George Best At His Brilliant Best

Moriarty said:
Standing right behind the goal in the Stretford End was bad too. You got rained on, rivers of piss ran down from the back, and any missiles like sharpened pennies and fag ends that fell short would land on you. Again Milan in the semi-final in 1969, a kid near me got hit with something that knocked him down and he was laid on on the side of the pitch by the St. Johns. They had to stop the game to clear the goalmouth.
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They were bad times, the Milan keeper was hit with something thrown out of the crowd and the game was stopped for some time. The 70s were the were worst times, I quickly learned not wear anything even half decent to matches because of people weeing, pouring beer and stuff. A freind of mine was hit with something sharp across his face, a sharpened penny most likely, those things were lethal; it ripped his cheek open and he still has the scar. And it only got worse when we were relegated......Millwall was the arse end of the earth!
 
Moriarty said:
He had his own brand of boots that laced on the side. All the kids wanted a pair. He advertised eggs on the telly too.
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And Richmond sausages! Back then the cult of celebrity was in its infancy and only a few players like Best and Bobby Moore were what later became known as "brands" and Moore of course was ripped off because nobody was looking out for him. Before Best the only player to really make anything outside football was Sir Stanley Matthews on the back of cigarette cards! Britain was way behind the rest of the world in the way players were promoted, and more often than not, ie in the case of Bobby Moore, they were exploited, not promoted. Happy days? Innocent maybe, to a degree, but they were great days!
 
Moriarty said:
He had his own brand of boots that laced on the side. All the kids wanted a pair. He advertised eggs on the telly too.
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I actually thought of putting some ads in the video as they are hilarious but opted out of it in the end.
E for B and Georgie Best!


And the all-time classic, of course:
 
Moriarty said:
Standing right behind the goal in the Stretford End was bad too. You got rained on, rivers of piss ran down from the back, and any missiles like sharpened pennies and fag ends that fell short would land on you. Again Milan in the semi-final in 1969, a kid near me got hit with something that knocked him down and he was laid on on the side of the pitch by the St. Johns. They had to stop the game to clear the goalmouth.
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redmanx said:
They were bad times, the Milan keeper was hit with something thrown out of the crowd and the game was stopped for some time. The 70s were the were worst times, I quickly learned not wear anything even half decent to matches because of people weeing, pouring beer and stuff. A freind of mine was hit with something sharp across his face, a sharpened penny most likely, those things were lethal; it ripped his cheek open and he still has the scar. And it only got worse when we were relegated......Millwall was the arse end of the earth!
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Wow.
 
Bondi77 said:
He never really had the chance to as he was basically retired by the time he was 27 and the rest was just start stop with stints in the US and lower leagues.
I think an argument could be made that his style of play was a hybrid of Ronnie and Messi but the guy was just sensational.
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Sure, you could argue that. Young Ronaldo was definitely compared to Best.
 
NasirTimothy said:
Sure, you could argue that. Young Ronaldo was definitely compared to Best.
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He was, but it was more of a general comparison (young, exciting, immensely talented and entertaining) rather than something based on their playing style.
 
redmanx said:
They were bad times, the Milan keeper was hit with something thrown out of the crowd and the game was stopped for some time. The 70s were the were worst times, I quickly learned not wear anything even half decent to matches because of people weeing, pouring beer and stuff. A freind of mine was hit with something sharp across his face, a sharpened penny most likely, those things were lethal; it ripped his cheek open and he still has the scar. And it only got worse when we were relegated......Millwall was the arse end of the earth!
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Cudicini senior it was. Not a bad keeper but Denis Law's shot did cross the line. No doubt in my young mind that night. They were lucky. At 2-2, we would have gone on to meet Ajax in the final.

I was at the Den that night. Moved to London for college in 73. The special from Manchester didn't make it so the Cockney Reds held the line but it was a bit scary.

The worst weapon I heard of was the kung fu stars that they ran up in metalwork class. A cooper at Notts County had one stuck in his helmet.
 
