The Fiver

[Salem6]

The Fiver

25 November 2005

Guardian Unlimited's tea-time take on the world of football
guardian.co.uk/football

In today's Fiver: George Best RIP

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GEORGE BEST, 1946-2005

Where did it all go wrong? Cromwell hospital, west London. There, at
12.55pm today, legendary footballer and bon viveur George Best died
after suffering multiple organ failure. He was surrounded by friends
and family. He was 59.

Football genius, bar-room regular, bedroom Lothario: Best was all
these things and more. With his dazzling skill and sparkling charm he
thrilled football fans throughout the 60s and, by the sounds of it,
women whenever he got the chance. He won trophies, plaudits and
friends. Many of those friends were moved to pay tribute to him
today. "We're going to miss him very, very much," his team-mate Alex
Stepney admitted. "He was a great pal of mine at United, a very
unassuming lad, very kind and quiet and enjoyed company. He was an
absolute genius."

The happy hour in his all-too-short football career came in 1968, when
he inspired Manchester United to a 4-1 European Cup final win over
Benfica and was named European footballer of the year. "Best was one
of the greatest footballers of all time," read a statement from
Manchester United today. "His gifts were legendary. For the goals,
the audacious dribbles and all the wonderful memories, United and its
legions of fans worldwide will always be grateful. We feel a deep
sense of loss but his spirit and his talent will live on forever."

Alcoholism ultimately caused the death of a man who loved life.

*********************

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I'm arrogant because it is necessary to be that way in the world of
football. I don't like picking quarrels with people, but I'm not
going to allow them to meddle with me. I want to mind my own business
and other people should mind theirs ... But if people step on you,
then you have to step on them in return" - Jose Mourinho doesn't like
to pick fights. Oh no.

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GEORGE BEST: THE OBITUARY. BY BRIAN GLANVILLE

George Best was arguably the finest player born in the United Kingdom
since the war. He wasn't tall, he wasn't large - yet there seemed
nothing he couldn't do on a football field. Best, Denis Law and Bobby
Charlton were the stars of a conquering United team [that won the
First Division in 1965 and 1967 and the European Cup in 1968], though
the players tended to divide into camps; Celtic and English. There
was never much love lost between Best and the more conventional
Charlton. Once, in a pub, Best threw eggs at a portrait of Charlton
that hung on the wall. In 1968, Best was deservedly voted European
Footballer of the Year, and might have been seen to have reached his
peak - a sublime compound of pace, courage, skill, balance and
invention.

But off the field, his lifestyle became increasingly self-indulgent.
He drank, he gambled, he had an infinity of girlfriends - among them
two Miss Englands and, reportedly, a just-married bride whom he took
upstairs from a hotel bar while his team-mates plied her husband with
drink. Matt Busby could do little with him, and that little was
manifestly too late. Best would say later that when called into
Busby's office to be chastised, he would simply look beyond the
manager and count the emblems on the wallpaper.

There was a particularly scandalous weekend when he refused to travel
with the team to London for a match against Chelsea. Instead, he went
down himself to north London and spent the weekend in the Islington
flat of a well-known actress, Sinead Cusack, while photographers
massed outside.

In 1969, when Busby retired, Best quickly went into freefall. "When
the bad times started, I couldn't bear the thought of going out on
the pitch," Best said. "I used to drink so I didn't have to think
about it. Which came first? The bad times then the drinking, or the
drinking then the bad times? I'm still sure it was the thought of
playing in a bad team, of not winning anything, of not having a
chance to play in Europe that drove me to it."

Twice Best announced he would retire and twice he changed his mind -
but the sustained breaks from training were too much. He put on
weight that he was never able to lose, and his spectacular pace
disappeared. His last game for United was at QPR on New Year's Day
1974. A spiteful crowd got on his back, and a great star was brought
low. Now it was downhill all the way.

After retirement he became an after-dinner speaker and a television
pundit. There were sad, drunken episodes, one of which saw him carted
away in a police van and briefly imprisoned. In July 2002, he
underwent a protracted liver transplant operation in which, over 10
hours, 40 pints of blood were transfused into his body. One woman
after another did her best to care for him and reform him, but it
seldom lasted long. His glorious footballing days were far distant,
but his allure remained.

*********************

MORE ON BEST

"If I'd been ugly, you'd never have heard of Pele" - the full Brian
Glanville obituary:
football.guardian.co.uk/obituary/0,16836,1650898,00.html

"The only thing that keeps me sane is remembering that there'll be a
party on Sunday and Monday and Tuesday" - Gordon Burn charts the
unravelling of a legend:
football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1650475,00.html

"It was as audacious as it was unexpected" - David Meek on the 5-1
hammering of Benfica in 1966 that put George Best into orbit:
football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1650342,00.html

George Best held a terrible fascination for people who would normally
never cross the road to see a match, says David Lacey:
football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1650341,00.html

*********************

THE RUMOUR MILL

Ruud Gullit and George Burley are distinctly uninterested in taking
over at Portsmouth, leaving Neil Warnock and Alex McLeish to duke it
out.

