Cameron Bell (born 18 September 1986) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Bell played as a goalkeeper for several Scottish clubs and once for the Scotland national team.
Bell began his senior career with Kilmarnock and, after loan spells with Montrose and Queen of the South, went on to play over 100 matches for the club and win the Scottish League Cup in 2012. He represented Scotland once, in 2010.
Bell joined Rangers in 2013, helping them to the Scottish League One title in his first season. He played for Dundee United during the 2016–17 season, saving three penalty kicks in one match against Dunfermline. He then had short spells with Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Partick Thistle, St. Johnstone, Falkirk and Queen's Park before his retirement. He briefly worked as Director of Football at hometown club Annan Athletic.
Club career Kilmarnock Born in Dumfries, Scotland, Bell was on the books of local clubs at Annan Athletic and Queen of the South as a youngster. He then joined Kilmarnock in 2002.
Due to the club's goalkeeping crisis in the 2002–03 season, Bell was called up to the first team as cover in case Gordon Marshall, Colin Meldrum and Colin Stewart were out of the first team. On 11 May 2004, he was part of Kilmarnock's youth team squad when they beat 1–0 against Rangers' youth team. Bell received his first call–up to the club's first team, appearing as an unused substitute, in a 3–0 loss against Hearts on 12 February 2005. He later appeared two more times as an unused substitute later in the 2004–05 season. He soon get more call–up to the Kilmarnock's first team, appearing in the 2005–06 season as an unused substitute. Despite this not making his first team appearance yet, Bell extended his contract with the club. Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies said in November 2007 that he was prepared to allow Bell to go out on loan once he had fully recovered from a cruciate injury. Bell recalled how this injury affected his career, saying that the club's doctor believed he might never play again.
Following his loan spell at Queen of the South ended, Bell said he wants a start for Kilmarnock, stating his determination of him being good enough to step. Bell had to wait to his debut for Kilmarnock in the final game of the 2008–09 season, a 2–1 win over Motherwell. At the end of the season, he signed a new one-year contract with the club.
Loan spells from Kilmarnock In February 2007, Bell had a spell on loan during the 2006–07 season when he joined Montrose, getting a taste of first team football. He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 5–2 loss against Stenhousemuir on 24 February 2007. Bell made three more appearances for Montrose before returning to his parent club.
On 26 July 2008, Bell was loaned out by Kilmarnock to his hometown club Queen of the South, having been in the Queens squad as a trialist for their two previous pre-season matches. He made his debut for the club on 17 August 2008, at Palmerston Park in a 2–0 win against Partick Thistle. Bell made his European debut in the second leg of the UEFA Cup second qualification round game against FC Nordsjælland on 26 August 2008, in a 2–1 loss, resulting in Queen of the South's elimination from the tournament. Since joining the club, he retained his place as the first choice goalkeeper. Following the club's 6–1 win againstLivingston on 4 October 2008, Bell was involved in an incident in a Dumfries bar, which resulted in a broken jaw, but he managed to recover two weeks later. Despite this, Bell played all fifteen league games for Queen of the South, which his last appearance came in a 2–1 home defeat by Dunfermline Athletic on 13 December 2008. During the match, however, he suffered a back injury, leading his loan spell at the club to end.
2009–10 season After signing the new deal, Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies hinted that Bell faced a battle in order to become the club's first choice goalkeeper with Alan Combe. But he soon got a game time than expected by making his debut for Kilmarnock, starting the whole game in place of injured first choice goalkeeper Alan Combe and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win against Hamilton Academical in the opening game of the season. In a follow–up match against Motherwell, Bell made his second appearance for the club, in a 3–1 loss. Mark Brown was then brought in on loan from Celtic to cover for Combe, As a result, he returned to the substitute bench as Kilmarnock's second-choice goalkeeper. On 31 October 2009, Bell started in goal against Celtic, due to Brown's ineligibility to play against his parent club, as the club loss 3–0. After the match, he said: "Obviously I was a bit frustrated when Mark came in. But the manager gave me his reasons, which I can't complain about. This is a great chance for me to get back in and play well for myself and the team."
After Brown returned to his parent club in January 2010, Bell returned to the starting line–up, in a 3–0 loss against Motherwell on 16 January 2010. After the match, he was praised by newspaper Daily Record, calling him "the team's best player." Following this, he became a first choice goalkeeper for Kilmarnock for four months. On 2 February 2010, Bell was in goal for the match against Celtic and helped the club kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. After the match, newly appointed Kilmarnock manager Jimmy Calderwood praised Bell, describing his performance as 'fabulous'. Calderwood further stated about him, saying: "I didn't have a clue who Cammy was before I came here. It was difficult at the beginning; I just looked at players I knew. But it's been pure luck. I knew Alan Combe was injured and someone told me Cammy had played really well at Celtic Park in one game. When I came in I thought I might need to try to sign another keeper, and we actually got Kyle Letheren in on trial from Plymouth Argyle for a week. For all I knew Cammy might just have had one great game and that was it. But he has been consistent for seven games and has been my best player. It's not ideal when your keeper is your top man but he's been there for us when called upon."
