Depending on your point of view, George Best is either the carefree hedonist who played football for the love of it, and gleefully enjoyed the fringe benefits (booze 'n' birds) which came with the territory, or he is the sad, shambolic, wife-beating alcoholic who frittered away his God-given gifts. Both perspectives are given a full airing in Best Intentions, an old Ulster TV documentary which has been re-released on video to coincide with Best, the recent biopic starring John Lynch as George Best. This isn't exactly a polished piece of film-making. Many of the interviews seem to have taken place in howling gales (you can¹t listen to Dennis Law without being distracted by the way his hair dances in the wind), and the archive footage is very clumsily edited. Nevertheless, all the key witnesses are grilled. No, Bobby Charlton insists, there was never really any rift between him and the boy wonder--they were just very different personalities. His old manager Matt Busby remembers him as good-natured, quiet lad who used to stay behind on the training pitch to help the youngsters. Busby's relationship with the Belfast prodigy was akin to that of an ailing father with his lovable, reckless teenage son. Best vexed and exasperated Sir Matt, but helped him win the European Cup. As Best says, it was probably a fair trade-off. Everybody liked George, even his fiercest critics. His ex-wife Angie, his shaggy-haired old manager Bill McMurdo and former team-mates like Pat Jennings and Pat Crerand all trot out well-worn anecdotes about what a "smashing bloke" he is. George himself gives honest answers to questions on his drinking and playboy antics. If you're in any doubt why people make such a fuss of him, it only takes a few seconds of old footage of him prancing around opponents on the pitch to remind us that he really was the footballing genius the hype proclaims him to be. --Geoffrey Macnab Product Description George Best is arguably the greatest player ever to set foot on a football pitch. Blessed by genius, he had the confidence and arrogance to try absolutely anything matched to a charismatic character that reached a far greater audience than those on the terraces at Old Trafford. The first of the new footballing superstars, Best marked the transition of players from simply dedicated professionals to pop culture icons. Unable to cope with the temptations of his celebrity lifestyle, indulged himself to excess in alcohol, late nights and women and as a consequence walked out on top flight football aged just 26.In this programme we go back to Bests home town of Belfast and are introduced to his family and friends. Catch a glimpse of Best playing on his local park where he was spotted by a Manchester United talent scout before journeying to Old Trafford for an in-depth profile of his career at the 'Theatre Of Dreams'.

• published: 20 May 2011
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