Retro Football: Francis Lee Very Obviously Accuses George Best Of Diving During Manchester Derby, 1971 (Video)

Chris Wright

31st, October 2014

By Chris Wright

Soccer - Manchester City

Francis Lee: One of football’s original style icons

It’s perhaps unsurprising that with both City and United going into the game as equals and fielding two of the best teams in each club’s respective history, the 1971 Manchester derby at Maine Road proved to be a classic.

Over 63,000 fans crammed into the stadium to watch a City side featuring the likes of Colin Bell, Mike Summerbee, Joe Corrigan and Francis Lee slug out a gruelling 3-3 draw against a United team boasting George Best, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law et al.

During the corresponding fixture at Old Trafford the previous season, a reckless challenge from a frustrated George Best – United were losing 1-4 at home – left City full-back Glyn Pardoe with a broken leg (seen at 0:24 in this highlights reel).

With the first derby of the 1971/72 campaign coming so early in the season (6th November, to be exact) there was an extra frisson of blood and thunder in the air, with a few choice tackles flying in – especially on Best.

However, Francis Lee was not impressed with the way Best handled the physical treatment – demonstrating just what he thought of the United forward’s theatrics after knocking him to the ground with an “agricultural” shove of his very own…

The GIF version…

Tell us what you really think, Franny!

As for the game itself, City came back from 0-2 and 2-3 down to steal a point – though it was the men from Maine Road who finished the season with the bragging rights after finishing four points ahead of United in the Division One standings.

Posted in Featured, Man City, Man Utd, Retro, Videos

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