City Legends Pay tribute to Best

[Huckerbys right foot]

TWO City legends who played against and beat a Manchester United side including George Best have paid tribute to one of the game's all-time greats, who died today aged 59.

Terry Allcock and Dave Stringer played in the Norwich City side which stunned a 63,000 Old Trafford crowd with a 2-1 FA Cup 4th Round win in 1967, against a side which included Bobby Charlton, Denis Law - and Best.

And today both men were united in hailing the mercurial Northern Ireland international as one of the best players the game has ever known

Allcock captained second division City to their shock win over the Red Devils, when two breakaway goals from Heath and Bolland sent Lol Morgan's men back to Norfolk with a famous scalp under their belts.

He told First News: "On that day we withstood wave after wave of United attacks, with Best instrumental in a lot of them. He was just such a tremendous natural talent. He had unbelievable close control and dribbling skills, excellent finishing instincts, great pace and also he was a brave player."

Best's bravery in an era when uncompromising defenders had little time or sympathy for tricky little wingers is often over-looked as later generations enjoy some of his most sumptuous moments of skill on old video highlights.

But Allcock considers it a vital ingredient in the mix that sets the Old Trafford hero shoulder to shoulder with the finest players to grace the game of football:

"His skill and his flamboyance were there for all to see, but he had a lot of courage for a winger in that era. He was small but deceptively strong and like all good players he knew how to look after himself on the pitch. He was just one of those players that even if you kept him quiet for half an hour you knew could undo you with a moment of genius.

"I was privileged to play against some of this country's greatest players like Len Shackleton and John Charles - and I played as a schoolboy on the same team as the late, great Duncan Edwards.

"But I would probably have to put Besty at the top of the tree when it comes to the best players the British Isles have produced. Today is a sad day for everybody in British football."

Former Canary boss Dave Stringer was a young right-back who had the daunting task of marking Best on that chilly February afternoon in 1967.

I asked him what the secret was to keeping Best quiet on the day - he replied: "It must have been the pure adrenalin of the occasion as he was just such a handful for defenders. They had 63,000 fans expecting nothing else but a win that day and there was no pressure on us - that's just how it goes sometimes.

"He was supremely confident though I don't think he was arrogant. I watched a clip of him scoring a double hat-trick against Northampton the other day and he looked more embarrassed than anything else.

"It was a different game physically in those days of course but he could ride or go through a tackle with ease when he wanted to and of course he was a clinical finisher."

Stringer also recognised that Best was the first football 'celebrity' to find himself as much a star off the pitch as he was on it.

He recalled: "He came along around the same time as the Beatles and some people felt he had the same impact on the game of football in this country as they did musically.

He became like a pop star himself I guess and certainly enjoyed his life to the full.
"It's sad because he could have been with us for a lot longer, but ultimately he made his choices and certainly enjoyed life.

"I read that Pele put him in a list as one of the world's greatest players and I would have to go along with that. He was a tremendous character."

Source: www.canaries.co.uk


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