WI: George Best played for Brian Clough?

Duncan Hamilton, who wrote autobiographies for both Best and Clough, made this statement in an interview:

"One of the interesting things is that Brian thought about signing George for Derby in about 1971 or 72, after he had his first parting from Manchester United and he said he would have sorted him out in a month. So I would have been fascinated to see whether or not that was the case. I think he probably would have handled him a bit differently. I think the first meeting might have been very sparky. And I think he probably would have got the best out of George really."

Best also says in Hard Tackles and Dirty Baths, a 'history of football's golden years' which doubles as a semi-autobiography, at the start of the chapter on 1971-72: "I simply adored Brian Clough's management style, and perhaps it is one of my regrets that I was never a player under his leadership; I feel sure I would have enjoyed it immensely. I can imagine there being many people thing I was such a rebel there was no chance of me and Cloughie hitting it off. How wrong they would be. I had no time for liars and cheats, but Brian Clough was the genuine article and I wish he had been my manager because I know, under the right guidance, I could have stayed on and played at the highest level for longer than I did."

If Clough had signed Best for Derby in 1972, could they really have worked together? And if they had, and maybe gone on to win the European Cup in 1972-73 (they reached the semi-finals in OTL) would that have been enough to avert Clough and Taylor's acrimonious exit from Derby?
 
Also, if Best had signed for Clough, how long could he have really kept playing at the highest level - was his decline inevitable?
 
Best lost something post-1968 when Busby protected his inheritance by screwing up his successors as manager. David Miller's Busby biography is good on this.

Best felt, correctly, that he was at a club without real ambitions, and IIRC his serious drinking stated at about this time.

He should have gone to a club with ambition, which could have given him the incentive to kick on, and win things.

Clough could have been ideal for him, although I don't think this association would necessarily have lessened his alcohol consumption.
 
Best lost something post-1968 when Busby protected his inheritance by screwing up his successors as manager. David Miller's Busby biography is good on this.

Best felt, correctly, that he was at a club without real ambitions, and IIRC his serious drinking stated at about this time.

He should have gone to a club with ambition, which could have given him the incentive to kick on, and win things.

Clough could have been ideal for him, although I don't think this association would necessarily have lessened his alcohol consumption.

As much as it pains me to admit about my beloved United, you're probably right that there were more ambitious clubs that could have been better for Best at the time. Clough was actually always fairly strict with his players on alcohol (slightly hypocritically) and interestingly, Taylor had this to say, which may explain why they didn't sign Best: "Gamblers and womanisers I could handle by feeding their vices if necessary. Booze was the biggest problem. That and drugs. You’ve no chance with them."

Having said that, plenty of Forest's players liked a drink, and it's still an interesting possibility to consider.
 
Sunday July 11th 1982
George Best & Pat Jennings lift the trophy at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid as little Northern Ireland showed the world what we could do!:p

Who would believe that our wee country could beat the mighty Germans, adding their scalps to the names of Spain & France.:D

If only England, with all their superstars had the plucky determination of their Irish cousins. Man Utd immediately announce a world beating offer to Derby County of £2,500,000 for Best and £1,000,000 to Arsenal for Jennings!:eek:
 
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