Laurie Bell (footballer)
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Laurence "Laurie" Bell (born 1 September 1992) is an English professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. During his career, Bell has played in his home nation as well as in the USA, Sweden and Wales.


Career


Early career

Bell joined
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...
's School of Excellence at the age of eight, before moving to
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
's academy four years later. However, City let him go at the age of 16. After which he spent two years on a youth team apprenticeship at
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
, where he was part of a
Football League Youth Alliance The Football League Youth Alliance is a youth football competition in Football in England, England, consisting of four regional divisions. It acts as League 2 of the U18 Professional Development League system. Current structure North West Co ...
-title winning squad. However the club released him in May 2011. Bell played
college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...
at the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...
between 2011 and 2014. In 2013, he captained the
Milwaukee Panthers The Milwaukee Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. A total of 13 Panthers athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I. The Panthers have won the James J. McCafferty Trophy as the Horizon League's all-sports ch ...
to their victory in the
Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...
conference and qualification to the
2013 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2013 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was the 55th edition of the tournament. The four team College Cup finals tournament was held at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania on December 13 and 15, 2013. On December 15, Notre Dame defeated ...
, scoring 13 goals along the way, and being named as the Horizon League's player of the year and an NCAA First-Team All-American. While at college, Bell also appeared for
USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...
club
Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the ...
in 2014. Bell was invited to the
MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
2015 Combine, but, hampered by a recurrence of
patellar tendinitis Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper's knee, is an overuse injury of the tendon that straightens the knee. Symptoms include pain in the front of the knee. Typically the pain and tenderness is at the lower part of the kneecap, though the upp ...
which he had suffered during his teenage years, went undrafted in the
2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Januar ...
.


Professional

Bell signed with
United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...
club
Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...
in March 2015. After one season with the Roughnecks, and a spell with semi-professional side
Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Karlslunds IF HFK Karlslunds IF FK is a Sweden, Swedish association Football, football club located in the Karlslund neighbourhood in western Örebro. Background Karlslunds IF's football team has participated mainly in the lower divisions of the Swedish football ...
on a one-year contract in April 2016. He was named Player of the Year at Karlsunds IF HFK, after recording 11 goals and 10 assists in 24 matches and firing Karlslunds to 5th position in Division 2 - the club's highest finish for 7 years. In December 2016, The Guardian published a blog by Bell about the challenges of pursuing a relatively low paying football career. In January 2017 Bell joined English Conference side
Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...
before being sent out on loan to
Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Karlslunds IF HFK Karlslunds IF FK is a Sweden, Swedish association Football, football club located in the Karlslund neighbourhood in western Örebro. Background Karlslunds IF's football team has participated mainly in the lower divisions of the Swedish football ...
. In January 2019, Bell left Karlslunds to join fellow Division 1 side
BK Forward Bollklubben forward, commonly known as BK forward, is a football team from Örebro, Sweden. They play in Division 1 Norra. The club plays in a small multipurpose stadium called Trängens IP. The base of the club is in the western end of downtown ...
. After a year with Forward, Bell joined newly promoted Division 1 side Örebro Syrianska on a one-year deal.


References


External links

*
Milwaukee Panthers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Laurie 1992 births Living people English men's footballers Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer players Ventura County Fusion players FC Tulsa players Hyde United F.C. players Karlslunds IF FK players Macclesfield Town F.C. players BK Forward players Caernarfon Town F.C. players Men's association football midfielders National League (English football) players USL League Two players USL Championship players Ettan Fotboll players Cymru Premier players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States All-American college men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden English expatriate sportspeople in Sweden People from Poynton Footballers from Cheshire