George Best

[RIP Bestie]

Just a wee mention to honour the memory of the greatest footballer I've ever seen.
11 years since we lost you George. May you forever rest in peace

[Dashing Bob S]

Just a wee mention to honour the memory of the greatest footballer I've ever seen.
11 years since we lost you George. May you forever rest in peace

Great player. Legend. George Street wasn't named after him but it should have been.

[northstandhibby]

[QUOTE=RIP Bestie;4865557]Just a wee mention to honour the memory of the greatest footballer I've ever seen.
11 years since we lost you George. May you forever rest in peace QUOTE]

It was a huge surprise at the time that Besty was signing for us and even though it was in his twilight of his unbelievable career it was a massive honour to see him at ER. Thanks to Mr HIbs Tom Hart.

God bless you besty.

[lyonhibs]

That must make it slightly less than 11 years since we played Rangers and tore them apart in the first half especially. Barry Ferguson eventually getting sent off after Thomson mugged him off once too often.

The East was in fine voice that day IIRC with a few renditions of "Only one George Best".

[Leithenhibby]

As a wee boy I would be glued to the box watching this masterclass at work. A real footballing hero of mine, and ultimately the best football player to grace this planet, in my opinion.

The Hibs fans that were able/ old enough to see him play in the green & white knew he would light up a dreek, damp miserable day on that big wide open terrace. Loved the man. His Son, Callum, read out this poem at his Dads funnel.... RIP

Farewell our friend, but not goodbye.
Your time has come, your soul must fly.
To dance with angels, find the sun,
but how we'll miss our special one.

He walks among us just a while,
weaved your magic, made us smile.
Your life was so full of light and tears,
we lived it through you, through the years.

The golden days, they went so fast.
The precious times, why can't they last?
So many loved you, did you know?
We were not ready to let you go.

The stars from Heaven are only lent.
A gift from God, that's why they're sent.
We won't forget our Belfast boy,
he filled our lives with so much joy.
Your star will shine now in the sky.
Farewell our friend, but not goodbye.

GGTTH

[IlDiavola]

Maybe not THE best I've ever seen but in the top five without a doubt.

Loved George Best :not worth

[Sas_The_Hibby]

Great player and seemed like a great guy too.

Helped make the sixties, in particular, what they were, on and off the football field.

Sad that he never played in a major tournament and tragic that he was unable to kick the booze.

Thanks for the memories.

[emerald green]

George scored so many wonderful goals for Manchester United.

The goal I particularly remember was his brilliant individual goal in extra time in the European Cup final against Benfica at Wembley to put United 2-1 up on the night. United then went on to win the trophy by 4-1.

A special talent. Ahead of his time.

[Mr White]

George scored so many wonderful goals for Manchester United.

The goal I particularly remember was his brilliant individual goal in extra time in the European Cup final against Benfica at Wembley to put United 2-1 up on the night. United then went on to win the trophy by 4-1.

A special talent. Ahead of his time.

https://youtu.be/-S_EjrlAIBY

What a performance.

[Just Jimmy]

Not hibs best ever player, but probably the best ever player to play for hibs.

Different class and i wish i could have seen him in his heyday and not just on film.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Wigson13]

Even when he played for Hibs and was "past it" he still stood out a mile with his sheer class, probably one of the best players I've seen playing for Hibs. The only player close as far as I'm concerned was Latapy on his game!

[Golden Bear]

I feel very privileged to have seen a true genius at work. When he was with us the skill was there, the football brain was there but alas the legs had started to go.

[northstandhibby]

https://youtu.be/-S_EjrlAIBY

What a performance.

That was fabulous to watch. What a player!!!

:not worth

[Marco G]

I feel very privileged to have seen a true genius at work. When he was with us the skill was there, the football brain was there but alas the legs had started to go.
Lucky to see him playing for us and drinking in his "local" while he was at Fulham! He did not need much in way of legs with us, remember him spraying defence splitting passes without any apparent effort. One of the best footballers ever.

[IberianHibernian]

I remember seeing him play at ER in a Hibs v team from LA friendly . Did he play a half for each team ? Remember we won 3 v 1 .

[wookie70]

By far the best player to play for Hibs in my time

[AltheHibby]

By far the best player to play for Hibs in my time

Couldn't agree more.

