Colin Bell RIP - Ian Cheeseman interview with Jon Bell (P142)

He was the heart and soul of the second City team I saw get a hand on a trophy. Head and shoulders above anyone else playing at the time. Were he playing now, he'd have been even better.

I spotted him once going into his own stand and said, "Colin, when you were in the team I didn't think we'd lose!" "We lost too bloody many!", he replied. His spirit will be about The Swamp tonight!.

For someone who brought untold joy to so many his rest will be well deserved.
 
Messi38 said:
Apparently he got 48 caps for England. That is a respectable amount, but a player of his quality should have got more.
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It took him a while to become an England regular, because Martin Peters, Alan Ball and Bobby Charlton were established in midfield after 1966 and they were all superb players in their own right. It was only after Charlton retired from internationals following the 1970 World Cup that Bell became an automatic choice.

But it was really the injury he sustained in November 1975, when he was still only 29, that prevented him from ending up with the 70 or 80-odd caps that his quality deserved. Though he did eventually come back (and those of us present at his return against Newcastle on Boxing Day 1977 will never forget the reception he got that day), he was regrettably never the same player. He had incredible natural fitness, so it's not fanciful to think that, without the injury, he could have remained a senior England player up to, say, the European Championships in 1980.

Also, one of the big 'What ifs?' for City fans of my vintage surrounds what might have happened had he not missed the entire 1976/7 season through the injury. We finished second that year to Bob Paisley's phenomenal Liverpool team that also won the European Cup. But it's hard not to speculate that a fit Colin Bell might that season have bridged the gap for us between a near miss and title glory.
 
I was devastated to hear this last night. Before my time but like so many have had the stories from my Dad and have seen the videos and it doesn't take long to realise why he is the King!

I cannot wait for the day we are allowed back so that we can pay our respects. It is heartbreaking, the day of a derby, that we cannot be there singing his name for 90minutes. But when the day comes, we will be.

RIP Colin.
 
petrusha said:
It took him a while to become an England regular, because Martin Peters, Alan Ball and Bobby Charlton were established in midfield after 1966 and they were all superb players in their own right. It was only after Charlton retired from internationals following the 1970 World Cup that Bell became an automatic choice.

But it was really the injury he sustained in November 1975, when he was still only 29, that prevented him from ending up with the 70 or 80-odd caps that his quality deserved. Though he did eventually come back (and those of us present at his return against Newcastle on Boxing Day 1977 will never forget the reception he got that day), he was regrettably never the same player. He had incredible natural fitness, so it's not fanciful to think that, without the injury, he could have remained a senior England player up to, say, the European Championships in 1980.

Also, one of the big 'What ifs?' for City fans of my vintage surrounds what might have happened had he not missed the entire 1976/7 season through the injury. We finished second that year to Bob Paisley's phenomenal Liverpool team that also won the European Cup. But it's hard not to speculate that a fit Colin Bell might that season have bridged the gap for us between a near miss and title glory.
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Thanks for the information mate. I think I read earlier in the thread a few people mentioning his injury. Was it Martin Buchan at United who done it? I am sure I read someone say that in another thread. That coupled with those clearly great players who were established before him means it makes much more sense now as to why he got fewer caps than expected. Like you say he would have got 80 caps or maybe even hit the 100, who knows.

Yeah that Liverpool team was superb, I didn't actually know that City sans Colin Bell had finished second. Like you say he would have been a difference maker and who knows, you might have won the title? I see you only finished a point behind so you'd only have had to turn a defeat into a win (2 points for a win back them obviously). With Bell in the team you could have definitely amassed more points. I know football and life works on far more variables than that but it's far from inconceivable to think you may well have won the title if he'd been fit.

It's a real shame that he declined after 29 because of the injury. That is a player's prime and most players can play until 33 or 34 to a high level, certainly now, and with him being fitter than most players then as you allude to, he could have played at a very high level til 35 or so.
 
Metalartin said:
Feel free to delete this if it's already been posted but this is a short and to the point assessment from Malcolm Allison:

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Great video, loved his accuracy at the start shooting into the rings, but the state of those pitches. As I always say, imagine the likes of Colin, Pele, Maradona, Best and Garrincha on today's carpets with today's boots and equipment.
 
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