Taking some quiet time to remember the best of George

HUGH McILVANNEY, the great Scottish sportswriter, sketched a scene for his readers of a Saturday afternoon in an Old Trafford press box which coughed out cigarette smoke.

The number 11 in red unfurled an outrageous piece of skill in front of the visiting reporters. After drilling the ball into the roof of the net with “a fierce simplicity”, he wheeled away with his hand raised in familiar celebration.

“What was the time for that Best goal?” a cub reporter asked a wily veteran at his elbow.