David Silva...

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Re: Silva - best since Bell?

Carver said:
2. Bell was not actually recognised in his time as much as he might have been. I put this down partly to him not being on the much-lauded 1966 World Cup winning team owing to the intense competition.
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I put it down to the fact that he was 20 years old and was playing second division football, with 3 seasons of second division football under his belt.

Alan Ball was considered to be young and as the youngest player, the baby of the squad. He was 21 years old at the time. Ball wasn't even close to being as young as Rooney and Owen, our youngest European Championship and World Cup final players at 18 years old.
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Yeah, my memory let me down on this. Not for the first or the last time I don't suppose. What might be more accurate (I hope) is that it was relatively difficult to get established in Ramsey's post-1966 side owing to the competition with Ball, Peters & co.

I believe most City fans around 1968 -70 would have rated him our top player. If Tony Book beat him to POTY in 1969 it would have been partly emblematic (as City captain) and partly in recognition of him arriving at the top table so late in his career. No disrespect to Book, who was a top gent and a capable player, but he had only a fraction of Bell's natural footballing talent.
 
Re: Silva - best since Bell?

Shaelumstash said:
In fairness Bell is in the English Football Hall of Fame, as others have stated he is very well by fellow pro's of the day. He got 40 caps despite playing in the same position as possibly the best England player of the era (sorry) All City fans, and the vast majority of fans of The Shite who were around at the time say Bell was a great player, so I'm not sure what recognition he is looking for?

The only thing I'm surprised at is that he didn't win the Football Writers Player of the Year (PFA award didn't exist then). I don't think it's a "glamour club" thing as we had 2 winners in the 50s, and players from Derby and Stoke won it during Bell's era.

Tony Book was the joint winner in 1969, so the side was obviously well respected by the industry and not down to bias. Maybe Bell was very consistent without having a stand out season? Maybe some older posters could shed some light.
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Please see my above post for my take on this.

-- Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:39 pm --

lancs blue said:
As a player Bell was years ahead of his time, his fitness levels were something else entirely compared to other players of that era. But by the time of the 66 World Cup Bell hadn't even played in the top flight so to be clear he was never in contention for that competition. However his style didn't really fit in with Ramsey's England formation - the 4-4-2 formation which Ramsey used to good effect in the 66 World Cup and continued with for some years later comprised one defensive CM (Stiles in 66) and one attacking CM (Ticket tout) complemented by two hard working wide-midfielders (Ball and Peters) who covered both defensive and attacking phases. This left no real place for a box to box CM of Bell's type although his excellent fitness made him a useful member of the 1970 squad in Mexico. I believe that's one reason why he didn't receive as much acclaim and why it took him a while to be recognised as a valuable member of the England team.

He only really became firmly established in the England team towards the end of the Ramsey era despite making his debut in 1968 - between then and the end of 1971 he made 14 England appearances and between 1972 and the injury in late 1975 he made 34 appearances, despite City being far less successful and prominent as a club side than they had been in 1968-1971. When Revie took over as England manager he tended to look toward the "Leeds model" if you like, two more mobile and energetic CMs complemented by two more orthodox attacking wide players. Bell fitted this model perfectly and that's when he became a key player for England.
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Cheers , lancs, you've put this very well.
 
Re: Silva - best since Bell?

buzzer1 said:
TGR said:
buzzer1 said:
He maybe somethings ol' starfish but to deny his class is ignorant at best... he has carried that team for years and is one of the top 5 midfielders EVER to come out of England,without question.
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Which tells you just how good Bell was. Genuinely, Bell was 2 or 3 levels above him at the very least!
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That's clearly not my argument, i was just stating to deny his class is hideous and laughable... i didn't see Bell play in the flesh but my time as a match going blue and seeing other players from the modern era Kinky was the best thus far and you would have to go some to get anywhere near him.

As an aside, Hoddle was a fantastic footballer but Gazza was the best maybe to come out of england in my lifetime..but still not a patch on kinkster lol.
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None of the three you mention in that post - Kinkladze, Hoddle and Gasgoigne - is fit to lace The King's boots.

Gio and Gazza were very skillful midfielders, as was Colin, and Hoddle was fantastic at spraying the ball around the field. Nijinsky could do that too.

But none of those three could defend like The King, or was able to get around the field like he could.

An example of this ability to defend, as well as attack, comes from an Arsenal supporter, who was at Maine Road for the FA Cup tie in 1971 ( the year Arsenal won the double).

He told me that at one stage of the game, City were attacking and Bell took a shot that was saved by Bob Wilson, who immediately launched an attack. The ball went straight to the City end, and who was there to clear it off the line?

My friend said his immediate reaction was, 'Where the fuck did Bell come from?'
 
Re: Silva - best since Bell?

Ha ha Silva, he is not even are 2nd best midfielder , Yaya and Nasri proper players
 
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