[4] He was unable to break into the team for the first five months of the following season due to the form of fellow inside forward William Jackson, a new signing from Barrow.
Bell kept his place in the side for the following match against Chesterfield, but was dropped for the trip to Bolton Wanderers in favour of youngster William Hutchinson, a summer signing from non-League club Alston.
Bell made two further appearances for Burnley that season, playing in consecutive defeats to Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool in January 1905.
On 13 January 1906, he played in the first FA Cup game of his career as Burnley were eliminated by Southern League side Tottenham Hotspur in the first round.
[7] After missing the first three matches of the 1906–07 season due to cricketing commitments, Bell was chosen to replace McFarlane for the visit of Nottingham Forest on 15 September 1906.
His performances for Burnley led to a call-up from the England amateur team in April 1907, and he won his first cap in the 8–1 defeat of the Netherlands in The Hague, scoring two goals.
[8] In the match, he played alongside full England internationals Harold Hardman and Vivian Woodward, who, like Bell, was a professional architect.
[11] Although he again missed the opening month of the following season, Bell quickly reclaimed his status as one of Burnley's first-choice players, starting 26 league matches during the campaign.
Bell scored the only FA Cup goal of his career in the home tie against Southampton on 11 January 1908, but could not prevent the Southern League side securing a 2–1 victory.