Colin Bell, Reluctant Hero
Auto biography by Colin Bell MBE and Ian Cheeseman
First Published by; Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh)
2006 edition.
With all the controversy regarding Manchester City swirling about I thought I would read this book that has sat on my bookshelves for quite sometime.
I remember watching Colin Bell on TV. He played at a time when England produced an aray of brilliant, often mercurial midfielders. Bell was what they would call today a box to box player capable of magical runs, passes, defending, scoring goals with tremendous stamina.
Born in the North East of England 80 years ago he was soon spotted by Bury when playing for his local team. One thing significant about his career is loyalty. He stayed at Bury making 82 appearances, despite there being interest from other clubs, and it was only an offer from Manchester City that tempted him away. Again at City he played for 13 years where he scored 117 goals in 394 matches. It would have been longer in time and appearances if at the age of 29 he hadn’t suffered a serious knee injury in a Manchester derby. He battled on after recovery but never regained the pinnacle he had reached.
What comes across in the book is that Colin Bell is a genuine nice guy, loved by the fans who nicknamed him ‘Nijinsky’ and ‘The King of the Kippax’, the popular fan end of the old Maine Road Stadium. He’s status moved forward to the ‘City of Manchester Stadium’ where they named the West Stand after him. His 48 games for England would have been more but for his injury. He was awarded the MBE for his charitable and community work after retiring from football.
As well as being passionate about his football he balanced this with his family life.
This book is a good news story in a game often blighted by other issues. The Manchester football scene seeing two great clubs under a cloud, one awaiting the eventual outcome of Premier League investigations and the other criticised for the amount of dept financing it carries.
