the_georgian_genius wrote:Kladze wrote:the_georgian_genius wrote:Genuine question - Why isn't he remembered like the rest of the top players in the 60's and 70's if he was a fantastic player?
I'm not really sure what you mean. He
is remembered among the greats of his era.
If you mean is he remembered as a flair player a la Marsh, Best, Law etc then no - he wasn't a flair player.
It's just when you watch shows or video's about football in the 60's and 70's he is hardly mentioned. You have the likes of Best, Charlton, Law, Brady, Moore, Greaves, Dalglish who if you were to mention those names to the kids of today, the majority would know who they are because of how they are portrayed in the media and by fans today. Yet if you asked kids who Colin Bell was i think the majority of them would answer he was the inventor of the telephone!
Was he like Paul Scholes? In that he was a world class footballer who shunned the media and craved the private life and is not known as the wonderfull footballers they are because of it?
Yes Bell was painfully shy actually and actively avoided any public attention other than on the field of play.
As for his standing with the other players you mentioned, you need to bear a few things in mind. In 1970, under Ramsey, Bell fulfilled only a substitute role during the Mexico world cup - this despite the fact that most football pundits (and the pundits
were experts in those days) had assumed that he would play a major part in the team's attempt to retain the trophy. Ramsey never seemed able to grasp the implications of when to use substitutes tactically either. Then in the quarter final against Germany, with England leading 2-0 the Germans pulled one back. Bobby Charlton was tiring badly in the heat and extreme altitude and Ramsey took him off to be replaced by Bell. Franz Beckenbauer, who had been man marking Charlton, was suddenly released from that responsibility and led the Germans to one of their famous recoveries as they won the game 3-2.
The Charlton substitution was widely perceived to be a huge tactical blunder by Ramsey and , by implication, Bell was somehow responsible too.
Then in the qualifying rounds for the 1974 European Nations Championship England, under the chaotic reign of Revie failed to qualify. So Bell, at the peak of his career, was again denied the international acclaim he deserved. Add to the above the fact that City didn't have so much European success as they perhaps ought to have done on a more consistent basis, and yet another avenue for his talents was , at least partially, closed off.
Bell also suffered somewhat from poor timing, coming into the England international set up which already boasted midfielders the like of Charlton, Ball, Peters playing in Bell's preferred position.
In spite of all that Bell was voted the 25th (?) most important player in England's history ............... we older City fans know better ;-)
By the way, I find the comparison with Paul Scholes laughable. Scholes is an excellent player but ............
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