George Best

Maticmaker

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"Watching George Best for fifteen minutes, was worth the entry money on its own" - Michael Parkinson

RIP George.
 

Classical Mechanic

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I didn't know about this, obviously being born in a different era but they've kept that under the rug with his documentaries and legacy etc. Terrible stuff.
I don’t think it’s been covered up. The information was in the public domain for a long time, stories like this

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/calum-best-my-dad-punched-me-in-drunken-rage-28502955.html

https://www.newstatesman.com/node/163369

As Calum says, this behaviour would never have happened in the absence of alcohol so it’s a question of how much agency you feel he had over his drinking.
 

simplyared

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I don’t think it’s been covered up. The information was in the public domain for a long time, stories like this

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/calum-best-my-dad-punched-me-in-drunken-rage-28502955.html

https://www.newstatesman.com/node/163369

As Calum says, this behaviour would never have happened in the absence of alcohol so it’s a question of how much agency you feel he had over his drinking.
There's no denying, off the field when the alcohol took over it was a tragedy to see how the man deteriorated. Some fans just don't understand when they sing songs about going on the piss with Georgie Best. Harry Gregg understood at an early stage where he was heading. Nobody listened to him though. Must have been hell for his son.
 

duffer

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I didn't know about this, obviously being born in a different era but they've kept that under the rug with his documentaries and legacy etc. Terrible stuff.
I don't think it was ever covered up up swept under the rug. Was huge news at the time and for years afterwards.

He's been gone for a while now so no real reason to bring it up every time he is talked about. One of those "remember the art, not the artist" things.
 

MyOnlySolskjaer

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I don't think it was ever covered up up swept under the rug. Was huge news at the time and for years afterwards.

He's been gone for a while now so no real reason to bring it up every time he is talked about. One of those "remember the art, not the artist" things.
Fair point mate, just pretty new to me.
 

Inigo Montoya

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He was a totally different character when he was on the piss. He used to drink in a pub on the King’s Rd, Chelsea. I worked in Chelsea at the time and would see him in there when I’d go there after work. A Utd supporting mate met me there once before Utd were due to play at the Bridge. He idolised Best and wanted to say hello, I warned him not to but he wasn’t to be deterred.
Best gave him mouthful of appalling abuse and he came away shocked and upset. I just said that he needed to remember the player in his pomp and not the man he’d become. A year later he was dead in a hospital near to where he was drinking.
 

Yagami

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Rest in peace.

One of the few players I've actually gone and found old games online just to watch. He's brilliant to watch. The old United games with him, Charlton, Law, etc, are a pleasure.
 

superdry

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George played in colour when everyone else chased in black and white.
 

Denis' cuff

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I don't think it was ever covered up up swept under the rug. Was huge news at the time and for years afterwards.

He's been gone for a while now so no real reason to bring it up every time he is talked about. One of those "remember the art, not the artist" things.
Yep - people don’t realise that he was constantly on the front and back pages from being a teenager. Hounded by the press For good or bad and the first footballer ever subjected to this level scrutiny.

Gazza? Loved the guy but nowhere near the goat.
 

Paolo Di Canio

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Was not sure where to post this awesome rare footage but here you go

The team of the 60s playing some cricket/indoor football

 

Denis' cuff

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He was a totally different character when he was on the piss. He used to drink in a pub on the King’s Rd, Chelsea. I worked in Chelsea at the time and would see him in there when I’d go there after work. A Utd supporting mate met me there once before Utd were due to play at the Bridge. He idolised Best and wanted to say hello, I warned him not to but he wasn’t to be deterred.
Best gave him mouthful of appalling abuse and he came away shocked and upset. I just said that he needed to remember the player in his pomp and not the man he’d become. A year later he was dead in a hospital near to where he was drinking.
that’s pretty sad, mate because most people who met him say he was the nicest bloke you could meet, which in a way was partly his downfall.

Alcohol addiction.
 

NFM

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I had the privilege of watching him every second week for almost all of his career.
''Pele was the greatest player on Earth, but Georgie was born in heaven''.
There have been none better before or after, simply put he could do everything with a football everywhere on the pitch.
Simply the Best.
 

United58

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Was not sure where to post this awesome rare footage but here you go

The team of the 60s playing some cricket/indoor football

Pretty crazy watching the pros having a full on game with teenagers - imagine the insurance companies/clubs these days thinking about Rashford/Martial/Bruno doing that!! Great footage, thanks for sharing
 

Stack

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Ive told this before but its worth repeating.
years ago Best came to NZ on a book signing/speaking tour. A couple of us went along. Later in the evening for $15 you could get George to autograph a copy of a photo of him. We had a mate called Joe who is a Liverpool fanatic and it was coming up to his birthday so we got George to Autograph a photo for him. We explained that Joe was a Liverpool fanatic, hated utd and even had a huge framed Photo of Anfield on his wall. George duly signed the photo. A short while later at Joes birthday party we handed him his present. he opened it up and there was a photo of George which he had signed " Dear Joe, feck off. George". Joe has it proudly hanging by his Anfield photo.
 

Inigo Montoya

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that’s pretty sad, mate because most people who met him say he was the nicest bloke you could meet, which in a way was partly his downfall.

