Bell alex

Alex Bell was born in Cape Town , Cape Colony , into a Scots family. Then his family returned to Scotland. He started playing football as a center forward for various Era clubs, including Air Spring Vale, Air Westerly and Air Parkhouse . Speaking for the last of them, Bell attracted the attention of the former Newton Heat midfielder Will Davidson, who reported on a talented footballer at Manchester United ^[1] .

In January 1903, Bell moved to Manchester United for £ 700. Less than a year has passed since the formation of Manchester United from the bankrupt Newton Heat. At that time, United was still playing in the Second Division , but already in 1906 the club entered the First Division .

He made his United debut on January 24, 1903 in the Second Division match against the Glossop North End at North Road . The Reds won this match with a score of 3: 1 ^[2] .

At first, Bell tried to gain a foothold in the team as a center forward, but rarely got a place at the base, having played only 11 matches in his first two seasons at the club. But in 1904, United began an epidemic of injuries in the midfield, and Bell began to play in the first team in the position of midfielder. In his new position, he spoke much more convincingly, and became the team's main left midfielder, forming a powerful trio in midfield with Charlie Roberts and Dick Duckworth .

Garth Dykes, author of The United Alphabet , described Bell: “He was never a spectacular player, but his low-key effectiveness in defense and attack was at a high level, and he was a reliable team player.” ^[3]

Having played 309 matches for United, in which he scored 10 goals ^[2] , as well as winning two First Division titles (in the seasons 1907/08 and 1910/11 ) and the FA Cup (in 1909 ), Bell was sold to Blackburn Rovers in July 1913 for £ 1,000.

As part of Blackburn, he again became the champion of England in the 1913/14 season . Then the First World War began , during which official football competitions in England were not held.

In 1921, Bell moved to the Clackmannan Scottish, in which he spent only one season, after which he decided to end the player’s career and transferred to Coventry City coaching staff. His last football club was Manchester City , where he worked in the coaching staff from 1925 until his death in 1934 ^[1] .

The name of Alex Bell was immortalized by his former United teammate Charlie Roberts , who, after his career, became the owner of a tobacco factory and created a brand of cigarettes called Ducrobel in honor of the famous trio of United Duck Worth, Roberts and Bel la ^[1] .

In March 1912, Bell played his first and only match for the Scottish national team in a meeting with the national team of Ireland . Scotland won with a score of 4: 1 ^[4] .

  Manchester United

• First Division Champion ( 2 ): 1907/08 , 1910/11
• FA Cup Winner : 1909
• Super Bowl of England ( 2 ): 1908 , 1911
• Total: 5 trophies

  Blackburn rovers

• First Division Champion: 1913/14
• Total: 1 trophy

• Soccer Player Profile at LondonHearts.com
• Soccer Player Profile on MUFCInfo.com
• Spartacus Educational footballer article