"Bell, known for his thirteen-year spell at Manchester City, is regarded as one of the club's greatest-ever players, and was part of the Bell–Lee–Summerbee trio in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bell made 48 appearances for the England national football team; he was an unused squad member at UEFA Euro 1968 and played in three matches at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
During his playing career, he was nicknamed "The King of the Kippax" (after Maine Road's Kippax Street terraced stand renowned for its singing) and Nijinsky (after the famous racehorse, due to his renowned stamina). In 2004, the West Stand of City of Manchester Stadium was later named in his honour."
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This statue was erected in November 2023 and consists of the trio of players Bell–Lee–Summerbee. It is situated outside the Colin Bell stand of Manchester City Football Club.
After the successful period that Manchester City enjoyed whilst Bell, Lee and Summerbee were playing the club declined and were relegated to the third tier of the Football League.
Manchester City's decline ended after financial investment in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan through the Abu Dhabi United Group. Then in 2016 Pep Guardiola, former head coach of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, was confirmed to become Manchester City's new manager on 1 February 2016.
Since he was appointed Manager the club has gone on to great success and become one of the most successful clubs in the Premier League.
This statue was erected to honour the success that Bell, Lee and Summerbee had brought to to the club in the time they played.
The statue depicts the three players in their football kit and in poses that show them in action.
When facing the statue, Colin Bell is the player on the left, and each player has their name inscribed below them. The players are cast in bronze sculpted by David Williams-Ellis and stand on a stone plinth. They are 1.5 times life size. At the base of the bronze, at the top of the plinth the names of the remaining 29 players who played for the club are inscribed.
At the rear of the plinth is inscribed the honours that the trio helped to win for the club.
FIRST DIVISION 1967/68
FA CUP 1968/69
LEAGUE CUP 1969/70
EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS CUP 1969/70
"Legacy
Bell is regarded as one of England's finest-ever midfield players, being described by one commentator as "the most finished article in the modern game". Bell has been inducted into both the English Football Hall of Fame and the Manchester City Hall of Fame. In 1998 he was selected as one of the Football League 100 Legends. In his foreword to Colin Bell's autobiography, Bobby Charlton has stated that "Colin Bell was unquestionably a great player". Alan Mullery, another of Bell's former England teammates stated that Bell would "still be a star in today's football" and "would fit into any team". Another England teammate of Bell's, Kevin Keegan, has stated that Bell "had it all". England legend Tom Finney stated that "Colin Bell was as good as anything I've ever seen". George Best described Bell as a "brilliant player". Joe Royle described Bell as a "phenomenal natural athlete" and "a wonderful footballer". Steven Gerrard has been compared to Bell. Journalist Dave Maddock described Bell as "possibly the greatest midfield talent England has ever unearthed". In 2003, Manchester City moved into the new City of Manchester Stadium, and in February 2004, one of the ends, the west stand, was named after Bell as a tribute. Only three players have scored more goals than Bell for Manchester City in all competitions: Sergio Agüero with 252 goals, Eric Brook with 177 goals and Tommy Johnson with 166 goals. Bell scored 152 goals for Manchester City in all competitions. He was deemed by Goal.com to be England's twenty-sixth best-ever footballer. He is listed as the greatest-ever City player on the Times website, in Ian Penney's book The Essential History of Manchester City, and in the Manchester Evening News."
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