When you hear of names such as Bobby Charlton (Manchester United), Ian Rush (Liverpool), Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Dixie Dean (Everton) and Jimm Greaves (Tottenham Hotspur) – They are all connected with the fact that they all are the top goal scorers for their clubs. Bobby Tambling did hold this record for the Blues, Chelsea, until Frank Lampard passed him in recent seasons.
18th September 1941, Bobby Tambling was born. At the age of 15, Bobby Tambling was swooped up by manager at the time, Ted Drake at Chelsea. 7th February 1959, Tambling was given his debut vs local rivals West Ham United. Bobby Tambling scored the winner as Chelsea came out victorious when the game finished 3-2. When Jimmy Greaves left Premier League football for Italian football in the 1961-62 season, Tambling was then moved from out wide into a more central striker to position where he began to excel. During the next 3 seasons, Tambling was scoring for fun and averaging 24 goals a season. He was also the highest goal scorer in the league for the team during 1966-67 and 1968-69 season, scoring 21 and 17 goals respectively.
Along with Barry Bridges, who was also given a debut and scored in the same match against West Ham formed a formidable striking partnership. The then Chelsea FC manager Tommy Docherty made him the captain of the team for 1962-63 season at the age of 21. However injuries coupled with the rise of academy player and future Chelsea FC legend, Peter Osgood and purchase of Tommy Baldwin from Arsenal led to reduced playing time for Tambling. In 1966-67 season he scored 5 goals against Aston Villa in a 6-2 win. He then left the Chelsea side and travelled to South London to join Crystal Palace at the beginning of 1970-71 bringing to an end an eleven-year association with the club that resulted in 202 goals across all competitions from just 370 matches. During his time with Chelsea he won only the League Cup in 1965.
In between club affairs, Bobby was capped by England just 3 times and scored his only goal for the Three Lions against France in a 5-2 loss. He also didn’t make the final 22-man list for the 1966 FIFA World Cup squad and was overlooked in favor of Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst and Roger Hunt. Alf Ramsey had a superb wide man with a fierce left foot in form of Bobby Tambling, but unfortunately Ramsey didn’t use wide men in his formations.
His spell at Selhurst Park was not as productive as it was at Stamford Bridge and after 3 seasons he moved to Ireland and has been living there since. During his playing time in Ireland he played for Cork Celtic, Waterford, Shamrock Rovers and Cork Alberts. He retired from the game at the end of 1978-79 season.
While he may not have been as quick as Jimmy Greaves or eye-catching as Peter Osgood, he had the knack of scoring from all parts of the pitch and had a powerful left leg, which he used to devastating effect, scoring many goals with.
In a poll conducted by the club’s official magazine, Bobby was named 13th greatest player of the club behind Jimmy Greaves and Peter Osgood. Chelsea FC have named a suite after him but his name isn’t sung in the same way the names of Gianfranco Zola or Didier Drogba’s are sung. He is a man who deserves as much recognition as the great names mentioned at the beginning the article even though he may not be as recognizable as those names.
You decide. Should Bobby Tambling be getting more praise for his efforts during his Chelsea career then he already is?
