DRINK A DRINK FOR COLIN THE KING THIS BOXING DAY

[LongsightM13]

Yes, Colin was 29 and at his absolute peak. As the British player with probably the best fitness levels at the time, he undoubtedly could have gone on playing at the top level well into the 1980s had he not been injured. It was an enormous loss for City that had long-term repercussions for the club. I'm convinced Tony Book's team that won the League Cup and finished second in the league would have won more trophies (the 1977 league title for one) and been remembered as a great rather than a very good side had Bell stayed fit.

@oddfellows is right that the tackle was high and with studs showing: there used to be footage of it on Youtube and I hoped to find it so people could judge for themselves, but I can't now locate it. I do think there's a difference, though, between this challenge and a couple of other infamous bad challenges by United players in derby matches. For instance, I believe that Best chased Pardoe for quite a distance up the pitch before launching himself into a horrible, two-footed tackle off the ground. Keane on Haaland, meanwhile, was a premeditated assault pure and simple.

Buchan's lacked such malign intent IMO. It was more a spur-of-the-moment thing in response to a City break in which he was the covering defender as Bell drove forward to the United goal. As Bell describes in his autobiography and on the Bell/Lee/Summerbee video that City released decades ago, he had three options: lay the ball off to Dennis Tueart inside, try to run Buchan on the outside, or check inside. He chose the third, feinted to go outside, wrongfooted Buchan and aimed to drive forward past him. Buchan did what it took to stop Bell, which was lash out high and late to bring him down.

I studied the footage, viewing it many times, in order to make sure of my view, and I'm convinced that Buchan doesn't set out to 'do' Colin as such. His team had gone one down in a Cup game after 35 seconds and now, ten minutes later, he sees Bell going past him, which will give City a 3 v 2 situation entailing a great chance to go two up very early in the game. For me, what's on his mind is to stop that break at the expense of a free-kick 30 or 40 yards from goal.

Unfortunately, Bell's studs became stuck in the turf as he fell and he twisted his knee. I don't absolve Buchan of blame, because the challenge was high, late and with studs showing, which thus risked seriously injuring (and did seriously injure) the opponent. 'Reckless' is therefore exactly the word for it IMO. I do think it was the kind of challenge that a lot of defenders made fairly often in those days and, while a very poor challenge for sure, it wasn't quite the horror tackle some Blues maintain. I also suspect, too, that the fact Buchan played for the Manchester XI against Merseyside in Bell's testimonial suggests that Colin doesn't reckon the Scot set out to cripple him.

I also think people forget that, when Bell sustained the injury, it wasn't originally thought to be career-threatening. I believe that the tackle has assumed infamy subsequently because of the consequences and that if Bell's comeback at the end of 1975/6 had been successful, it would barely be remembered now. Instead, Bell's knee went again, ironically IIRC in a challenge in April 1976 with Arsenal's Trevor Ross, a rag from Ashton-under-Lyne (though, to be fair, I've never heard anyone criticise Ross's tackle).

Something else that people never mention these days but that bothers me even more than the Buchan incident is the idea that City didn't have the injury treated in the best way. I read somewhere (it might have been Colin's autobiography or else Tony Book's) that, when he sustained the injury, the club had the option to send him for surgery at that stage - but it would have cost a lot of money and meant he'd definitely miss the whole of the rest of the season.

If the club really did scrimp on the treatment of such a serious injury sustained by such a great player - and Swales did similar later on with Paul Lake for one - then that's truly galling. Such penny-pinching not only proved a false economy but did tremendous damage to the club in the long term.

As for that Newcastle game in 1977, I'll have been 8 years old at the time but remember it quite clearly. It's one of the outstanding memories I have of going to Maine Road in my childhood. The outpouring of emotion when Bell appeared for the second half was quite incredible and, since then, I don't remember witnessing anything else quite like it either at City or at any of the fairly significant number of matches I've witnessed not involving us during my times spent living away from Manchester.

Great post.
Tony Coton was another who blamed Swales for scrimping on medical costs at the expense of player welfare irrc

 

[There is a Light]

Amazing post ^

 

[OntarioBlue]

I’ve had this for years, can’t bring myself to unwrap it.

Always the King.

 

[ontheup]

Sometimes an anniversary slips by without so much as a nod or a wink, if you are a married man and you have forgotten your wife's special day, you'll know what I mean. But I doubt if any City supporters privileged to be witnesses will ever forget one football anniversary, which will be 43 years this December, that took place at Maine Road on Boxing Day, December 26th 1977, when City played Newcastle United.

For two frustrating years Colin Bell had refused to bow down to the fact that he was out of the game for life. Bell had hardly played a senior match since he critically damaged his knee playing against Man.Utd on a November night in 1975. The pain and torment of his long and lonely battle for fitness would have put paid to lesser determined characters. Bell's demanding and tedious fight for fitness continued throughout two summers when most players were enjoying there holidays. But on that Boxing Day 1977 his courage and dedication were rewarded, When City's physio Roy Bailey displayed the number 6 card to call off the injured Paul Power, on trotted City sub Colin Bell at the start of the second half to a deafening roar from the 45,811 spectators.

City were level pegging with Newcastle at 0-0 when, all of a sudden the Maine Road atmosphere was transformed by the appearance of the long-absent idol of all true blue fans at the time, a spontaneous demonstration of warmth and affection for a great player who had fired the imagination, there has rarely been anything quite so stirring as the ovation accorded to Bell that afternoon. Even the normally unemotional old hands in the press box got that pulse-tingling feeling of magic in the air - The King Was Back. Everyone loves a fighter and it seemed that every supporter at the game was willing Bell to do well. His presence proved to be an inspiration to his team-mates and City coasted to a 4-0 victory. Bell went on to play 20 full games that season, 16 in the league, 2 FA Cup and 2 League Cup games. The following season he had a recurrence of the injury and only played 16 senior games plus one as a sub. Four appearances in his last season for City were in the UEFA Cup, he came on as sub against Dutch side FC Twente and scored in a 3-2 win at Maine Road to help City into the next round on a 4-3 aggregate. He played twice against Standard Liege in the next round, and again, against AC Milan. On August 21st 1979, he reluctantly announced his retirement from the game after a stern warning that he could be crippled for life if he continued. Whenever football fans in general, and City fans in particular talk about great names who have graced the famous England and City shirt's, Colin Bell's name is spoken with reverence.

The final fitting farewell for Bell came on Tuesday September 11th 1979, just three weeks after he had made his retirement known. A combined Manchester team met a similar eleven from Merseyside in his testimonial match at Maine Road. On a dismal night, 23,936 admirers turned up to pay tribute to a player whose wide-ranging talent had played a big part in City's successful trophy triumphs of the 60's & 70's.

For the record Bell signed for City from Bury in March 1966 for £45,000, then a record fee for a teenager. Within 48 hours he had made a goal scoring debut in a 2-1 win at Derby County as City stormed towards the Second Division Championship. Bell was capped 48 times for England and with City he won First and Second Division championship medals, FA Cup and League Cup winners medals and European Cup Winners' Cup medal. He made 393 League appearances and scored 119 League goals.

Legend - So on December 26th 2020 raise your glasses and 'Drink a Drink a Drink To Colin The King'

That post gave me a funny tingle down me back ...mmmmmagic king col!!!!!

 

[ahoyhoy]

From what I can remember even the Newcastle fans applauded his return at that game