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redmanx said:
And Richmond sausages! Back then the cult of celebrity was in its infancy and only a few players like Best and Bobby Moore were what later became known as "brands" and Moore of course was ripped off because nobody was looking out for him. Before Best the only player to really make anything outside football was Sir Stanley Matthews on the back of cigarette cards! Britain was way behind the rest of the world in the way players were promoted, and more often than not, ie in the case of Bobby Moore, they were exploited, not promoted. Happy days? Innocent maybe, to a degree, but they were great days!
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Bobby Moore. You can stick your Vitalis up your arse - sideways. He always laughed when we sang that. That reminds me of an old joke on The Comedians. One of them said Hughie Green was so tight that he opened a packet of fags and a picture of Stanley Matthews fell out.
 
Moriarty said:
Cudicini senior it was. Not a bad keeper but Denis Law's shot did cross the line. No doubt in my young mind that night. They were lucky. At 2-2, we would have gone on to meet Ajax in the final.

I was at the Den that night. Moved to London for college in 73. The special from Manchester didn't make it so the Cockney Reds held the line but it was a bit scary.

The worst weapon I heard of was the kung fu stars that they ran up in metalwork class. A cooper at Notts County had one stuck in his helmet.
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Hey, harms, last night I watched The Big Match Revisited and saw George score for Fulham. He lobbed the keeper from the edge of the penalty area. I don't recall seeing this goal before. Do you know where I can see it online?
 
Reducation said:
Hey, harms, last night I watched The Big Match Revisited and saw George score for Fulham. He lobbed the keeper from the edge of the penalty area. I don't recall seeing this goal before. Do you know where I can see it online?
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Around the 5th minute.
 
There are some brilliant comments under the video that I thought were worth sharing:

Rosa Lichtenstein said:
I was privileged enough to see George's first United game in 1964, and attended every home game, and several away, until 1967. He was without a shadow of doubt the greatest player I have ever seen live but as amazing as the footage is in this video, it hasn't captured his most incredible moments for United; they're just not on film. Soon after his debut, opposing teams had to put three or four men on him and not even that worked. For example, at home to Everton in the Autumn of 1965, he received the ball on the touch line, right up against the halfway flag. He immediately went past three Evertonians as if they weren't there and headed for the penalty area beating another two on the way. A solid line of defenders forced him out to the corner flag -- we were all shouting "Pass the f-ing ball!" since he was notorious at that stage for keeping it to himself for long periods because no one could get near him or take it off him -- he then dribbled his way past another three Evertonians out of the corner, and headed back to the penalty area near the half circle there, going past another two or three on the way. We were still yelling "Pass the f-ing ball!" when he hit a thunderbolt past the Everton goal-keeper. For a half second there was no reaction from the crowd; I have never seen that at a football match before or since. What we had seen just hadn't quite sunk in. Then the whole place erupted as we realised we had all witnessed the goal of our lives. None of that was captured on film. But that is just one example of many, it just happens to be greatest moment. But, by the 1966-67 season, it was becoming clear to all that he had lost half a yard of pace, and defenders who couldn't get near him in 1965 were doing so more frequently. There is one scene in the above video -- at 02:21 -- where George is headed toward the penalty area (in a game against Chelsea), and Ron 'Chopper' Harris tries to bring him down with one of his infamous scything tackles. He catches George but George rides the tackle and scores. A year earlier, Harris would not have got near him. Had United looked after George as well as they look after their players now, he'd have gone on to be the greatest player anyone has ever seen, anywhere. I have absolutely no doubt about that. Given the two or three years he had at United at his peak (the rest of his years there saw only a shadow of the great player he had once been, until he left United in 1974), and before the steep decline set in, he was easily one of the greatest ever, but his lifestyle prevented from becoming the greatest the world has ever seen.
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Sid Not Vicious said:
I was fortunate enough, and I'm proud enough, to have seen Best play twice: each time away to Huddersfield Town. In the first one he was returning from suspension and played Town off the park. He made the first goal by taking the ball off the Town midfielder, McGill, (close to where I stood) as easily as anything, crossing to Morgan who centred it for Law to smash home. 2-1 to United was the final score. The second one, we were stood behind a goal and it was 0-0 at half-time. Second half and all the goals were scored at the other end: Best, Law, Charlton for 3-0. One of the rare matches in which the holy trinity all scored. What memories.
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geoff harris said:
He was the best in the world for about 4 years until 'outside interests' distracted him. In those days cameras were not at all the games as they are now. I remember him playing at Southampton one evening in a league game, (1969 I think) and no one got near him that night. He scored a fabulous goal from outside the box into the top corner. Ended 3-0 If I remember rightly, when Saints played at the old Dell stadium. A girl from my class at school ran on the pitch and got his autograph and then managed to get back into the crowd chased by three stewards. She proudly showed his autograph in class ! Great days, glad I was around to witness them !
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simon holmes said:
Back in the sixties you could buy tickets the week before the the match from your local coach company, some times I would go and only being small I would be in the middle of the stretford end and not be able to see any of the match but the atmosphere was so electrifying I would go home having had a great time.walking down the smokey terrace streets to Old Trafford people selling memorabilia from their front doors, great memories.
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...and only being small I would be in the middle of the stretford end and not be able to see any of the match but the atmosphere was so electrifying I would go home having had a great time.
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This is great.
 
