Lineker leads tributes after death of England and Man City star Bell
MIDFIELDER HAILED AS ‘WORLD CLASS’ WAS ALSO DUBBED NIJINSKY FOR HIS AMAZING STAMINA AND KING OF THE KIPPAX BY FANS
GARY Lineker has led the tributes to former Manchester City and England midfielder Colin Bell who has died at the age of 74.
Bell is regarded as one of the greatest players to have played for Manchester City and one of the finest English midfielders of his generation.
Known as The King of the Kippax by fans and compared to a Derby winner because of his extraordinary stamina by colourful coach Malcolm Allison, Bell was at the heart of City’s successful side of the late 1960s and 70s.
He made 492 appearances for the club over 13 seasons, scoring 152 goals, and also won 48 caps for England, netting nine times.
Those statistics may have been greater had injury not curtailed his career.
Former England and Leicester City striker Gary Lineker said on Twitter: “Saddened to hear that Colin Bell has passed away.
“One of my favourite players when I was growing up. Terrific box to box midfielder. A real gem for Man City and England.”
Bell was born in Hesleden, County Durham, on February 26, 1946. He was raised by his father and other family members after his mother died when he was just a child.
He was a youth player with Horden Colliery Welfare before joining Second Division Bury as a teenager, having had unsuccessful trials with Newcastle, Sunderland and Arsenal.
He quickly established himself at Gigg Lane and became the Shakers captain, attracting the interest of bigger clubs in the process.
City were keen but short of funds. Folklore has it that Allison used to watch him but bemoan his ability within earshot of other scouts, to mislead them, until City could afford the fee.
They eventually signed him for £45,000 in 1966 – “an unbelievable bargain,” said Allison, who coached and later managed City.
Bell provided the complete midfield package. He could tackle, was full of running, had pace, an eye for a pass and was a fine finisher.
Allison, who regarded him as “world class”, was the first to dub him ‘ Nijinsky’ after the famous racehorse.
He scored on his debut, helped City secure promotion in 1966 and was one of their stand-out players as they edged out Manchester United to win the First Division title two years later.
FA Cup success followed in 1969 and two more trophies, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup, were won in 1970. He was the club’s top scorer three times.
Bell made his England debut in 1968 and was a member of the squad at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
Such was his fitness, he won every event in a “mini-Olympics” organised to help the squad acclimatise to the heat.
In terms of the action, however, he was used sparingly and unwittingly gained an unwelcome place in history as the man sent on for Bobby Charlton in the quarterfinal defeat to West Germany.
He was earmarked as the longterm replacement for Charlton in the England midfield but, after the frustration of failing to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, effectively had his career ended by a knee injury at the age of 29.
Bell, who had been in his prime, was out of action for two years.
He briefly tried to revive his career with San Jose Earthquakes in 1980 but it lasted just five games. After football he held coaching roles with City’s youth and reserve teams and later became a club ambassador.
Mike Summerbee, a former City team-mate of Bell, said: “Colin was a lovely, humble man. He was a huge star for Manchester City but you would never have known it.
“He was just the greatest footballer we have ever had. Kevin De Bruyne reminds me a lot of Colin in the way he plays and the way he is as a person.”
Tony Book, who captained that City team in the late 1960s and early 1970s, said: “He was a very special person, not only as a footballer but as a man – I can’t believe he’s gone. He is irreplaceable.”
Former City team-mate Rodney Marsh wrote on Twitter that Bell was the “most under-appreciated footballer who ever played” and “the professional I always wanted to be”.
Ex-City star Francis Lee said Bell would be in the club’s top five City players of all time.