George Best

[Section_31]

Following on from the Munich thread...

 

What's your view on his ability?

 

Obviously I never saw him play but put much of the mythos surrounding his ability down to the Manc media machine, which has always been second to none and managed to convince the football world that they were the biggest club on the planet even as they plumbed the depths of the old division one.

 

The common consensus seems to be that he was the third best player in living memory after Pele and Maradona, is this the case or not?

[WaltonRed]

Not the case.

 

Diego, Pele, Johan

 

Best was class but the myth has been embelished

[Tom R]

Maradona, Dalglish, Zidane, pele.

[RedinSweden]

Maradona, Dalglish, Zidane, pele.

 

Do you mean Zidane or do you mean Cheyrou?

[wiiksie]

From what I've seen/read he was certainly a great player (and one of the best European players at the time), but more in the Eusebio class rather than the Maradona/Pele class.

[Gav]

When he played for Cork Celtic he was nicknamed Stella

[Red Mist]

Maradona good, Pele better, George Best

[aws]

Pele and Maradona in the top class. Best in the next one down.

[Brod]

Maradona was the best ever and will never be bettered in my opinion.

[Terry Tibbs]

George Best? Your having a larff son. Over rated fackin wino. By todays standards he'd be on par with Emanuel Pogatetz.

[Stormbringer]

He was awesome.

 

When you look at footage look at what he did on the pitches he played on.

 

Like Pele he got the shit kicked out of him and just got on with it. Never got world reknown because NI were poor back then.

 

I think he was better than Kruyff because he was more instinctive.

 

Don't think you can say who was the best cos they were in the main from different eras.

 

All were different class.

[Rafa Shankly]

Over rated.

 

Obviously I'm only going on video but that right there is the problem,its the same few videos we see over and over again.

 

There doesn't seem to be a huge catalogue on a par with say pele,and most of peles was with brazil.

 

Great player no doubt but imo not on par with pele or maradonna,I'd put him in the second or third thief of world greats.

[Guest PaddyBerger15]

My old man, who watched plenty of football in the days of Law and Best, said George was the best player he ever saw and has seen.

[Sangria]

He was never overrated he was a truly World class talent, he had it all and then some. Shame he wasted it and then maybe we never seen the best of him.

I could not mention him in the same breathe as Maradona or Pele, or a few others but he was still one hell of a talent.

I admired his talent but never liked him.

[Flying Pig]

George Best= acoholic twat who wasted a liver transplant which lead to the deaths of two children.

 

I would shit on his grave.

[hamstrung]

I am Irish

 

You have to idolise George Best, particularly if you are of a certain age and your dad did.

 

Its the rules.

 

 

Reminded me though, I've a signed shirt of his that I was holding back to put on Ebay after he died.

[Joe Strummer]

Emlyn Hughes said I think that he was one level above Dalglish and I'd also agree he was one below below Maradona, Best and Cruyff. Perhaps if he hadn't been Northern Irish and also a drunk he could be placed on a par with them.

[al daas]

Saw him loads of times, he was definitely the greatest player that I had ever seen at the time, and that included Mathews , Finney and my then idol, Billy Liddell.

[Captain]

Where's Red Nick?

[bigredruss]

never saw him play live, was good but the media hype like beckham over rated

[robslappa]

As talented as he may have been, he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Pele, Maradona, Cruff et al. They never pissed their career away at 27 years.

[Faustus]

As talented as he may have been, he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Pele, Maradona, Cruff et al. They never pissed their career away at 27 years.

 

My dad (obviously a red) and his cousin (a Manc inbred from Ellesmere Port of all places) have arguments over whether Dalglish or Best were better. My dad always clinches the argument by saying that while Best may have been the more gifted of the two, he was playing for the likes of Cork City and Los Angeles Aztecs in his prime, whereas the King was winning Leagues and European Cups.

[jamespp]

My dad (obviously a red) and his cousin (a Manc inbred from Ellesmere Port of all places) have arguments over whether Dalglish or Best were better. My dad always clinches the argument by saying that while Best may have been the more gifted of the two, he was playing for the likes of Cork City and Los Angeles Aztecs in his prime, whereas the King was winning Leagues and European Cups.

 

eh? his prime was obviously at man utd

[theRedHorse]

He was a cunt...

 

The way he glorified the "Rockstar" lifestyle, no wonder modern players are complete twats.

[Faustus]

He was a cunt...

 

The way he glorified the "Rockstar" lifestyle, no wonder modern players are complete twats.

 

I think you'll find that was Robin Friday.

 

George Best was nothing compared to that fella.