john craig wrote:I wonder if some of you would be so venomous in your replies if you weren't English. Seems to me many on here have trouble accepting that the greatest footballer Britain has ever produced was from the comparitively tiny country of Northern Ireland and not England. Most of you do concede that he was an exceptional player, but do you appreciate just how exceptional? I doubt it.
Bottom line is that alcoholism is a disease and there is a genetic element in a lot of cases. Best's mother died an alcoholic, and it's a trait he has obviously inherited. He left home at 14 to go to united, earned a hell of a lot of money for his age, was a nationwide pin-up, and enjoyed a drink, who wouldn't in his situation? He lived in a world where every time he walked into a pub people wanted to buy him a drink. For a guy who has alcoholism in his genes, what chance did he have?
I don't agree with him getting a new liver, but don't blame Best for that, blame the laws that allow it to happen. If you are on your death bed and can afford life-saving treatment, are you going to turn it down? Are you fu.ck.
I don't agree with his violence towards women and I won't try and defend that, I'm not saying he was a top human being, but remember this. The English media has enjoyed nothing more over the years than putting Best down. Nothing to write about? What's George been up to? Send a couple of boys down the pub and get them to ply him with drink, then take a picture of him sleeping it off on the park bench. Because that sort of thing went on, no doubt about it. He may get the violent head on when he's pis.sed, but nothing like to the scale of what the tabloids make out.
And now, when the guy is lying on his death bed, some uninformedcome on here and feel the need to share their wisdom on how he deserves to die?? Shower of w@nkers and you should be ashamed of yourselves.
In 20 years time when it's Gazza, an ENGLISH footballing hero, lying on his death bed after falling off the wagon spectacularly and after a life of binge drinking and wife-beating, remember what you said about George Best. Let's see what you say then.
Well said as ever Mister Craig


People need to wake up to the fact that alcoholism is a mental illness and ditch the shi.tty stigma
Its easy to pass judgement on what you dont understand...a hell of a lot harder to judge correctly