invest heavily in new players for the 1966–67 season. Unfortunately his investment failed disastrously, resulting in them being relegated to the Second Division of English football and plunging the club deep into financial trouble. It was only the third time Aston Villa had been relegated in the club's history. Taylor was sacked not long afterwards, and subsequently ran a sports shop near the club's Villa Park stadium. Honours as an assistant-manager Aston Villa Football League Second Division: 1959–60 Football League Cup: 1960–61