George Best footballer
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Utopia
"Jackanackanory"
My memory of him(sadly only from TV footage!) would have to be when he was playing for NI, can't remember who it was against but he was taking the piss big time, at one point, with the ball at his feet, he took off his right boot & prompted the opposing players to come & try to take it off him!, a complete showman, shame there isn't more like him in modern football instead of the superfit drones we have now. 
Dr. Furface
One small step for me
Whilst he played some great games under Busby, won 2 league titles and the European Cup - he was actually in his prime and played more consistently under Wilf McGuinness. Except that under McGuinness, the rest of the team weren't up to it, which was a big part of the reason why he started going off the rails. He'd have been better off going to some other club at that time that were on the up, rather than carrying United - that might have kept his career alive a few more years. A great player like he (undoubtedly) was needs to play for a club where he can realise his own ambitions and dreams. I think the saddest thing about Best's life was that he never found another team (or probably even tried to) after United that he could achieve things with, but squandered his talent being a show pony at Fulham, Hibs and any number of even lesser clubs.Chorlton said:
Streathamite
ideological dogmatist
if you want to see the ultimate in GB genius - get afilm of him in the european cup QF, v Benfica, 1966. his first goal is utterly sublime - beat half the benfica team and screamed the goal into the top corner from about 20 yeards. it killed them there and then.
Streathamite
ideological dogmatist
too damn right. in 1974, the unthinkable happened; Manchester United were relegated.Chorlton said:
He played fine under O'Farrell, Mcguinness and docherty, but - as I and others have pointed out - it's hard to play well in a shit team.
DRINK? said:
It shouldn't be enforced - minutes silence for player that had no association with a club are wrong.
Mansfields keeper dropped dead in a game recently and the game was postponed - now instead of having a minutes silence for him they are being instructed to have a silence for a player, no doubt enjoyed by all but, had no association - now their thoughts will no doubt be with their own lad but it ain't right at all. I personally resent being told when show respect in this way
tony1798 said:
i don't want to hijack the thread - i am genuinely sad that George has died - i have a lot of sympathy for him a hell of a lot, i also don't want to be disrespectful, however in the course of this thread 2 things have come up
1) I don't believe that he was the greatest footballer in the world as I think that his career was too short for that - he could have been and at one time was but i believe that there are a lot of factors in becoming the best and a longer career has to, for me, be one.
2) Mandated silences are wrong. It should be up to each club to do as fit. In this case, my own club announced before the FA said that they would have a minutes applause, and i personally back that idea however it is open to leading to unsavoury scenes at certain fixtures city and liverpool as well as leeds at millwall IMO - and in the case of Mansfield that i mentioned above, where they have their own losses closer to home to remember. I just don't agree with the Higher powers enforcing them.
i certainly harbour no bitterness towards george best and have tried my best on this thread to put forward my points in as diplomatic way as i can.
Farewell George Best
Football's first true "superstar", he had a lot more charisma and personality than most Premier League players put together. I've read a few articles about Bestie and watched a few clips on the TV in his pomp at Old Trafford. George Best was ime probably the most naturally talented footballer the British Isles has ever produced.
In my very humble opinion he was a flawed genius i.e. He had all the attributes you want in a footballer in terms of tackling, pace, passing and dribling, ability to beat people with simplicity etc. Added to that his well documented problems with alcoholism that he sadly could not overcome. A true icon of the footalling art. Deepest sympathies to the Best family and close friends that knew him, a very sad day in the annals of football.
R.I.P. Bestie. You'll be missed by all true football lovers everywhere.
Football's first true "superstar", he had a lot more charisma and personality than most Premier League players put together. I've read a few articles about Bestie and watched a few clips on the TV in his pomp at Old Trafford. George Best was ime probably the most naturally talented footballer the British Isles has ever produced.
In my very humble opinion he was a flawed genius i.e. He had all the attributes you want in a footballer in terms of tackling, pace, passing and dribling, ability to beat people with simplicity etc. Added to that his well documented problems with alcoholism that he sadly could not overcome. A true icon of the footalling art. Deepest sympathies to the Best family and close friends that knew him, a very sad day in the annals of football.
R.I.P. Bestie. You'll be missed by all true football lovers everywhere.
Streathamite
ideological dogmatist
sorry, mate, you're missing this. He had more than 'talent'; he was a footballer of such astonishing ability that his true peers are Pele, puskas, Maradona, Di Stefano, Cruyff AND THAT'S IT!!Chorlton said:
Full stop.
ScallyWag II
New Member
rip george
Batboy
Trumpeting is good for you...
Having watched some of the old clips you cannot help but compare him to Maradona . There was one clip of a goal he scored in the US (I think) where there were so many players around him falling over going this way and that way as he totally bamboozled them that it reminded me of clown show at a circus.
It's been a long time since I saw the clips of the Benefica Match and the Best Contribution, Best as a footballer was sublime and as he himself said He will be remembered for the football. Indeed.
It's been a long time since I saw the clips of the Benefica Match and the Best Contribution, Best as a footballer was sublime and as he himself said He will be remembered for the football. Indeed.
cathal marcs
Well-Known Member
ziconess said:
He wasn't at Hibs for long but he was one of ours for a while & as such will for ever remain so.
Most famous appearance in the green (immortalised in one of Irvine Welsh's shitter books) was against the huns at easter road in 1979. He went to take a corner at the away end which a bunch of home fans had infiltrated and were starting to kick off. The Rangers supporters started chucking beer bottles at him (this being in the glory days you could drink in the ground). He picked one up, mimed taking a swig out of it, and played the corner for someone else to score. Class.
