For those that saw both live who was better?

[crazyg]

As many have written on here his comeback against newcastle 0-0 at half time , and the whole ground and team lifted to a different level when he came on for the second half and it ended up 4-0 and Newcastle got off lightly , not ashamed to say i sobbed my heart out like a big soft arse that day

You weren't alone in that.
And don't forget, that match was 40 years ago this coming Boxing Day!

In all those programmes asking "Where were you when......" (no, not ...you were shit), most posters on here (of a certain vintage) would remember that day vividly, and probably had the same emotion.

 

[Cobwebcat]

Got to remember Bell was playing against Bolton while Silva is playing against the likes of Barcelona.

Bell was never outstanding for England.

Given the level of opposition there are a few current players better than Bell...probably

 

[Bill]

You weren't alone in that.
And don't forget, that match was 40 years ago this coming Boxing Day!

In all those programmes asking "Where were you when......" (no, not ...you were shit), most posters on here (of a certain vintage) would remember that day vividly, and probably had the same emotion.

we were absolutely willing him to score. he went so close. sure he hit the bar or something.

 

[i kne albert davy]

You weren't alone in that.
And don't forget, that match was 40 years ago this coming Boxing Day!

In all those programmes asking "Where were you when......" (no, not ...you were shit), most posters on here (of a certain vintage) would remember that day vividly, and probably had the same emotion.

Up until the Aguero moment this was the most emotional day I'd had at a City game anyone lucky enough to have been inside Maine Road that day will never forget it, the atmosphere was unbelievable.On the question of who's better different players altogether Bell could run all day on muddy pitches, head the ball like a centre forward had a great shot on him could tackle and brush off players intent on knocking him to the ground I wonder what he would have been like on todays fields. Not sure how well Silva good as he is would have coped with football in the 60s and 70s,

 

[i kne albert davy]

Got to remember Bell was playing against Bolton while Silva is playing against the likes of Barcelona.

Bell was never outstanding for England.

Given the level of opposition there are a few current players better than Bell...probably

Bell as well as the Boltons he also had to play against the Liverpools Utds (both European champions) and Leeds some of the top teams in Europe at the time. and as I remember he was always pretty good for England.

 

[i kne albert davy]

we were absolutely willing him to score. he went so close. sure he hit the bar or something.

Can't remember whether he hit the bar in that game he did at Leeds with a header when we beat them 1-2 in the Cup that season. that was an exciting day both on and off the field.

 

[gkmcfc]

Silva, all day long. King Colin was my hero for many a year but we are playing at a much higher level now. That's not to say CB couldn't have done it now had he been around now but that is something we will never know.

Agree it’s hard to compare but there’s no getting away that both at club and international level, Silva has played at a much higher level and achieved far more.

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

The problem is that this is a horribly difficult call, because the game has changed so much. Just look at the state of the pitches by about January, on any clips from the late sixties and early seventies. Look at the shuddering tackles from behind. On the other hand, look at the incredible space that some players are getting, especially out on the wings. It's sort of like looking at Jim Clark and then at Lewis Hamilton, and weighing up who is the greater of the two.
I'd say that King Colin is the greater athlete of the two (he was actually timed at within Olympic qualifying time over 800 metres), and was more prepared to shoot, but that's all I'd concede. David Silva's vision is astonishing, as is his ability to hold the ball. As for Bell's ability to take a game by the scruff of the neck, nobody would contest it. But hang on a second, remember us away at Hull in 2014?
Hasn't Colin Bell declared quite recently that Silva is the best player he himself has seen at City? I seem to remember reading that somewhere.

 

[Tony tornado]

Having seen both(being 58 years old now), they are totally different players,plus football today is nothing like football was in Bell's era. What I would say,is Bell was always the player from the 67/68 era onwards,that I thought was by far our best player and no one until Silva has been as good.I think the standard of football today is far superior to years ago,and Silva is performing fantastically week in week out against some of the finest players in the world,we also have to remember ,that Premiership teams now have some of the best players,where as Bell did not have that. At the end of the day I will always speak highly of Bell and Silva. But Silva for me.

 

[gkmcfc]

Yeah, different players. I joined the debate about Bell and de Bruyne a week or so ago and thought that Bell could have played the same kind of high powered game now as he did in the 60s. I wasn't so sure that Kevin would cope with the shit heaps that passed for football pitches in the 60s and 70s. I think the same applies to David Silva. I wonder how effective he would be on a pitch that was 10% bog, 80% swamp and the rest a slight upgrade on a corporation playing field.

It’s as easy to say a modern player couldn’t play crap pitches as it is to say Bell wouldn’t cut it on the modern era