George Best (1 Viewer)

TrueSkyBlueLiam · Nov 25, 2015

10 years ago today, Goerge Best lost his life. Whatever happened off the pitch, he'll be remembered as one of the best Footballers of all times. And Coventry had the privilege of playing against him numerous times in the First Division. So to commemorate the anniversary of his passing, i'd like you to share your memories of the first superstar footballer, not just playing against Coventry, but throughout his career. Whether you saw him in his prime or your dad has shown you his old VHS tapes of his skills. I never got to see him play, so i'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say

lifeskyblue · Nov 25, 2015

Yes one of the greats. Saw him at Highfield road. We were in awe of him. Glided past defenders effortlessly...just floated by them...never seen another player quite like him. My greatest memory though of that united team was to see Bobby Charlton flat on his backside after a young Willy Carr had turned him inside out. The great man sat and applauded the youngster. That has stuck with me

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rupert_bear · Nov 25, 2015

Saw George Best many times not just against us a great,great player. The biggest compliment I can give him is I never heard him jeered or booed by opposition fans you just admired his talent.

mechaishida · Nov 25, 2015

I truly appreciate the majesty he brought to the game, it was purely effortless and instinctive for Best with that ball at his feet. Of course, I never saw him play in the flesh, unfortunately.

Another genius of the game plagued by demons; his cost him two livers and probably a lot more.

Mcbean · Nov 25, 2015

Only on telly as a Chelsea supporter living in London - magic feet ! liked his cars and the women

lifeskyblue · Nov 25, 2015

He was so good.....at our school fete prob 1968 my dad borrowed my mums wig, dressed in a man Utd kit and was introduced as the special guest and played with the real guest Neil Martin (CCFC centre forward at the time) against our school team. Ahhh happy days.

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dadgad · Nov 25, 2015

Saw him in his pomp, umpteen times, he had gold dust on his shoulders. Best player from these islands, destroyed by booze.

SkyBlueSid · Nov 25, 2015

The first time I saw George Best play was at Highfield Road in March 1968. We won 2-0 and Best was marked out of the game by Chris Cattlin on his debut. There were over 47000 in the ground that day, even though the main stand had just burned down.

The last time I saw Best play was in December 1973 at Old Trafford. He was only 27 at that point but cut a shambling, uninterested figure on the periphery of the game. He did, however, score with a mishit shot that Bill Glazier seemed to have covered but slipped on the pudding of a pitch for the ball to trickle in. We won 3-2 and United were relegated that season. That goal proved to be Best's last ever for Manchester United.

In between those two games, it is fair to say that Best did torment City on occasions. You can't help wondering what he would have achieved had he been dedicated to the game rather than boozing and partying. Terrible shame.

Wyken Sky Blue · Nov 26, 2015

Before my time and heard that indeed he was one of the greats.

However... I lost all respect when he jumped the waitng list for a liver transplant which was funded by the NHS just because of his name, only to f**k it up once more. I'm sorry but I cannot forgive him for that.

dadgad · Nov 26, 2015

skyblue1991 said:
Before my time and heard that indeed he was one of the greats.

However... I lost all respect when he jumped the waitng list for a liver transplant which was funded by the NHS just because of his name, only to f**k it up once more. I'm sorry but I cannot forgive him for that.

That assessment may be a bit too harsh. Whilst I cannot comment on the ins and outs of why he rec'd a liver 'before others' I will add that drug dependency is a terrible disease with a genetic predisposition. (It claimed Best's mother). Would we berate him for having cancer, for dying from the side effects of chemo? I like to think not.

Sky_Blue_Daz · Nov 27, 2015

My older brother was crazy about George Best
City were playing utd at Highfield road ro6nd about 1967
Dad got to the ground an hour or so earlier then usual, in those days there was a white wall goin round the pitch so he and my boryher positioed themselves in the corner of the wall as close to the corner flag as
they coule so my brother could see his hero taking the corners up close
Anyway best laid plans of mice and men, united never got a corner first half and got nloads second

Gazolba · Nov 27, 2015

TrueSkyBlueLiam said:
10 years ago today, George Best lost his life.

