As part of its ‘initiatives about mental health issues’ commitment BBC 2 is to going to air a show about the late great footballer George Best and the alcoholism issues in his family (his mother was apparently equally keen on the hard stuff).
Well this is all fine and good but it’s not the point about George.
He was arguably the best player who ever lived, you don’t know because as a Northern Irish international he never went to the World Cup or the European Championships.
But was Pele better, or Maradonna or Cruyff?
George died a couple of years ago from the booze but I suspect that was just because he was bored. At his peak he was as good as a footballer could be, and he played with some great ones like Bobby Charlton and Denis Law at Manchester United.
There’s the famous old story about George in a hotel with some Miss World or other. A porter comes in and sees George on the bed with this lady and his winnings from a recent visit to the casino splayed all over the bedspread.
“Where did it all go wrong George?” he asks.
But George wasn’t just about the booze he was a great star with nowhere to go.