Product Description

Michael Parkinson: 'What was the nearest to kick-off that you made love to a woman?'George Best: 'Er- I think it was half-time actually'George Best was the first celebrity footballer and to many the greatest British player ever. In Scoring at Half-Time he gathers together his favourite memories, stories and anecdotes from his experiences in and out of the game over the last forty years. No dressing room door is left unopened, no player's bar tale untold and no secret kept in this fond, humorous look at football's golden era from the man who was usually there when it happened. Inside stories and lurid tales about George, Bobby, Denis, Nobby and Fergie amongst others. Scoring at Half-Time will delight anyone who has ever wanted to spend time in the company of the footballing legend.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #136089 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 338 pages

The Bookseller
'...packed with amusing stories...'

About the Author
Blessed with an extraordinary gift, George Best brought a beauty and grace to football. Christened the Fifth Beatle at his peak, Best was the first pop star footballer and had teenage girls flocking to Old Trafford decades before the likes of Giggs and Beckham. Unable to cope with the success and fame that his talent brought him, Best fell into alcoholism and his life has been littered with tales of women, sex and drink. Despite well-documented problems with his health and private life over the past few years, George Best has shown that he still retains the energy and character that have made him an icon to his many fans.

Customer Reviews

Simply the best
There are hardly any good books about football. Why else is 'Fever Pitch' still regarded as one of the best. But Nick Hornby is just League Two compared to George Best, who writes as wicked as he played. 'Scoring at Half-Time' makes your stomach hurt as much as his liver. It is full of self-ironic anecdotes and definetely the funniest football book ever.

Good stuff but very sad
Written in a breezy, self-deprecating style the book captures George Best at a point in his life where he seems to have a perspective on himself and his past and is looking forward to a sober,rewarding future. Sadly, that frame of mind and that hope is perhaps dashed. This aside the book seldom strays into the self-introspection that characterirsed Blessed and is an appropriate follow-up. Stories, some old - some new, abound and his observations and reflections on the characters around him during his heyday are often genuinely funny. The story about George, Eusebio and a book signing is among the best I've come across.

George at His Best
The writing style of this book takes a little getting used to, but if you persevere you will be rewarded with an insight into George Best and the world of football from an era that is sadly long gone now. Back in those days footballers were not millionaires and were not untouchable. Back then though there were similarities with today’s game and for an example take George Best's description of Wolverhampton Wanderers Billy Wright from the 1950s and David Beckham from today’s scene. The stories that George Best relates throughout the pages of this book will shock you, open your eyes, make you laugh and sometimes cry. George best is very frank about the game and I learnt many things about football from his era that I had not previously realized. The biggest impressing this book made upon me is the fact that the footballers from George Best's time were ordinary men playing on a football field and as a result many of the accounts on the surface feel ordinary - but the way George Best relates them is anything but ordinary. Sadly, George Best passed away on Friday the 25th of November 2005. Reading this book is one way to keep this great footballing genius' memory alive in all of us.