UKC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/4480682.stm

England captain David Beckham thinks United should retire their number seven shirt in honour of Best.

Beckham wore the same shirt when he played at Old Trafford and he believes it would be a fitting tribute.

"It was one of the biggest honours to have been given the number seven shirt which George Best wore," said Beckham.

"If Manchester United came out and said they would retire the shirt, it would be an amazing tribute to a great man."



Hmmmmm??? Not sure about that.Perhaps some kind of other tribute at Old trafford???

Not that there's anything wrong with it???

views peeps?

In reply to Carpe Diem:

A silly idea IMHO. There have been loads of very good players who have now passed on - should all those numbers be retired?

In reply to MaxB:

Yeah, whatever next?... West Ham talking to the pitch with Roman numerals on the back of their shirts in honour of Paolo Di Canio?

In reply to Carpe Diem: Actually I quite like the idea (argentina have done it for Maradona's number 10 shirt and he isn't even dead!).

You clearly wouldn't do it for everyone, but as a one-off I don't think it is such a bad idea. (Ronaldo might be p*ssed of though).

In reply to Clauso:



... and a little dance mimicking the pushing of a ref

In reply to Clauso: Why not retire climbs too - as a mark of respect? I'm getting a petition going to 'retire' Quartz Gully at Glendalough, and have a plaque at the foot saying "Darren Jackson, the Man-Owl, climbed here with the his feathered friend, Marc C, September 2005".

Good idea IMO. Basketball does it all the time, although double digit shirt numbers are common so you have more to retire. Anyone not know who wore number 23?

Didn't arsenal retire no 6 in honour of tony adams?

Should be done sparingly, but I reckon it's a fitting way for a club to honour a player. It should be done in the traditions of the club, though Best is a case a little bit out of the ordinary.

In reply to Carpe Diem: could be a comedy way to teach people perculiar number systems. If you started retiring loads of shirts you may soon end up with very long numbers on the players backs, so to shorten them you could introduce hex or other bases. Or am I just being silly here. Probably. I'll go away now.

In reply to Marc C:

Now you're just being silly?...

On a more serious note, why not use the Dewey Decimal Classification System to assign unique IDs to footballers? Not only will they be able to transfer their shirt number easily between clubs - no more Dressing Room tantrums over who's wearing 7 this season - , but, they can also have their ID barcoded on to themselves as a tattoo? This barcode can then be flashed on the scoreboard when substitutions are required, read by a barcode reader, and relayed to a hitman, hidden high in the stands toting a tranquliser gun. He can then shoot the player concerned with a dart and, voila!, no more substitution tantrums either!

In reply to Clauso:


PMSL!!!! That would be so funny to watch. Could expand use of it to curb over-enthusiatic celebrations as well....

In reply to Clauso:
Haha, Very good

In reply to Clauso:
couldnt the other team hire someone though to take out appropriate played with a missle that is guided to is number thing just as he is about to score?

In reply to Carpe Diem: silly idea i think.also i know he was good but compared to todays best players he wouldnt stand a chance.

In reply to Carpe Diem:

They did it for Jimmy Davis, the youngster who died a couple of years ago.

In reply to mark s:

ARE YOU DOING CLASS A DRUGS?!?!?!?

He'd wipe the floor with them!

In reply to Carpe Diem: He's got a point actually, even in his prime Best's fitness/conditioning would not compare to that expected of a Man United player nowadays (whether or not all of them are actually up to it). When you see a photo of him at his peak he does not actually look particularly athletic in comparison to a modern (top class) professional. By halftime in a current premiership game he would probably be breathing out of his hoop and be well off the pace. None of this is a reflection on his natural talent which was superb, just a fact that training methods have improved vastly. In the 60s top players could get away with highly scientific "training" consisting of running up and down sand dunes till they spewed, a night on the batter before the game, and a pre match meal of steak and chips.

In reply to mark s:


Have you seen some of the conditions they were playing in? Cloying mud, pitches cut up by half time!

Don't assume he wouldn't have coped, in the era of squad rotation and snooker table like surfaces. Take for e.g. Matt Le Tissier; an unfit, smoking heap but was blessed with sensational skills. If it weren't for his liking of the South Coast and his "other" interests he'd have made more of an impact. Fitness isn't the be all etc when you have "the gift"

It's all apples and oranges though...

In reply to Lewis climber:

So... carb loading and high intensity interval sesisons? Still done today!!

In reply to Lewis climber: Of course fitness wise, but if in todays world he'd have the advantage of diets, new training techniques, stupid comparison.