george best is dead

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-1889906_2,00.html

not a great man ,but the greatest footballer the british isles ever produced.....god bless.

good, yes but the greatest - oh no, cant have that.

I could name a dozen who were better.

lets not go over the top here just because the media have made a big thing over him for the last few days

DoubleSix said:

good, yes but the greatest - oh no, cant have that.

I could name a dozen who were better.

lets not go over the top here just because the media have made a big thing over him for the last few days

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did nt say he was the best ever ,only that he was the best we have produced.Of course if u can name a dozen better from uk then go right ahead!!

Best made 466 appearances for the Old Trafford club, scoring a total of 178 goals.

He also won 37 caps - scoring nine goals - for Northern Ireland.

But despite his talent, his love of a champagne and playboy lifestyle degenerated into alcoholism, bankruptcy, a prison sentence for drink-driving and, eventually, his controversial liver transplant.


Not a very good record and as a role model he was a disgrace.

DoubleSix said:

Best made 466 appearances for the Old Trafford club, scoring a total of 178 goals.

He also won 37 caps - scoring nine goals - for Northern Ireland.

But despite his talent, his love of a champagne and playboy lifestyle degenerated into alcoholism, bankruptcy, a prison sentence for drink-driving and, eventually, his controversial liver transplant.


Not a very good record and as a role model he was a disgrace.

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Maradonna has similar pedigree ,but that won t stop him being one of the greatest player of all time & someone who i will feel sad for when eventually he passes away.

they are footballers not role models.

Determinedly boozed himself into the grave.
An unpalatable example to everyone.

George Best the footballer will be remembered with fondness by those of us that were fortunate enough to watch him in his prime. On the field he was a pure genius and will probably rank as the best British player never to play for England.

His personal life is another matter and I am not in a position to judge as I never walked in his shoes.

God Rest His Soul. He will always be remembered for his footballing talent that at times seemed to defy logic.

Character

One Character is worth 10,000 Norms, any day of the week.


C V

A flawed human being without doubt but who among us isn't?

The greatest footballer of his generation, probably.

RIP

apparently Man city fans booed during the minute's silence. Im all for rivalry but booing a dead man? Some people need to get out more!

DoubleSix said:

good, yes but the greatest - oh no, cant have that.

I could name a dozen who were better.

lets not go over the top here just because the media have made a big thing over him for the last few days

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name them then double six. you sound a bit predudice. me thinks your a scouser or city???

Millsy

hey millsy!

I see you're from southampton, are you a suffering saint also?

Tom

tommog said:

apparently Man city fans booed during the minute's silence. Im all for rivalry but booing a dead man? Some people need to get out more!

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There's been a huge amount of discussion about this on football websites - I'm a West Ham fan, and the for/against Best thread on the KUMB site runs to over 25 pages. Opinions are very divided - some think (1) he should be respected because he's dead, regardless of anything else; some think (2) he should be celebrated as one of the greatest footballers; some think (3) he was a scumbag and shouldn't be celebrated at all. Consensus seems to be coming towards (1) and (2), but there's a lot feel he's squarely in (3), and very little of it was connected with who he played for.

I think the City and Leeds booing was partly disrespect against a ManU icon, but also partly a backlash against the obsessive media coverage and deification of the man, over the last couple of weeks.

Must admit, I'm not sure which camp I sit in - he was a great footballer, but he was also an alcoholic, wife-beating waster, who took a liver that could have saved someone else life.

I see the minute's silence for the West Ham v Man U game this afternoon has been turned into a minute's celebration - partly because I think a lot of people feel it is more appropriate; partly, I suspect, out of nervousness about what sort of reaction there would be from the crowd.

Hi zzaxx99,

the saints v woves games yesterday morning was a minutes celebration as well, I think it works better.

Best was a waster when it came to his post football life. But i think thats because he had no respect for himself or the people arouind him. But i think its a case of showing that you are better than that by showing him respect for what he deserved it for, his football.

But having said this im not a massive Best fan and dont have a particularly strong view on the topic, I just thought it was in bad taste.

Tom

Hi tommo

Fortunately im a man u fan lol!From the north originally. I am feeling sorry for all my saints friends tho (and my missus!) they're struggling hey?
I think best was a waste of a massive talent tho but at the end of the day he was who he was!

Millsy

Few have retained the general public's affection so long after their Glory Days.

He struck a chord.

What did he give to people - well, a lot of folk who didn't perhaps have a great deal were entertained.
If you want a role model then read about Ghandi
I'm not a football fan, but I don't think it's fair to condemn a man for something he didn't pretend to be - a role model. It is fair to say that we'd hope anyone achieving that prominence would rise to the occasion and become a good role model, but you can't complain when people don't deliver unless they said they would. He's a role model for anyone who aspires to undershoot his potential substantially - flawed genius isn't exactly an uncommon epithet, is it?

We continually condemn our idols for not living up to expectations that we (or the press) invented for them, here's a guy who had the world at his feet and decided to overindulge.... human flaw, that's all.

As for the crowds who chose to 'misbehave' - it is inconcievable to me that anyone should attend a funeral, wake, or act of remembrance and heckle... he has a son who must have been hurt by that. It doesn't surprise me at all though, mankind in large crowds has ever shown a willingness to behave as badly as imagination could suggest. More a reflection on the crowd, than on GB.

DaveJB said:

As for the crowds who chose to 'misbehave' - it is inconcievable to me that anyone should attend a funeral, wake, or act of remembrance and heckle... he has a son who must have been hurt by that. It doesn't surprise me at all though, mankind in large crowds has ever shown a willingness to behave as badly as imagination could suggest. More a reflection on the crowd, than on GB.

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I'm not condoning anyone heckling or jeering, but OTOH, none of them were at "funeral, wake, or act of remembrance" - they were at football games, where a commemoration had been inserted into the proceedings, whether they wanted it or not - it's not like they chose to go to a memorial and then heckled.

First of all George Best was a fanastic player, one I had the pleasure to see at his peak although I was four!

Just imagine being a shy boy, flown over to Manchester away from family then made into the worlds first football superstar before you are 20. He didn't have the protection or the massive wealth the likes of Rooney enjoy today.

His teammates were mostly older married men with kids. No solice there. Sure he went off the rails and no one can condone his beating up of women.

To be fair Best was always honest about who he was and asked no one for any pity regarding his plight.

I just hope the likes of Rooney can learn from George Best.

JonnyT

He was a legend who will be greatly missed, not least by his family but thousands of football fans the world over.
RIP George. You were the best.