Alcohol addiction.
He could be both. It was the alcohol that did it.
However as he himself said, it was his choice and blamed no one but himself. He was a facet of that wild and wonderful era we called the 60s. You accept the amazing music,culture and art of the time and you have to accept the drugs etc too. George epitomised that I’m every way. Always be my favourite player
 

Luke1995

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Why there is so few available footage of him playing for Northern Ireland ? It seems like he played much more for United
 

alexthelion

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Watch videos of him - he was hacked to pieces and still went past defenders like they weren't there. He'd probably be even better in the 21st century with so much more protection/less risk of a career-ending injury
Not forgetting that pitches in those days were often not much more than ploughed fields.
 

0le

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Why there is so few available footage of him playing for Northern Ireland ? It seems like he played much more for United
For the simple reason that not every pitch and game would have had television crews at that time.
 

Luke1995

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For the simple reason that not every pitch and game would have had television crews at that time.
Sure. I think that somehow it only adds to his legend. I once read that in a game against Netherlands, he allegedly nutmegged Cruyff
 

0le

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Sure. I think that somehow it only adds to his legend. I once read that in a game against Netherlands, he allegedly nutmegged Cruyff
Yeah its interesting you say that. I was watching videos of Ronaldinho the other day and wondered how many players out there from the past that may have been very good players but don't get the recognition because of lack of footage and/or people who watched them live.
 

Luke1995

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Yeah its interesting you say that. I was watching videos of Ronaldinho the other day and wondered how many players out there from the past that may have been very good players but don't get the recognition because of lack of footage and/or people who watched them live.
Stanley Matthews and Duncan Edwards come to mind as footage on both of them is almost non-existent, but even Pelé, what we can see on Youtube is absolutely nowhere near what he surely produced in non-televised games. A legend on him is that he once beat about five defenders by putting the ball above their heads (don't know the word in english) , including the goalkeeper, and scored.

But you know what is really interesting ? There are players from more recent times like the 80's and 90's who there is quite a bit of footage around, but they somehow get forgotten about due to the amount of high quality players there are today.

It appears to me that as new generations of players keep coming, it gets harder to remember what we saw years ago. 50 years from now, I wonder if people will remember just Messi and C.Ronaldo.
 

Denis' cuff

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Why there is so few available footage of him playing for Northern Ireland ? It seems like he played much more for United
because he played a lot more games for United?

There was a game vs Scotland when George had one of his best games ever. Think it was at Windsor Park around 67?

Then the goal that was disallowed vs England when he blocked Gordon Banks hoofing the ball out. Typically outrageous stuff that he made look almost casual.

obviously, as a United fan I remember his best games for us.
 

Pretzels81

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He was 20-25 years ahead of '60s football. Only Cruyff in 69-74 surpassed him.

Larger than life personality; alcoholism (not to be confused with alcohol) was the only foe he didn't vanquish. He had a short, relatively speaking, yet spectacular-memorable life.
 

Luffy

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The people who made the George Best movie didn't even know the object of their screening. Terrible film.
 

Paolo Di Canio

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Imagine if Best & Law got to play with the Munich lads, what a team that would have been, Edwards, Charlton, Dunne, Law, Best, Whelan, Giles, Styles, Gregg etc
 

Class of 63

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When Bob Bishop contacted Sir Matt to tell him "I think i've found you a Genius" he wasn't wrong.

A one in three generational player, I hope I live long enough to see somebody else from the British Isles reach his level, but I doubt it. Giggs at his best give it a good go but still fell short.
 

Josh 76

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Imagine if Best & Law got to play with the Munich lads, what a team that would have been, Edwards, Charlton, Dunne, Law, Best, Whelan, Giles, Styles, Gregg etc
Utd would have had more European Cups than those wankers.
 

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My football hero. I was lucky enough to meet him once and he was lovely. Also saw him play at Billy Bingham testimonial at Windsor park. Even though he was well past his best it was so exciting to see him.
 

Gehrman

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Imagine if Best & Law got to play with the Munich lads, what a team that would have been, Edwards, Charlton, Dunne, Law, Best, Whelan, Giles, Styles, Gregg etc
Would have been an insane team.
 

dutchred

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Why there is so few available footage of him playing for Northern Ireland ? It seems like he played much more for United
There is somewhere some footage of him playing for NI.
The best individual performance i have ever seen id George playing against Scotland in1967
 

dutchred

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Without doubt the best footballer I ever saw. Not just his dribbling but his ability to ride a tackle in the days when players were less protected than now.
 

Bestofthebest

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Seen Georgie score direct from a corner, go past the whole Sheffield Utd defence before scoring in off the post from a ridiculously wide angle, and come back after a long suspension to score 6 at Northampton on a pitch most farmers would refuse to walk on. Absolute genius. His drink problems were built into him. His mother also died of alcoholism. What a shame for the whole of football. Best player ever by a country mile.
 

Luke1995

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There is somewhere some footage of him playing for NI.
The best individual performance i have ever seen id George playing against Scotland in1967
At the time, were there some sort of qualifiers for euros and world cups or the system was different ? I think nowadays there are much more matches it seems
 

Dante

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Ive told this before but its worth repeating.
years ago Best came to NZ on a book signing/speaking tour. A couple of us went along. Later in the evening for $15 you could get George to autograph a copy of a photo of him. We had a mate called Joe who is a Liverpool fanatic and it was coming up to his birthday so we got George to Autograph a photo for him. We explained that Joe was a Liverpool fanatic, hated utd and even had a huge framed Photo of Anfield on his wall. George duly signed the photo. A short while later at Joes birthday party we handed him his present. he opened it up and there was a photo of George which he had signed " Dear Joe, feck off. George". Joe has it proudly hanging by his Anfield photo.
:lol: