OF THE BIGGEST TRANSFER BUST-UPS EVER!
DAVE BASSETT’S LEAGUE OF CATS
When Pierre van Hooijdonk left a club, he generally didn’t go quietly. A spell at Celtic ended acrimoniously after a wage dispute – the Dutchman was quoted as saying that £7,000 a week “may be good enough for the homeless, but not for an international striker”. He later claimed he was misquoted, but things were no calmer when he joined Nottingham Forest. After the East Midlands side reneged on a promise to let him leave after promotion, the angry frontman went on strike amid dissatisfaction at boss Dave Bassett. “We were doing f**k all in training,” he later told FFT. “People say we became champions, but so what? It’s about players as well. If you were to change all of the managers in the league for cats, there will still be one champion and three clubs will get relegated. Does that mean the cat who is champion is fantastic and the three who got relegated are s**t?” Er, quite…
MISS WORLD’S FUR COAT
George Best’s final 18 months at Manchester United were somewhat turbulent. First, the Northern Irishman announced his retirement in 1972, aged 26, then changed his mind – only to be suspended and transfer-listed by Reds boss Frank O’Farrell soon afterwards, for persistent partying. Best retired for a second time, then changed his mind for a second time, before things imploded spectacularly midway through United’s relegation season. He refused to feature for the club ever again after being dropped by Tommy Docherty in January 1974, after missing training to go on a three-day bender. Weeks later, Best was arrested for stealing a fur coat from Miss World, although he was quickly cleared. This time, though, his decision to quit
