The Best football book you'll ever read, 30 Oct 2000

George's life is celebrated and chronicled in a new biography by Sunday Times Football correspondent Joe Lovejoy entitled Bestie. It provides a detailed and articlate account of the life of a legend- the booze, the birds and the football are all covered and the only surprise is that it takes just 372 pages to do it.

George Best is an ideal topic for a biography as there are endless topics and incidents to cover in a life packed full of drama. Lovejoy guides us through the rollercosrter that starts in Belfast going via Manchester, London, America returning to England's capital. Lovejoy's affectionate tone suggests that like any true football fan of his or any era they are totally in awe of the genius that was and still is George Best. This lead his manager of many years Sir Matt Busby to say to his assistant ' Don't coach hiom, he's genius'. As expected the book is full of superb football anecdotes including Best the perfectionist who whilst still at school in Belfast, worrying about being a one footed player reverted to only using his left in one game and scored 11 times.

Lovejoy's affectionate narration is supported by contributions from his peers and friends in the game such as Mike Summerbee, Dave Sadler and Rodney Marsh but it's the second half of the Sixties where Bests genius was arguably at its peak. Under the virtual parental guidance of manager Sir Matt Busby, Best and Manchester United flourished, blossomed and dominated the English and European game just as they are doing today. But this era was somewhat different with Best, Law ans Charlton being made legends.

So with all this success so soon it was probably only a matter of time before it all went wrong. Not before the Best of the late Sixties revelled in his unparrelled notoriety, being hailed as the fifth Beatle and adorning the bedroom walls of both sexes Best was now the first pop star footballer. As Manchester United declined so did Best. This occured in the early Seventies when United became an average First Division side and George's playboy lifestyle took over. Over the next 15 years Best retired, came back, left the club again, went to America, came back to Fulham, got married, played in England again, was declared bankrupt and jailed. But to Best all this is a little blurred. Football became secondary as the alcohol, gambling and the Miss Worlds took priority.

At about the same time as George's appetite for booze became almost intolerable to those close to him, one of those closest to him contracted the same disease. His mother Ann Best tee total till the age of 40 died because of booze some five years later in 1978. His Mothers death leads to an extremely touching chapter where both George and her clearly bessotted husband Dickie describe those last painful years of her life. This chapter is delicately dealt with by Lovejoy and would befit any book but provides a touching alternative to all of George's high jinx.

You can't help but feel sympathetic to the flawed genius as via Lovejoy's descriptions he seems such a genuine man who reacted in the only way he saw how when he had fame thrust upon him. Unlike the Owen's of today Best had no-one to learn from, he had to make his own mistakes but no doubt he had fun making them.

Lovejoy's account is unparalled in its excellence in the Football literature genre, where often the offerings are painful to read this isn a pleasure. It packs no punches giving a thoroughly detailed account of a life definitely lived. It dismisses the myth that Best was merely a boozing womaniser who treated football as a sideline but as a football obsessed genius who liked a drink and liked the ladies. For a first book this is definitely a great debut.

Review by Mark Stanford

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The Best, 22 May 2000

Joe, if you are out there, please lets have one about Gazza!

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