Since the sad death of football legend George Best, hundreds of tributes have been paid about his skill as a player and his generosity as a man.

Former Norwich City and Newcastle United defender Ollie Burton can confirm both these attributes from personal experience.

One meeting which comes to mind for Burton is when he was part of the Wales team that beat Best and Northern Ireland 4-1 at Windsor Park and he got a memento that thousands of football fans, and schoolgirls, would kill for.

"At the final whistle I said to George 'can we exchange
shirts?'," recalls Burton, now 64, at his Diss home.

"He said to wait until we get to the dressing room because the girls used to scream so much as he left the pitch. We exchanged shirts and I gave George's shirt to my son.

"I flew back to Manchester with George and he was buying champagne for everyone on the plane. When we got to Manchester there was a car waiting for him, and we were driven to a club together."

Burton was also part of a Newcastle side that recorded a famous 5-1 victory over a Manchester United team that included Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.

"George couldn't get the better of me that day and he didn't like it! He was a super fellow though.

"George was so skilful if he came at you, you would have to try and foul him to stop him."

Burton was born in Chepstow, in the Wye Valley, and made his debut for Newport County at 16.

Two years later he caught the eye playing against Norwich City and the Canaries signed him for £12,500.

Burton enjoyed a successful three years at Carrow Road, where highlights included lifting the League Cup, after a two-legged final against Rochdale, and winningn the first of his nine caps for Wales.

But when First Division giants Newcastle came knocking in 1963, the offer was too good for him to turn down... in the end.

Burton, who lives close to Diss town centre with his wife Pauline, said: "The Norwich manager Ron Ashman told me that Newcastle wanted to sign me for £45,000 and we met their directors at Peterborough. But initially I would not sign.

I wanted a £3,500 signing on fee. It was illegal and they said I would get them thrown out of the league! So I got up from the meal table and said 'right Ron, let's go' and left them there.

"They later arranged to meet us in London and they gave me my money then. I bought a bungalow for £500 in Newcastle. You were only allowed to earn £20 a week but just as I signed the maximum wage came off and I got £50 a week."

The former Welsh international enjoyed a decade at the north-east club, making 229 appearances.

The highlight of the spell was undoubtedly winning the Inter City Fairs Cup, the forerunner of the UEFA Cup, in 1969.

More than 25 years later the club have not lifted another trophy, much to the despair of the loyal Toon Army and great players such as Malcolm MacDonald, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer who have pulled on the famous black and white shirt.

On the way to beating Hungarian side Ujpesti Dosza in the Fairs Cup final, Newcastle had to get past Glasgow Rangers, in what turned out to be one of the most memorable games of Burton's career.

After drawing 0-0 at Ibrox, Newcastle were beating Rangers 2-0 in the second leg in front of a 60,000 crowd at St James' Park when there was some trouble in the terraces.

"They had to stop the game because the Glasgow Rangers fans were throwing bottles on the pitch," said Burton. "We went off and the referee, a Welsh fellow, said he was going to abandon the game. I said 'you're not, we're going back out there'. He was shaking! It was frightening. After the police ringed the pitch with horses and Alsations, we went back out and won the tie."

A knee injury cut short Burton's career at the age of 31 and his testimonial in 1973 against newly-crowned FA Cup winners Sunderland drew about 50,000 supporters.

The fans' favourite was offered a job for life at Newcastle but his family wanted to move to Diss to be close to friends and relatives.

Without the astronomical rewards of today's Premiership footballers, Burton had to continue working after he hung up his boots, doing promotional work for Rothman's cigarettes and a Swiss lager firm.

After that Burton and his second wife Pauline started a new business in Diss. "We bought an ice cream van and started a sandwich round," said Burton, who admits he cannot imagine Alan Shearer doing the same at the end of his career.

"We lived in a farm house at Winfarthing and would get up at 4am to make the sandwiches and be out by 8am in the van.

"I would be going round and people would be saying 'what the hell are you doing selling sandwiches Ollie?'.

"Then after two years we saw a shop for sale in Diss and opened the Sandwich Basket. They would queue up the road for our sandwiches."

After 19 years the couple finally sold the Market Place shop in 2004.

Now retired Burton enjoys visiting his daughter Caroline, 42, and granddaughter Holly, 14, who live near Bordeux, in France. And also watching his grandson Jake, ten, play rugby at Gresham's School, Holt.

Sadly his son Christopher died three years ago in an accident in Paris aged just 31.

Now on match days the amiable former defender sits in the director's box at Carrow Road with long-term friend Michael Foulger, the managing director of Banham Poultry.

Still a big hero in Newcastle, he is regularly invited to do after dinner speaking in the hospitality suites at St James' Park on match days.

This season did not start well for either of his two favourite clubs and both managers have come under pressure.
"I think both teams should keep faith with their managers," said Burton, who is a good friend of former Newcastle manager Bobby Robson.

"It's down to the players. They need to take a look at themselves not the manager."

Burton hopes that both the Magpies and Canaries will be flying in 2006.