In a match against Hibernian on 6 March 2010, however, Bell collided with Sol Bamba in the 11th minute and was substituted as a result, as the club loss 1–0. But he returned to the starting line–up, in a 2–0 loss against Rangers on 9 March 2010. On 4 April 2010, Bell helped Kilmarnock ended their seven match winless run when he kept a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win against Aberdeen. But the last two matches of the 2009–10 season saw Bell dropped in favour of the returning Combe. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Bell made twenty–four appearances in all competitions. Following this, he had his contract with Kilmarnock extended after starting enough games that saw him an automatic renewal.
2010–11 season At the start of the 2010–11 season, Bell fully became Kilmarnock's first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Combe. In a match against Hamilton Academical on 25 September 2010, he improved his performance after conceding two goals in the first half and helped the club drew 2–2. Following the match, teammate Conor Sammon praised his performance, saying: "Cammy made brilliant saves from Flávio Paixão and Nigel Hasselbaink to keep us in the match. Cammy's saves were absolutely crucial. He's been brilliant for us since he came into the team last season and he must be praised because if they score had gone to 3–0 it would have been even more of an uphill battle." His performances soon attracted attention from Scotland manager Craig Levein. Bell helped Kilmarnock kept a clean sheet on 31 October 2010, 6 November 2010 and 11 November 2010 against Hearts, St Johnstone and Hamilton Academical respectively.
With his contract expiring at the end of the 2010–11 season, Bell was linked with a move to Aberdeen and Rangers. This led to manager Mixu Paatelainen said he had started negotiating a new contract for Bell in November 2010, stating that he believed Bell should stay and remain as a first choice goalkeeper, rather than move on, believing his career would greatly decline should he leave the club. Amid to his future, Bell remained as Kilmarnock's first choice goalkeeper. In a match against Dundee United on 22 January 2011, he was at fault for his howler to allow a goal from Garry Kenneth's 35-yard strike at the last minute, in a 1–1 draw. After the match, Bell was criticised by Paatelainen, claiming that he cost the club three points and should have prevented the equalising goal. In a match against Hibernian on 12 February 2011, Bell suffered an injury and was substituted at half-time, as Kilmarnock loss 3–1. But he returned to the starting line–up against Aberdeen on 19 February 2011 and conceded five goals, in a 5–0 loss.
However, Bell was left out of the line-up unexpectedly ahead of the match against St Mirren on 26 February 2011, due to an injury. It was later revealed that he was dropped from the squad by Paatelainen over a dispute on a new deal, a claim denied by the player and this led to a fall out between the two. On 7 April 2011, it was reported that Bell would be leaving the club at the end of the 2010–11 season. In response, Kilmarnock was determined to make their last chance effort to keep the player, with another new contract offer. Following the departure of Paatelainen, Bell was recalled to the first team by manager Kenny Shiels for the match against Dundee United on 23 April 2011 and started the whole game, in a 4–2 loss. Under Shiels, he would keep his place as the club's first-choice goalkeeper until the end of the 2010–11 season. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Bell made thirty–five appearances in all competitions.
In May 2011, Bell said he had made amends with Kilmarnock and was ready to sign a new deal now that Paatelainen left the club. Bell also spoke about how he felt that being dropped by Paatelainen had cost him his place in the Scotland squad and that he wasn't treated fairly at the club. Clubs including St Mirren and AaB were linked with signing Bell. On 22 June 2011, Bell ended his future speculation with Kilmarnock by signing a new two-year contract with the club. He explained his decision to stay at Kilmarnock, revealing that Shiels persuaded him to stay at the club. Bell said his decision to sign wasn't a financial one, pointing out that he rejected clubs in South Africa, Denmark and England.
2011–12 season At the start of the 2011–12 season, Bell continued to remain as Kilmarnock's first-choice goalkeeper in his first full season under Shiels. In a match against Hearts on 21 August 2011, he produced two good saves and earned himself a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw. However, Bell suffered an elbow injury while on international duty. As a result, he went to a specialist to have injections to end his injury.
On 27 November 2011, Bell returned to the starting line–up against Rangers and earned himself a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win. Since returning from injury, he regained his first team place as the club's first-choice goalkeeper.
In the semi–finals of the Scottish League Cup against local rivals, Ayr United, Bell started the whole game and helped Kilmarnock win 1–0 to reach the final. On 10 March 2012, he captained the club for the first time, in a 1–1 draw against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. In the final against Celtic, Bell started the whole game and kept a clean sheet, as he helped Kilmarnock win 1–0 to win the trophy. After the match, Bell was named man of the match by Sky Sports, as he "produced a series of top-drawer saves to deny the Bhoys". After suffering a knee injury during a 6–0 loss against Celtic on 7 April 2012, Bell quickly recovered and started in goal against Hibernian in the follow–up, where he kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Bell made thirty–eight appearances in all competitions.
2012–13 season