The Ian Bell of...

Inspired by Dello's description of Luke Donald on the Masters thread as "the Ian Bell of golf. He'll tip-toe along, looking nice, but ultimately it'll end in a whimper not a trophy." And my thought that the second sentence also perfectly fits the current Arsenal team. So does every sport have its Ian Bell? Maybe even other walks of life outside sport? What nominations of other "Ian Bells" does anyone have?

Graham and Martin Bell were the Ian Bells of (British) skiing.

Football- Shaun Wright Philips.

Tennis- Tim Henman, obviously.

Rugby- Toby Flood? Although he's actually pretty good. Looks like a too nice softie, though.

Politics- William Hague.

Football- Christiano Ronaldo pre 2007.

Cooking- Jamie Oliver.

Harry Potter- Ron Weasley.

TV News- Sky News.

Cricket Forums- C4 Forum circa 1999.

Top Gear- James May.

Henry wrote:Football- Christiano Ronaldo pre 2007.

I don't think a "show pony" player quite makes a Bell, I think it's more a combination of above average talent with shortcomings in mental toughness and a blandness of personality. Trying to think of a good footballing example, as most of them are cocky show ponies, Gareth Barry perhaps? Jamie Redknapp? (definitely the Bell of pundits!)

The Ian Bell of Computer Game Design

link

Sounds like Belly alright-

"collision detection and mechanics (The key to running between the wickets with Ravi Bopara); optimisation (A lesson Michael Vaughan taught him?); lexical processing(A Peter Moores theory); approximation methods(As long as the average stays approximately 40, he's safe); strategy formulation("Tell the top five to put on at least 300). Game Aesthetics(Prettiest cover drive in the England team). Gameplay issues (That uncontrollable urge to chip the ball meekly to mid wicket) . Third World issues(Belly says NO! to touring Zimbabwe).

(TM)

Ian C.G. Bell... what does the CG stand for? Cricket Genius?

Concrete Gonads.

Just thought of a better footballing Bell... has to be Michael Carrick. Always seen as a real talent from a young age, but just doesn't really do very much.

Always seen as a real talent from a young age, but just doesn't really do very much.

If that's the criteria then that's about 80% of the English born players in the Premier League.

However, let's cut the bloke a little slack. He had a good Ashes series, and these days he has a leggy blonde to climb up onto every night as well for at least two minutes at a time. His poor World Cup can be put down to exhaustion.

Henry wrote:Cooking- Jamie Oliver.

But Jamie at least carries out his recipes to a successful conclusion.

Gavin Henson - the Ian Bell of Rugby Union.

I think vilkrang is the Ian Bell of this forum. Sometimes you think he's going to post something worthwhile, then bang, he has lost his off peg. 6288 posts of minnow bashing. Look back at his last twenty posts, they're all cheap, snatching at the statistics. It's a shame to see a young man with an ounce of talent go that way.

beamer wrote:Just thought of a better footballing Bell... has to be Michael Carrick. Always seen as a real talent from a young age, but just doesn't really do very much.

That's a good shout, but I'd go Gareth Barry. The pundits seem to love him, but aside from being neat and tidy, he doesn't offer anything of any substance in defence or attack. He's just there.

Too tall. Doesn't flatter to deceive.