Tales of beer, George Best and the plight of Barnet FC were reprised when England legend turned TV pundit Rodney Marsh visited the borough. IAN LLOYD reports

Rodney Marsh's mouth has a habit of landing him in trouble. In fact the outspoken Sky Sports pundit is about as flamboyant with his words as he was on the football pitch.

But Marsh's habit of 'telling it like it is' has endeared him to football fans across the country. So who better to ask about the trials and tribulations of Barnet FC a club left in limbo by the council's refusal to give them the go-ahead to build a new stadium.

"The way I look at Barnet FC is that it looks like they have been hung out to dry by everybody," said Marsh during a visit to the Warwick Wright Peugeot dealership in Edgware High Street for a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research.

"I think it is a sad state of affairs when the community and the local council cannot get behind the local football team. Teams like Barnet are crucial, they are the lifeblood of the community. Can you imagine if Barnet were to get into the FA Cup fifth round and get a great draw against Manchester United and what that does for the community?"

Marsh is not responding to Barnet's problems unbriefed. One of his Sky Sports colleagues is Tony Cottee, whose disastrous five-month spell as player-manager of the Bees contributed to their relegation to the Nationwide Conference in 2000/2001.

"His first result in charge was 7-0 wasn't it and he scored. It seemed to go all downhill after that," recalled Marsh. "I still think he can do a good job as a manager given the opportunity.

"Tony came straight in as player-manager. From one point of view I think that was a mistake. I always feel that to get your feet under the table and to take your time over things is a much better way of doing it."

By his own admission it is Marsh's employers at Sky who have changed the face of football beyond recognition by ploughing billions of pounds into the sport.

When Marsh joined Manchester City from QPR in March 1972, the fee was £200,000. If he was playing now Marsh could expect to earn close to that a month.

"I would like to have both the money players earn today but play with the passion and commitment of 25 years ago. I'm going to tell you this right now and you will find it incredible," he said leaning forward, eyes lighting up.

"The Manchester United manager was Sir Matt Busby and one of the scouts found George Best at the age of 14 in Ireland. When he was 16, George Best signed full-time terms at Manchester United under Matt Busby and the contract he signed was blank. There was no money written into the contract. Can you imagine that in today's football?"

Marsh and Best, together with players like Bobby Moore, Terry Venables and George Graham, were part of what he describes as a rat pack' revelling in their fast-emerging superstar status. But he grows visibly angry with people who see Best as being a victim of the excesses of his career.

"I've seen so much b******s written about George Best from people who don't really know or understand him. It's so easy to say: 'George Best is a tragedy because he has only done it to himself'. But anybody with a degree of intelligence would know that he has a medical disease he's an alcoholic.

"With other people we tend to be very patient and understanding but because he was a footballer and because he was a very, very handsome man and the best player in the world, people look at that as a tragedy, which is very shallow and very stupid."

For Marsh, he claims his career was never about money. "I personally played for the love of football I still love it, I'm still passionate about it. The money that I got was a bonus."

As long as his passion for the game remains, you feel Marsh will go on putting his foot in it and making enemies in the process.

"This season I've tipped West Brom to go down, I called them 'pigs in lipstick' which has upset all of their supporters," he laughed.

October 2, 2002 18:30