MATT BARLOW: The amazing tale of East Ham 7 West Ham 8… as fans paid just 45p to watch George Best, Bobby Moore and Jimmy Greaves in action for 15-goal thriller in London

Terence McMillan was a Labor councilor and the mayor of Newham when it was first formed by the merger of East and West Ham in 1965, and the modest stadium named after him, near Canning Town, hosted school sports and amateur football .

George Best was one of the most recognizable footballers in the world when he emerged there. It was a Sunday afternoon, two years after his last appearance for Manchester United and eight days before his arrival in Los Angeles to confirm he was joining the Aztecs in the NASL.

He was 29 and perhaps looking for a little competitive practice. Although he also probably just agreed to help out a mate and fancied a kick-on and a few drinks when he agreed to don the stripes of East Ham United.

His presence energized the crowd for a match against West Ham to raise some money for the ailing London Spartan League club and launch Frank Lampard’s testimonial year.

Best had played only fleetingly since leaving Old Trafford. There was a four-match trip to South Africa for the Jewish Guild in Johannesburg, before turning out for Dunstable Town, where Barry Fry, an old friend from their time together in Manchester United’s youth academy, had taken his first managerial job.

George Best, Bobby Moore and Jimmy Greaves all featured in the iconic match

Best’s presence boosted the crowd for a match against West Ham to raise some money for the ailing London Spartan League club

Fry not only convinced Tommy Docherty to release Best’s registration to play in two friendlies, he also secured United as opponents in the first. Creasey Park was bursting at the seams. Thousands more were left out as Dunstable won 3-2. Legend has it that Best gave back £25 of his £200 appearance fee to help the sixth tier team buy new nets.

Best appeared in testimonials from Jeff Astle and Peter Osgood, made a brief comeback to Stockport County in Division Four – four games, including the friendly against Stoke, organized to help him settle in – and made three appearances for Cork Celtic.

“George played for nothing,” Fry recalls. ‘When he was playing for Dunstable his car broke down on the road. He called from the Knutsford service and said, ‘Baz, you’re not going to believe this…’ I thought, ‘here we go’, because he had a reputation for not turning up, but he said, ‘Don’t worry , I’ll come.’ jump in a cab,” and he made it.

‘That was George. He loved playing football and he loved helping friends. He was warm, generous, witty, intelligent and brilliant company.

“He stayed with me in Bedford after the game and I drove him to Michael Parkinson’s house the next day where he spent time when he was lying low.”

Jimmy Greaves, aged 35 and then playing for Chelmsford City in the Southern League, turned up and scored a couple of

Even in later years, when Best was a fading force and struggling with alcoholism, he kept the turnstiles clicking. His last competitive games on these shores were against Bournemouth in 1983. By then his determination to get to kick-offs had waned.

They diligently placed signs outside the Dean Court ground warning ‘George Best is not playing today’ when he failed to turn up. A crowd of 4,250 saw him play for East Ham in February 1976, with an entry fee of 45p. West Ham lost at Coventry the previous day, amid poor league form that almost put them in relegation trouble in a season that saw them reach the final of the European Cup-Winners’ Cup.

Yet no one wondered whether boss Ron Greenwood’s permission might be necessary. They regularly met for impromptu games in the summer near the Hainaut Forest, before spending an evening at The Retreat pub. This, they decided, was no different.

Bobby Moore played, FA Cup hero Alan Taylor scored three and goalkeeper Mervyn on day two as the Hammers won 8-7. Jimmy Greaves, aged 35 and then playing for Chelmsford City in the Southern League, turned up and scored a couple. Trevor Brooking got the other.

West Ham United and England legend Bobby Moore also played in the match

Best headed to the United States and enjoyed his first summer with the Aztecs before returning to spend a season in Division Two with Fulham, the opposition for Lampard’s main testimonial match, in the autumn of the same year.

Best and Moore both played in that match for Fulham in front of 16,597 at Upton Park. Towards the end of the year, Best was part of the Northern Ireland team again and starred against the Netherlands, Europe’s best team at the time, in a World Cup qualifier.

With the ball, 1976 turned out to be a good year for him. It all started with Terence McMillan, now home to Clapton FC from the Eastern Counties, and led to Rotterdam, where he fulfilled a promise to beat Johan Cruyff in a 2-2 draw. Looking back on an era when Cristiano Ronaldo leads a parade of post-prime footballers to Saudi Arabia, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that they were just having a bit more fun playing football back then – and that they really shouldn’t have exchanged for money.

Admire the pyramid

Only two of the twelve matches in League One survived the international break. Oxford United had six players away with their country: Ciaron Brown (N Ireland), Greg Leigh (Jamaica), James Beadle (England U21s), Sonny Perkins (England U20s), Tyler Goodrham (Rep of Ireland U21s) and Fin Stevens (Wales U21). Further evidence of rising standards in the lower leagues and worrying times for managers with limited resources. Brown was injured against Slovenia.

New rules put an end to a time-wasting epidemic

The total number of yellow cards in the Premier League has risen to 176, compared to 147 at the same stage last season. The average ball-in-play maxes out at 59 minutes and 14 seconds, compared to 54 minutes and 43 seconds, while the added time is just over three minutes. Figures that indicate stricter rules of conduct reduce the time-wasting epidemic.

A fourth official adds nine minutes to the clock towards the end of Everton’s game with Villa

Luxembourg’s unlikely rise continues

The rise of little Luxembourg continues with a third victory in a row. The latest victims were Iceland, a country they studied closely in their quest to become more competitive. They have 10 points from five games, the same as Slovakia in Group J, but if they really want to shake off the pub team label they should consider changing their nickname to ‘Red Lions’.

Too much water for Buxton in Scunthorpe

Buxton is renowned as a water source, but the irony cannot have been much consolation when the heavens opened on Saturday and their National League North match at Scunthorpe was abandoned in the 94th minute, with the visitors leading 2-1.