Liverpool are after Steed Malbranque, with Harry Kewell being packed
off to Aston Villa to fund proceedings.

Juventus have signalled an interest in Belgian young player of the
year Vincent Kompany, and seem foolishly confident of outbidding
Chelsea for the Anderlecht defender.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

A man, thought to be a Middlesborough fan in Holland to watch his team
play in the Euro Vase, has died after being attacked in Amsterdam.

Arsene Wenger has announced that he won't be suing Jose Mourinho over
those 'voyeur' comments after all. "I think it is a sensible and
intelligent decision," responded the Special One.

Cristiano Ronaldo won't face charges over allegations that he r&ped a
woman in a London hotel last month.

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FIVER LETTERS

"George Best RIP. Thanks for the memories" - Tony Jardine (and
others).

"I only saw George Best play once, for Fulham against Peterborough in
1976. He got the ball on the halfway line, flicked it up, and then
lofted it high into the air. I remember the long silence - we could
hear our keeper's feet slapping in the mud to get back. But he knew,
and we knew. And when the ball brushed under the bar and into the
net, we were silent a few seconds longer. Then the clapping began,
like it does at the end of a classical recital. Measured at first,
then swelling and growing all around the ground" - Tony Randall.

"I don't want to trivialise what is undoubtedly a serious illness, but
'Alcoholism is a disease as difficult to fight as cancer?'
[Yesterday's Fiver]. You can at least advise sufferers of the former
to 'try not to drink alcohol'. Advising someone to 'try not to
develop any more cancerous cells' is surely less helpful" - Chris
Gibson.

"Re: Sheree Murphy in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. She also
said that Harry doesn't really like watching football much, except
for the 'big games'. Perhaps that's why he was subbed off after just
20 minutes of the Big Cup final? Much better view from the bench" -
Leon Wilson.

"You might knock Harry Kewell and his 'stranger than Jason Lee's'
coiffure but the Sydney Morning Herald is having none of it. Their
report of this week's game at Anfield is titled Kewell A Knockout
Again As Liverpool Walk On and continues 'Socceroos star Harry Kewell
came on as a substitute and set up one of many missed chances as
holders Liverpool booked their place in the knockout stage of [Big
Cup] on Wednesday night' - Nigel Benton.

"Please tell me Sian Kennedy's 'woman's perspective' comment on
Perrin's departure [yesterday's Fiver letters] meant to be ironic?
Has my 20 years of 'Yes, I do actually go to games,' 'Of course I can
explain the offside rule' and 'No, I don't want to go shopping
because I'll miss the match' all been wasted? And anyway, she's
wrong: we all know the best-looking manager in the Premiership is
Chris Coleman" - Helen Lazarus.

Send your letters to [e-mail]. The best one each day
wins a copy of the excellent new LMA Manager 2006
(http://www.codemasters.co.uk/lma2006). Today's winner: Leon Wilson.

* * * * * * * * * * *

ADVERT

Place a win single of at least GBP10 on any upcoming football game and
Blue Square will credit your account with a free GBP25 betting token.
www.bluesq.com/bet?AFF_ID=272

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TONIGHT'S TV & RADIO

Sky Sports 1: Fifa Futbol Mundial (5.30pm)
After a week of your workshy tales, we think we've found the
workplace blagger's workplace blagger: a man we shall call John.

Soccer AM's All Sports Show (6pm)
"Soon after starting at our company," says David Hall, "it became
apparent that John's skills did not match his CV - so much so that
the company organised a HR investigation.

Premier League Preview (7pm)
"They found that his 'degree' was actually a single A-level. The
previous employer who had 'begged him not to leave' and offered him a
'GBP5k sweetener' had in fact fired him for 'inappropriate conduct'."

Live Victory Shield Football: Scotland U16s v England U16s (7.30pm)
Ah, game over. Eh?

Sky Sports Xtra: Big Cup highlights (5pm)
"When confronted at his disciplinary hearing, he maintained his lies.
I was there expecting to witness a sacking. Instead I watched him
receive a written warning before negotiating a GBP1,000 pay rise.

Big Cup (10.30pm & 1.30am)
"But the best is yet to come. He installed some spy software on the
managing director's PC during a basic upgrade, and had been using it
for months before it was discovered.

British Eurosport: Big Cup (7pm)
"It took another month to trace it back to John. When the evidence was
put to him he said that it had already been on there when he stumbled
across it that day.

Radio Five Live: Sport on Five (7pm)
"After everything that had happened, the office was gleefully waiting
for him to get the bullet.

Talksport: Kick Off (7pm)
"Imagine our faces as it was swept under the carpet. In fact, it
hasn't been mentioned since. Whatever he saw must have been bloody
good."

Newstalk 106 (www.newstalk106.ie): Off the ball with Ger Gilroy (7pm)
Ever mugged your employers like this? Email [e-mail] ,
and mark it I'm Still Laughing Now.

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FAREWELL

The Fiver was written by Paul Doyle and Brian Glanville. Guardian
Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005. Registered in England
and Wales. No.908396. Registered office: 164 Deansgate, Manchester.