OT: George Best; what's your take?
August 3, 2017 1:57PM
edited August 2017
I watched the recent George Best documentary last night (ESPN 30 for 30 for those in the US), and it left me wondering how people view him, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks to @XxRichiexRichxX for inspiring the poll.
How do you view George Best?
How do you view George Best?
OT: George Best; what's your take? 86 votes
One of the greatest of all time
41%
36 votes
A historically great player, but clearly below the best of all time (Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, etc)
29%
25 votes
Great for a few years, but longevity matters
9%
8 votes
An unfulfilled talent
5%
5 votes
His legend has far exceeded his actual football given how short his top level career was
6%
6 votes
He has impacted more FIFA games for me than he ever did IRL
0%
He was a cultural icon more than a football icon
4%
4 votes
Other
2%
2 votes
0
Howdy, Stranger!
Comments
Probably more! That's why I'm curious. I think most people here view Pele as one of the best ever but I doubt many if any of us ever saw him.
OK, ok, maybe he is
Still up there but probably a level below because his peak wasn't long enough. Ballon d'Or winner, one of united's best players ever and did it at the top level in Europe.
Prime George Best = one of the best ever. 95-96 rated card on FIFA pls
subjected to some of the most savage tackling ever on a weekly basis...
Chelsea legend ron chopper harris told how he was instructed by the manager to go out and break his effin legs
the good old days eh
Pele: " George Best was the greatest player in the world"
You can also say he was an unfulfilled talent.
As a player, he was magnificent. As a person I don't respect him one bit and think he was an even worse character than Maradona ever was.
My old man had the pleasure of seeing him play live a few times and still to this day says no one comes close to him be it as a personality or player
This really, not judged it myself as like the majority haven't actually watched him play (so me making a judgement is pretty useless), but from what my older generation of family have said he was up there with them, if it wasn't for the superstar lifestyle (drink, women etc) then he could've been remembered on the same level as Pele, Maradonna etc.
So due to the people i've spoken to that've actually watched him, i'm going with this.
What? For being an addict?
Quoting Pele brings back memories of what he said about Nicky Butt.
Nah there is more to it than that, but the other issues/thigns that happened stemmed from that/when he was on it.
Realistically though this poll doesn't really mean much from people that've never watched the player in question (and only heard about how he was through word of mouth/documentaries).
Definitely top 10 of all time for natural talent and ability.
Clearly the most skilful, exciting and best British footballer ever to grace the planet.
If he could have just left the booze and women alone a little bit he could have been top 5 or even 3 of all time.
Although to be fair deciding/judging the top 5 of all time is nearly impossible and everybody has a different opinion on who is and why.
You still have a decision to make.
I gave up smoking Cannabis years ago, didn't have to and to be honest didn't want to, but now I have a son, decided it was the right thing to do.
Not saying he never tried to control his drinking or anything, but he made that choice to pick up an alcoholic drink instead of a T or O.J. every time.
Probably for his alcoholism, drunk driving, stealing, allegedly punching his wife and other women, the whole liver transplant and drinking again thing
Ok let's see:
- Drunk driving (thrice)
- Several accounts of being violent, hitting more than one of his couples across his life, including punching his ex wife in the face.
- Charged with assault on a waittress
- Stole money from a woman's purse as a grown ❤️❤️❤️❤️ man. (Really?)
- Assault on a police officer
- Got a second chance at life at public expense and squandered it.
As a footballer he was lovely and one of the best, as a person the Best thing he ever did was that "don't die like me" picture.
Over the years, I think he has become as much a cultural icon as a football legend. That's taking nothing away from his football, it's more a reflection of him, and his approach to life. The stories about the man and his lifestyle are legendary, and he made some of the greatest quotes ever. These live on, even as memories of his games fade over time.
I think I'd tick at least half of your choices if I could.
A thoughtful response as always!
"I used to go missing a lot, Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World."
"If I had to choose between dribbling past 5 players and scoring from 40 yards at Anfield or ****ing miss world, it'd be a hard choice. Thankfully, i've done both"
Sounds pretty glorious to me, though it was sadly short (his footballing career & life).
(starred a word just to be safe).
Pretty much all those stem from his addiction. I don't condone any of it but he clearly never got the support he needed. Things have changed alot now, the world's look at mental health has changed. So many top footballers who got rich and famous young have struggled that exact same way, gazza and garincha off the top of my head. Its alot of wasted talent.
I can see where you're coming from and cant disagree. I just never think of his off field exploits that happened later in his career cause it wasn't something I was interested as a kid, just liked watching him on the pitch. It's a shame the alcohol had such a profound effect on him. Anyone who knew him would say he was one of the most charming people they ever met