30/04/2026
Tommy Docherty was a 'rubbish" only good for one liners in interviews..He was sacked because he was BENT..Taking backhanders on transfer deals, playing both sides of agaist each other and LIED about Denis Law's transfer to City..He wasn't fit to manage Manchester Unired. And George Best thoroughly disliked him as a con man
The Doc was building something specific the "Red Army." It was all about graft, fitness, and high-energy football. Then you had George. He was a genius, but by ’74, he was a ghost. He was missing training, turning up late, and basically treating the club like an afterthought. The breaking point at the Plymouth game is the stuff of legend. George rocks up to the ground expecting to play, and the Doc just shuts the door in his face.
It was a massive "club over superstar" moment. You have to respect the Doc for it he was trying to save us from relegation and couldn't have one rule for the lads and another for a bloke who was spending more time in the pub than on the training pitch. He knew that if he didn't bin George, he’d lose the respect of the whole dressing room.
But god, it’s depressing. We went from the heights of ’68 to sacking our biggest icon in a cold January afternoon just to try and survive in the First Division (and we still went down anyway).
Docherty always said later: "I didn’t sack George Best. George Best sacked himself."
It’s proper grim when you think about it. The Greatest ever to wear the #7 effectively done at 27. The Doc was right to do it you can’t run a club on nostalgia but it was the day the magic officially died. It took us decades to find that kind of swagger again.