I remember seeing the late highlights of the Befica game - United trailing 3-1 iirc from 1st legtony1798 said:Just reading on the BBC site that he's entering his final hours
But, I don't want to discuss the all too apparent reasons for this, there'll be plenty of debate in general no doubt..
George Best - footballer. let's talk about that.
He made his debut for United in 63 and was the first superstar footballer, that's for sure. I think, I may be wrong... his finest hour was in Benfica when United trashed them (was it) 5-1 and he was called the 5th Beatle on his return... he made 361 apps scoring 136 goals for Utd.
Northern Ireland - 37 caps; 9 goals
Honours:
1965: League title
1967: League title
1968: European Cup
Other clubs:
Dunstable, Stockport, Cork Celtic, Fulham, LA Aztecs, Fort Lauderdale, Hibernian, San Jose, Bournemouth, Brisbane Lions
He retired from the beautiful game in 83... but he turned out for one more team a year later - Ford Open Prison, having been sent down for drink driving and assault.
has anyone on here actually seen him play live?
His all time classic line will forever be remembered - "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered" - class!
peace
Best scored three goals in first half (two of whihc were solo runs through the oppostion defence from half way line - I made so much noise (having come in from pub) that my old man came down stairs to tell me to be a bit quieter and finished up watching the rest of thegame with me. Sensational stuff !
I remember reading Matt Busby's thgoughts on it years later - he said he told his team to go out, play it tight and try to take 'the sting' out of the Benfica team, "don't take any risks" - he's sitting on the bench just before half time thinking "What do I say - I give them a game plan and as usual he ignores it and he's destroyed them single handed"
I saw him play in the flesh about 8-10 times but I remember one game especially at coventry when United were attacking the opposite end. GB got the ball on the left (I was sitting directly behing him at the opposite end) and from about 30 yards out he dropped his left shoulder and half the Cov defence went that way and with a sway of the right hip he just opened the defence. With hardly any backlift he dispatched it into the far corner and as it come back off the stanchion the Coventry keeper was just getting air borne. I thought at the time that 90% of the people in the ground must wonder how the hell he's done that. Pure magic.
I'm just a bit too young (by two or three years) to have seen Best play for United but since I hail from Manchester I've heard some stories from people who knew him back then or saw him play.
One girl I used to know told me about how you would often see George out in some nightclub at 3 am, pissed as fuck, on a Friday night. The following day (she told me) you would be down at Old Trafford thinking "No way is George going to make this game". Then, come 3 o'clock, the teams would come out and there was George running onto the pitch, and he'd score 6 goals and have an amazing game.
Another guy I know told me about one game he went to where Bestie got the ball on the wing and ran almost the entire length of the pitch (along the wing) knocking the ball up on his arm. The linesman was far back and couldn't see anything and George was shielding the ball from the referee with his back. He was also lifting his knee each time he hit it so it looked like he was keeping it up with his knee. Thing is, all the United fans in the stands could see what he was doing and were cheering like mad.
Apparently these stories are legion. He did something bizarre almost every week.
One girl I used to know told me about how you would often see George out in some nightclub at 3 am, pissed as fuck, on a Friday night. The following day (she told me) you would be down at Old Trafford thinking "No way is George going to make this game". Then, come 3 o'clock, the teams would come out and there was George running onto the pitch, and he'd score 6 goals and have an amazing game.
Another guy I know told me about one game he went to where Bestie got the ball on the wing and ran almost the entire length of the pitch (along the wing) knocking the ball up on his arm. The linesman was far back and couldn't see anything and George was shielding the ball from the referee with his back. He was also lifting his knee each time he hit it so it looked like he was keeping it up with his knee. Thing is, all the United fans in the stands could see what he was doing and were cheering like mad.
Apparently these stories are legion. He did something bizarre almost every week.
SwizzleStiX
Active Member
nope. up 3-2 but 1st leg was at homebigbry said:
(f- me I can be soooo anoraky)
and there, in ye nutshell, is Mr George Best.
sheer fucking genius
corporate whore
oh, thought you were dead
I saw him play in around 1990, at a charity match in Minehead, strangely enough. Fuck knows what it was for, or how they persuaded him to come down for it.
The All-Star team - basically Best, Alan Ball and Frank Worthington plus some mates - took on the local FC.
Best looked fat and knackered, but at one point managed to leave a defender on his arse with a little snake-hips shimmy. A privilege to see, even that far past his peak.
Between him & Worthington, the football club bar had their finest night in years.
RIP
The All-Star team - basically Best, Alan Ball and Frank Worthington plus some mates - took on the local FC.
Best looked fat and knackered, but at one point managed to leave a defender on his arse with a little snake-hips shimmy. A privilege to see, even that far past his peak.
Between him & Worthington, the football club bar had their finest night in years.
RIP
Possibly not entirely relevant to the thread but a proud moment nonetheless.They had a minute's silence yesterday at Prescot Cables (Unibond Premier) for my dad-did a really lovely article on him in the programme,and gave a lengthy announcement about his 10 years as the club secretary,the 15 years he spent running another non-league club,passing condolences on to my family-"Oh,and not forgetting,Georgie Best". How proud my dad would be at upstaging George Best's minute's silence. 
My dad saw him and Pele play in the 60's and he always rated Best higher than Pele. I've only seen the clips of him on the TV or DVD, but it was obvious to see what a genius he was. But it was also his strength on the ball that was amazing, I've just seen him riding a tackle from behind from Ron Harris and then going on to score, bloody amazing. The best British player ever.
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