COLIN BELL
(1946-2021)
While Manchester City have achieved huge success in the last decade, none of their expensively-acquired stars have quite yet managed to surpass the “King of the Kippax” as the club’s most revered player.
Signed from Bury aged 20 in 1966, Bell developed into one of the country’s most complete midfielders over a 13-year career at City, scoring 153 goals in 501 games. Those figures would undoubtedly have been much higher if it wasn’t for a knee injury that curtailed his career.
Nevertheless he was the star of the finest Manchester City side of the 20th century, winning a league title, one FA Cup, two League Cups and the European Cup Winners’ Cup. With team-mates Mike Summerbee and Francis Lee, Bell formed a formidable attacking trio, both of whom were among the first to pay tribute.
“Colin was a huge star for Manchester City but you would never have known it,” said Summerbee. “Kevin De Bruyne reminds me a lot of Colin in the way he plays and the way he is as a person.”
“He was a very good player technically and had the ability to score goals,” added Lee. “He goes into the top five City players of all time.”