The great man’s death anniversary was yesterday. Didn’t see anything on the forum so just thought I would comment on this thread. What a player he was. And the video by @harms is excellent.

IMO him, cr7 and Sir Bobby are the three best players to ever put on our jersey.
 
I saw George Best play at Filbert Street, Leicester's old ground many times as well as watching him on TV many times. Leicester have always been my team but George Best was my idol !!
He was an absolutely amazing player who could perform magic with the ball at his feet.
I have never seen anyone who compares to him !!
 
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In terms of pure football talent, I think he is at same level as Maradona and Messi.

Only difference is, he plays for N.Ireland, and he couldn't sustain his peak longer, and went on steep decline when he was only around 26, due to his pop star lifestyle and drinking problems.
 
RedRonaldo said:
In terms of pure football talent, I think he is at same level as Maradona and Messi.

Only difference is, he plays for N.Ireland, and he couldn't sustain his peak longer, and went on steep decline when he was only around 26, due to his pop star lifestyle and drinking problems.
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I would say that he was better than Messi. He can play with both feet and it did not bother him to play on the left or right. He was very acrobatic as well and he played in an era that you can get away with anything short of murder.
 
Those tackles are hilarious. Makes me laugh every time. Just trying to take him out and not even bothering going for the ball
 
redmanx said:
I was fortunate enough to see Bestie in his prime in the mid/late 60s and at times he was simply unplayable, the only way to stop him was to chop him down. His speed running with the ball was amazing and for a small guy he was incredibly strong and very seldom got pushed off the ball. His bravery was immense and even though he knew he was going to get scythed down in tackles that today would see the perpetrator facing a life ban, he never flinched or shirked a tackle. Today he would be priceless; imagine George Best with all the benefits players today have; proper nutrition, state of the art training facilities, all year round grass on pitches more akin to billiard tables than the quagmires of his day, high tech kit, and sky high wages; he would have been priceless and beyond compare.
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His career would have ended even earlier with all the money he’ll get and all the women he’ll have access to from social media.
 
Still the Best! An absolute artist . I hate using terms like the greatest or the best ever but I have not seen anyone better.
 
I can't remember who the commentator was and who the defender was ( but he had a hyphen in his name) and the commentator said George Best went right and then left and ( the defender's first name went to the right and his last name went to the left) and the hyphen was left in the middle.

I also saw a match for Fulham when he played with Rodney Marsh. It was pure entertainment. Both of them were tackling each other and laughing about it. Craven Cottage gets full a lot when he plays.
He was the best player certainly to play for United. Won us the European Cup for sure. I don't know about Duncan Edwards.
 
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Great thread. I Love that there's loads of George Best footage/documentaries lying around..




Best, Law, Charlton and Cristiano our only Ballon d'Or winners.
Would've loved to have seen more Duncan Edwards stuff.,,not much around understandably...didn't Bobby Charlton say Edwards was the best ever?
 
GueRed said:
Would've loved to have seen more Duncan Edwards stuff.,,not much around understandably...didn't Bobby Charlton say Edwards was the best ever?
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Quite a lot of new footage of England in 1950's has been resurfacing lately thanks to @theheavyroller guy who sits on some absolute gems, so keep an eye on him if you're interested. I've made a few Edwards compilations based on the games that he has uploaded up to now. Not bad, considering that for a long time I was pretty sure that I won't see any other full game with him featuring aside from that damned FA Cup final against Villa.



