best and charlton

These are the two latest books I have read. The George Best on was a lot more interesting, even though I had read most of the stories before. The Bobby Charlton one was what I expected really, nothing too exciting or groundbreaking, but it did have some good parts, mainly about Munich in 1958 (as you would expect) and his fallout with his brother Jackie. One thing I learned from the books was that Charlton was as fast, if not faster than Best when sprinting during training (Best admits it). I would never have guessed that.

The Bestie book was better towards the end, unlike Best himself. I know he did not want pity, and in lots of ways he was having the life he wanted, but towards the end he was a bit of a sad bastard. The fact that he was controlling, jealous, unreliable and aggressive when drunk is a real shame, as a lot of people who would have come into contact with him when he was like that will just remember him as a twat. As for Alex Best, in the book they have just celebrated their second anniversary, but already there have been rows and walkouts, plus physical abuse from both sides. Alex defends George for hitting her, saying she provokes him. He says she can dish it out as well as anyone (and admits he has hit women before). Classic stuff that I have heard a million times, let's face it, it was never going to last. I am kind of glad I never met George, they say don't meet your heroes, and if I had met him in his later years, I would definitely have been disappointed. Might make an exception for Cantona though.