Its hard to know how he would have handled the modern games off field standards of diet/ booze etc, but in the early part of his career under Busby he didn't stray that far, he wasn't that different in his drinking, off field behaviour etc in the early part of his career from his contemporaries (apart from the quality of bird he was shagging),
It was only when Busby left in the early 70's when Best was in his late 20's that he went off the rails, he became disillusioned with the game under a series of bum managers at United ending in that managerial dream team of Tommy Docherty/ Pat Crerand (I defy anybody not to take up drink if those 2 buffoons were in charge of you), before that he had won everything he possibly could in the game at United as well as getting European Player of the Year.
He was never going to do anything at International level with Northern Ireland (sure at the same time he was getting fucked off with United, he couldnt play for Northern Ireland in 1 WC qualifier due to a death threat from the IRA)
The thing I would say in his defence was that he had no protection at all from United (who to be fair had no precedence to follow), he was the first popstar footballer.
Saying that even if it was modern times and all the help players have nowadays the drink would have eventually taken over, the man had a disease and it would have come to surface eventually, he was really finished in the 70's when he was 28, I think he would have shone brightly in the modern game till his mid-20's before it would have caught up with him.