As an aside, and I'm not looking for a debate on having a UK team,just picture a UK team with a front line of Law, Best and Charlton. We would all be celebrating 1966,1970 and maybe 1974.

[mim]

Couldn't agree more.

As an aside, and I'm not looking for a debate on having a UK team,just picture a UK team with a front line of Law, Best and Charlton. We would all be celebrating 1966,1970 and maybe 1974.

We could call it Manchester United :wink:

Best is the best player I have ever seen.
I was lucky enough to see him in his hey day for United and it was a privilege to see him for a while at ER

[ancient hibee]

By far the best player to play for Hibs in my time


Surely the best player to play for Hibs should be someone who is at his best at Hibs not when he played somewhere else. There have been many,many players who played better at Hibs than Best did.

[wookie70]

Surely the best player to play for Hibs should be someone who is at his best at Hibs not when he played somewhere else. There have been many,many players who played better at Hibs than Best did.

Agreed, however in terms of how good a player they were, not just at Hibs, then George was the Best. Even at Hibs there were little cameos of his former self that showed what a player he was. I'm glad that the greatest British player played for us even if it was in the twilight of his career. With all the firsts and important historical moments Hibs as a club have been involved in it seems fitting that the greatest British player graced the green and white shirt.

[wookie70]

Also scored one of my favourite Hibs goals. Almost a shame that there is video footage as in my memory the ball had flames coming out of it as it took Latchford crashing into the back of the net https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVT-cgqKJsEs

[emerald green]

https://youtu.be/-S_EjrlAIBY

What a performance.

Great memories. I never get tired of watching that. Thanks for posting. :aok:

[jacomo]

Surely the best player to play for Hibs should be someone who is at his best at Hibs not when he played somewhere else. There have been many,many players who played better at Hibs than Best did.

Completely agree.

One of the Best, without a doubt, but one of the best Hibs players? Nope.

Even if you discount the FF and Tornadoes, plenty of players have done more for Hibs than Best did. But the fact that he played for us is still cool.

[heretoday]

He was past his best by the time he got to ER but he brought a lot of much needed income and glamour to the club.

He scored a couple of goals and missed a couple of games through being hungover.

[CyberSauzee]

When I was working at Canary Wharf in late 2003 early 2004 there was a book signing by Bestie.

A real pain as you first had to buy the book on the top floor, then head back down to the lowest level and queue up to meet the great man. The queue was an hours wait, but that didn't stop the multitudes from the offices from waiting patiently in line.

A privilege to meet him and share a few words about Hibs. He certainly had a soft spot for us - what he could remember that is!

An absolute gentleman to talk to. Gone far too soon.

[Itsnoteasy]

Completely agree.

One of the Best, without a doubt, but one of the best Hibs players? Nope.

Even if you discount the FF and Tornadoes, plenty of players have done more for Hibs than Best did. But the fact that he played for us is still cool.

But no signing drew the crowds that man did in his short spell with us.

[Scouse Hibee]

Have no memories of seeing him play, never registered with me, would have like to have seen him in his prime though.

[stu in nottingham]

I count myself fortunate enough to have seen George in his pomp playing for Manchester United along with Denis Law and Bobby Charlton and also with Hibs and Fulham.

I consider George to be the best of all-time, simply because at his peak it was impossible to understand how anyone could play this beautiful game any better.

His dribbling was mesmeric and artistic, quite different to anyone else's and he had an ability to absolutely demoralise opponents by beating them again and again. His surging breakaway runs from deep were something to behold, likewise his fabulous and insightful passing which seldom seems to be mentioned. He was tough and durable too as many a hard man defender in the sixties would testify. It's accepted that football habits are different now but going down under the slightest pressure for George was not something he did. Notorious defenders such as Ron Harris and Norman Hunter would hack and chop at him and he'd just get up and make them look stupid.

Georgie was not only a supreme attacking talent but would also run back after players and was an excellent tackler. For not a big man his heading was superior due to his athleticism and superb timing.

i'm not one to decry the modern greats but for me it's a fact that if George was around today, with better playing surfaces more protection from officials and better diet and training he would be the best player in the world...by a significant degree.

He was uttterly magic and you couldn't take your eyes off him when he was on the pitch, so blindingly brilliant was he and so charismatic and stylish.

What's more, he had a wee time at our club and I for one am happy that is woven into the fabric of Hibernian's rich history.