I think 'threw it away' is more appropriate than 'lost'. However ... I saw him play a few times as my father would take me to watch games at Brum, Villa and West Brom. Other teams were in awe of him and inevitably he was closely watched by one, two or more defenders. But remember Man U also had Dennis Law and Bobby Charlton, not to mention a host of other super talented players so Best was not the only danger. In full flight, he was almost unstoppable and could evade almost any attempted tackle. He was quick, skillful, could dribble past defenders, and score equally well with either foot or his head. Needless to say he was constantly fouled and many of the pitches he had to play on were atrocious. I would say he is a player that never reached his full potential due to his attitude and lifestyle.

Another player at the time that was unbelievably good was Jimmy Greaves; he was a prolific scorer (much more prolific than Best) who always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Probably the best striker England ever had.

mechaishida · Nov 27, 2015

It's the curse of the genius: Gascoigne is another prime example. I used to be in the dissenting crowd regarding Best's liver transplant scandal, but now I just see it as a testament to the man's personal demons eating him alive. Everyone deserves a second chance at life, even Alcoholics. Blame the hospital administrators who thought they'd get media attention by offering Best a liver before anyone else, it wasn't Best's fault per say.

Skybluemac · Nov 27, 2015

Saw best play against us many times, as above, brilliant charismatic player. He did City a big favour once, back in the day. One of our first seasons battling relegation, when Leicester had games in hand to pip us and stay up. It was all on the last day at Old Trafford, Man U vs Leics. a win would keep Leics up. They took the lead, David Nish scored. Then Best turned on his magic, playing in the Law and Charlton forward line. They beat Leics 3-1 and we stayed up. Best was quoted after the game as 'doing it for my old mate Noel Cantwell (our manager at the time)'

Wyken Sky Blue · Nov 30, 2015

dadgad said:
Would we berate him for having cancer, for dying from the side effects of chemo? I like to think not.

No of course not, especially from a cancer that was not self inflicted.

People say alcoholism is a disease. I like to have a few drinks but I know when to stop. If people did that then tragic events like what happened to Best will be minimal. Also is there any evidence that alcoholism is genetic?

Maybe I am being harsh but that's the way I see it. He was of course a fantastic footballer so I'm definately not taking that away from him.

mechaishida · Nov 30, 2015

skyblue1991 said:
No of course not, especially from a cancer that was not self inflicted.

People say alcoholism is a disease. I like to have a few drinks but I know when to stop. If people did that then tragic events like what happened to Best will be minimal. Also is there any evidence that alcoholism is genetic?

Not sure if it's genetically inherent, however I know for a fact that any form of addiction is dependent on the person's brain chemistry. It's not simply a case of 'stopping after a few drinks', it's not social drinking, it's a physical or psychological compulsion. Some alcoholics can quit with minimal to moderate withdrawal symptoms, some cannot quit at all and drink themselves to death. It's brain chemistry; it dictates your level of 'addictability', so to speak.

Gazolba · Nov 30, 2015

Not only is alcohol addictive (to some people) it is also a poison which ruins the human body, primarily the liver but also the brain. It's also a proven carcinogen. So drink in moderation folks.

bringbackrattles · Nov 30, 2015

Strange that my two favourite ever footballers are Jimmy Greaves and George Best and both had drink problems.But on the football pitch they were fantastic players,but while I saw Bestie play three times against us he didn't do a lot,but Greavsie while playing for Spurs scored two against us and was as good as I expected him to be.I met Jimmy Greaves at a book signing once and got star struck as he was my hero growing up,but he was relaxed and witty and on form and off the booze. Sadly Bestie succumbed to the drink,and Jimmy is recovering from a stroke,but to me they're both legends of the game.

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