There appear to be several seperate points to note here.
I am not really a soccer fan, the other shaped ball being my passion, but I am enthralled by genius wherever I see it, or at least where my lowly intellect is able to recognise it.
I watched George Best and was mesmerised by his talent: I think we have to seperate off what he was like as a man, that is largely irrelevant to the enjoyment that he gave to so many. I can't help remembering that true genius is often accompanied by a tendency to self damage and instability: I think of Dylan Thomas, Van Gough, Hancock, Pollock, Buster Keaton , EA Poe,Brando, Friedeman Bach, Bobby Jones et al...the list is awfully long and supplemented by those who managed to hide their pain or were shielded by family etc genius does not necessarily, or indeed often, collate with 'niceness'. I admire decency, courage and humanity as much as I do genius. I therefore admire Nelson Mandela, Geldof, Mother Theresa and Ghandi for different reasons.
With regard to his 'squandering ' of this talent: I'm sure that is probably true, but then, it was his to squander. He was an alcoholic, something I would have found easy to deride until I became personally affected by it. Now perhaps I understand a little better and am perhaps not so keen to pass judgement.;let him who is without sin and all that....
With regard to the outpouring of grief: yes, it's probaby over the top, he was genuinely admired, gave pleasure to millions, and was blessed with a very special talent. I have heard people today moaning about the mourning of his passing who were bereft when pop stars, soap actors and Royal Family passed on: I fail to differentiate.
It's sad when anyone dies-even the most evil deserve to be mourned for what they might have been. I've been one of the most horrible buggers to have walked the earth, but I still hope that when I shuffle off this mortal coil there will be someone playing 'Flowers of the Forest' for me: not for me, or any talent I had (never been troubled with talent personally) but for the fact that I was here, was loved -albeit undeservedly-and like all of us.... 'could have been a contender'.
He was probably the best player this country produced, this country obviously includes Northern Ireland.
I dont care whether he was a piss head, he was my hero. I judge him by his footballing ability, If i was to dissect a lot of other british heroes personalities I bet he wouldnt come out so bad compared to many
I'm with you cheeky chimp, and I'm a rabid Liverpool fan
id like to take this oppurtunity to say thanks to george best for the entertainment on and of the pitch as pele said" he was the best footballer the world has ever produced". I think that what happened in his private life is just that PRIVATE!!! We seem to easily forget that the reason he was in the public eye was for pure talent,after all we know what a sod james brown is for the way he has treated women in the past but bet your bottom dollar that any dancefloor that plays his stuff is gonna be bouncin,anyway CHEERS besty hope you find what your lookin for :cheers:
God Bless Georgie boy, gone to the football field in the sky. RIP.
Minx x x
Being a fan of Manchester United this news has hit me hard and I must admit to shedding a tear or two. Any lover of 'The Beautiful Game' would feel the same at the passing of one of the game's legends and one of life's true characters. Best was the bestfootballer who ever graced a football pitch or donned a Manchester United shirt and it's tragic that his life and talent was wasted by alcohol.
I hope some of the younger stars of today that have much more money than George ever had at his disposal look long and hard at how they conduct themselves in their personal lives and not follow in George's footsteps - except for on the pitch.
Can i make a point lol
This George Best thread hasn't be locked, and is a topical point of discussion.
I made a thread about another topical point of discussion and it was instantly locked!
Somebody explain!
Sorry about the thread hijack but how else do i ask what the hell was it locked for?!
yes... yes you may lol
But i won't answer because it constitutes thread hijacking to the highest degree and i didn't want to do that lol.
Instead i will pay my tributes to George Best - footballing legend, troubled life and he will be remembered for having a life of two halves.
All the best George from an Evertonian.
It's taken me till now to manage to comment on his death - everyone here on SH has been so kind and generous in their respective tributes to the man. I am sure that were he here today he would accept those same plaudits graciously, as was his natural demeanour.
For me he was simply , a great talent, an imperfect man among so many, an icon, a role model for millions, an inspiration, a go getter, a beacon in Northern Irelands dark days (it's a poorer place now without him), a lover of life and a kindly man - those who knew him well, will miss him - those who didn't know him, will never know what they missed. Shine on Georgie boy - you,ve done your bit and left your mark.
was young when he retired but still love watching those goals again, what a great player and one who captured the hearts of all football fans no matter what colour shirt they wore
I have mixed feelings about George Best.
I can see where RedHot is coming from - it's not a disease in the classic sense but IMO it's a mental disease. As with most alcoholics there is a deep seated phycological flaw in their make -up that that they try and correctwith booze ( George was apparently very shy when off the field, Robbie W and many others suffered from depression) . However with these people the flaw soon becomes the alcohol - it consumes them and becomes the only reason for their existence.I personally resent the fact that he was given a new liver and still carried on drinking - but I guess that shows the power of alcohol.
But from a footballing point of view he was a genius - I am too young to have seen him play but like others i have seen footage of him play. Like he said in his last interview on Talksport before he went into hospital remember him for the football and not all the other BS that went on in his life.
did he voluntarily squander his gift, or did alcohol rob him of it? ((( i'm talking about both his footballing gift, and the gift of a new liver here! ))) 
