There was something sadly fitting when Colin Bell passed away on the eve of a Manchester derby.
In 1975, it was a game against Manchester United that in effect curtailed his career. He never fully recovered from a knee injury.
Without that, perhaps City would won the title in 1976-77, when they finished second and he did not play. Without it, it would almost certainly have been Bell’s status as the club’s record goalscorer that Sergio Aguero took. He might have overhauled his former team-mate Alan Oakes to become City’s record appearance maker.
Instead, Bell had other distinctions. Long after he retired, his place as City’s greatest footballer was secure.
“He goes into the top five City players of all time,” said Francis Lee, another old colleague. “Only in the last 10, 15 years has anyone else come along who can take that mantle."
Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Kevin de Bruyne may find themselves on a shortlist with Bell.
A title winner in 1968, an FA Cup winner in 1969 and a European Cup Winners’ Cup winner in 1970, a byword for both modesty and attacking, entertaining football, Bell was City’s answer to Sir Bobby Charlton; indeed, in 2015, Charlton described Bell as “a truly exceptional player.”
His name echoes through City history; so, do his nicknames. Phil Foden said: “The King Of The Kippax was a true legend and someone I’ve grown up admiring. You’ll be sorely missed, Nijinsky.”
“If only I could have seen him play,” Vincent Kompany said.
Bell is immortalised in the memories of those who saw him, the imaginations of those who did not and the bricks and mortar of the club’s ground. “The passage of time does little to erase the memories of his genius,” City chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak said.
“The fact that we have a stand at the Etihad Stadium named after Colin speaks volumes about his contribution to this club.”
From Kompany to Silva to Pablo Zabaleta, recent City favourites settled on the same word: “Legend”.
But as Micah Richards said: “There are legends and then there are legends who get stands named after them.” In a 2004 poll, fans voted for the West Stand to take Bell’s name. A “once-in-a-generation talent”, as the outstanding City goalkeeper Joe Corrigan described him, stands apart even from their other luminaries.
And yet when his name first crossed City lips, the sentiments were not so complimentary. Bell joined in 1966 when they were a Division Two club. Malcolm Allison, Joe Mercer’s visionary of an assistant manager, championed his signing and did his best to deter top-flight suitors, going to scout Bell playing for Bury and, in a brazen attempt at kidology, loudly declaring: “He can’t pass it, he can’t tackle and he’s no good in the air.”
Even after Bell’s signing, Mercer was not convinced. “How did we pay £45,000 for that player?” he asked. “He’s hopeless.”
If others were soon won over, his team-mate Mike Summerbee felt Bell did not realise his own greatness. “I always believe he never knew how good he actually was,” said Summerbee, who compared his old friend to De Bruyne.
“He was a huge star for Manchester City but you would never have known it. When I think about him, I simply think of quality – just sheer quality.”
In old age, a more honest Allison described Bell as the best player he had ever worked with. “He was so gifted,” he said. “He had so much talent. He could score goals from midfield. He had great pace. He was good in the air. He had everything.”
He combined a middle-distance athlete’s running power with a deft touch and a wonderfully clean strike. It would have equipped him to excel in any era.
Bell scored 14 goals from midfield in the 1968 title win, 21 in all competitions the following year, 153 in 498 games in all for City. There were 48 England caps, and a goal and a starring role in the 1975 win over world champions West Germany; again, injury denied him many more.
But the host of the tributes spoke volumes. “He was the professional I always wanted to be,” said the former City captain Rodney Marsh. “Most under-appreciated player who ever played.”
But also, at City, the most appreciated.
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
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2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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Record breaker
- The most total field goals made in NBA history, as well as the most consecutive games scoring 10 or more points
- The only player in NBA history to reach 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists
- Four-time regular season MVP and four-time NBA Finals MVP
- Six-time NBA All-Defensive selection. Rookie of the Year in 2004
- The most All-NBA selections with 21 in a row, including a record 13 first team selections
- The most consecutive All-Star selections with 21
- The only player to play alongside his son; Bronny James was chosen by the Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Results
2pm: Al Sahel Contracting Company – Maiden (PA) Dh50,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: AF Mutakafel, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
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3.30pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Alkaraama, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
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The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Jawan
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The specs
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Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
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Transmission: 6-speed auto
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