 
Saw his first game and his last for utd., such a short career so many did not get to see him play, he really was an outstanding footballer. I recall watching him in one of his very early games against Chelsea. A very young Best, picked the ball up and advanced down the wing, he was confronted by Chopper Harris, who considered any part of the body below the waist fair game, hence his nick name "Chopper". Chopper goes in on George but is left kicking fresh air, Chopper recovers and has another go with the same result. Most players at this point would have been happy to have survived 2 attempted tackles from Chopper, but not George he actually went back and sent him, left, sent him right and eventually left him having kicked fresh air again on his backside near the corner flag. The crowd were by now cheering this young lad on, whilst makes numerous comments directed at Harris, George destroyed him in that game he never recovered his composure for the rest of the game.
 
harms said:
Quite a lot of new footage of England in 1950's has been resurfacing lately thanks to @theheavyroller guy who sits on some absolute gems, so keep an eye on him if you're interested. I've made a few Edwards compilations based on the games that he has uploaded up to now. Not bad, considering that for a long time I was pretty sure that I won't see any other full game with him featuring aside from that damned FA Cup final against Villa.



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Nice! cheers :)
 
First time I've seen this thread, great video @harms

I was so nearly a United supporter at 8 or 9 years old after getting George Best kit for my birthday from some Uncle and Aunt.
 
oates said:
First time I've seen this thread, great video @harms

I was so nearly a United supporter at 8 or 9 years old after getting George Best kit for my birthday from some Uncle and Aunt.
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It's been illuminating when the video got trending to get comments from non-United supporters about their personal experience watching George Best. Especially the Liverpool ones and the utmost admiration that they often have for him despite hating Manchester United as a whole.

Off-the-pitch stuff (sadly, not a very good one) aside, you almost never get a player who is loved by so many regardless of their club preferences. The ones like Ronaldo & Ronaldinho come to mind in the more recent times but I can't think of many others. Certainly not Messi or Cristiano who have their fair share of haters.
 
@harms brilliant thread mate, first time I have seen this I think.

Wish I had been fortunate enough to have witnessed him in his prime, many older relatives of mine say he was one of the very best. The turn of pace and feint of touch was magnificent.
 
harms said:
It's been illuminating when the video got trending to get comments from non-United supporters about their personal experience watching George Best. Especially the Liverpool ones and the utmost admiration that they often have for him despite hating Manchester United as a whole.

Off-the-pitch stuff (sadly, not a very good one) aside, you almost never get a player who is loved by so many regardless of their club preferences. The ones like Ronaldo & Ronaldinho come to mind in the more recent times but I can't think of many others. Certainly not Messi or Cristiano who has their fair share of haters.
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If only he hadn't had his demons. Everyone I knew as a kid admired him, you couldn't believe what he was capable of and sometimes it was as if he was just having a kick-about on some wasteland or field, he didn't care what came at him, he must have felt such a low centre of gravity to just keep going. It was only later in my teenage years you realised that something was so very wrong, he became unreliable and then finished, over but you always remember his cheeky grin and the glint or maybe gleam in his eye. I read some auto-biography years ago, put it down to the United system when they brought young lads to the team, they put boys up in lodgings and so much free time during the week after training George would be in a snooker hall or bar, getting lost, or so they made out. What genius though, we can never forget. To my mind he was the best, better than anything since during his window.
 
balaks said:
Best was the greatest ever player from the British Isles and it's not close.
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Yep, talent wise he might be the best European ever but I don't know if it's appropriate to rank him above guys like sir Bobby etc considering his lack of longevity.
 
Moriarty said:
He had his own brand of boots that laced on the side. All the kids wanted a pair. He advertised eggs on the telly too.
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The eggs advert is still available somewhere on the web. I thought of including a couple of those in-between segments but figured that the video was busy enough.
 
@harms - brilliant video and glad it was bumped. Thank you.

He scored two in my first ever game at OT (1969) and I was at his comeback away at Burnley after going AWOL in America for a bit - though I cannot be absolutely certain that my facts on the latter are correct.

However, he did steal my pen at The Cliff. He took my pen to sign my autograph book, continued to sign others with it, then got into his Lotus and buggered off. It was only a Bic biro, so I will finally let it go after all these years.

Thanks again for posting the video - the greatest player I have ever seen.
 
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