George was the best I ever played against (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

George was the best I ever played against

Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland legend George Best died on Friday after losing his long battle with alcoholism. Former Chelsea captain Ron Harris, who now lives in Warminster, shared his memories of Best with sports reporter ANDY CRYER

BEING made a fool of in front of a packed Stamford Bridge would be bad enough, but to be reminded of it once a week for several years just adds insult to injury.

The man in question was one of football's most feared hard men, Ron 'Chopper' Harris, but, rather than blotting out the infamous moment George Best made him look silly, he speaks with a sense of pride about just getting the chance to compete against "one of the game's greatest."

Harris was playing for Chelsea against Manchester United in a League Cup tie in the mid-1960s when Best broke through the Blues' defence with just the keeper to beat.

Harris raced in, intent on bringing him down, but Best casually rode the tackle before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting the ball into the empty net.

The goal was shown on the opening credits of BBC television's Grandstand for many years afterwards but "Chopper" is quick to point out he was not the first or the last to be bamboozled by the mercurial Irishman.

Harris, 61, who now lives in Warminster and runs his own "Chopper Harris Promotions" business, said: "I tried to cut him in half but he just shrugged me off as though I was not there. A modern day player would probably still be writhing around on the floor, but Best was one of the bravest I have ever played against.

"Ability wise I don't think anyone could touch him and that was on the terrible pitches of the time. What he could have been capable of today on the bowling greens they play on in the Premiership is quite frightening.

"He had two good feet, quick feet, a fantastic first touch, real bravery, was good in the air and had amazing vision.

"What more is there? In today's world I think he would have been priceless."

Harris's illustrious 17-year career at Chelsea saw him pit his wits against other greats such as Rodney Marsh, Stan Bowles and Charlie George, but for Harris, there was only one George Best.

"He was the best player I ever played against," he said.

"I was always given the task to man-to-man mark him, but that was easier said than done.

"I spoke to one photographer after one Chelsea v Manchester United game and he said out of the 52 photos he had of George Best, I was standing next to him in 50 of them.

"We always did quite well at Old Trafford but when George played at Stamford Bridge he always gave me a very hard time.

"If I tried to rough him up, which I did, it seemed to make him even more determined.

"Nowadays if a player gets kicked early on they don't fancy it, but George just kept coming back at you.

"He would tantalise me and wish me 'better luck next time' after taking the ball round me.

"People talk about how good Thierry Henry is for Arsenal but given the choice between the two I would choose George Best every time. He was a genius and a legend."

Best belonged to a golden age of footballers where entertainment was the main priority and phrases such as 'floating on the stock market" and "Sky television deals" were strangers to the beautiful game.

There were no million pound transfer fees while the idea of foreign imports seemed a different world away.

"Football was enjoyable then," said Harris.

"I think all the excitement has gone out of it nowadays. The only character I can think of in recent times was Paul Gascoigne.

"In my day people used to go and watch the likes of Best, Bowles, Peter Osgood and Mike Summerbee simply because of the flair they brought to the game. That flair does not exist any more.

"With all the foreign managers coming into the game and the amount of money riding on it, off the cuff football has disappeared.

"In a lot of the Premiership matches the players are not fit to lace the boots of the players' from my time."

Best, the player who best summed up the flair of the 1960s, later became known as the game's first iconic player but as the adulation of the crowd and media interest in his lifestyle grew, his career started to decline.

'El Beatle', as he was dubbed for his extravagant lifestyle, made numerous comebacks to the game but finally quit Old Trafford at the age of 27.

Since then, despite spells as a pundit and a speaker on the after dinner circuit, Best's addiction to alchohol could never be overcome, leading to his death at the Cromwell Hospital, London on Friday aged 59.

Harris worked with Best just over a year ago on the after dinner speaking circuit and described him as "a lovely fellow off the pitch".

Harris said: "George, Jimmy Greaves and myself worked together for a while. George was a loveable fellow who had a very dry wit.

"No one I have ever met has ever had a bad word to say about him. He had his problems and has made his mistakes, but he never blamed anyone for that.

"I believe that if there had been someone at the club looking after him years ago he would never have got in this situation. He lacked good advice from people round him.

"He quit when he was just in his prime and if you look at his track record of goals and games his career, short as it was, was fantastic."

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