Robert Victor Tambling (born 18 September 1941) is an English former 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 ...

, who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, most notably for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was Chelsea's all-time top scorer for 47 years, with 202 goals in all competitions until

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

surpassed this total on 11 May 2013. Tambling remains Chelsea's all-time top scorer in league competition with 164 goals. After enjoying a successful career in the Football League during the 1960s and early 1970s, Tambling moved to Ireland. He subsequently played for several clubs in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

and also represented the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

. After retiring as a player he continued to live in Ireland, residing in

Crosshaven Crosshaven () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in lower Cork Harbour at the mouth of the River Owenabue, across from Currabinny Wood. Originally a fishing village, from the 19th century, the economy of the area became more re ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Playing career

Chelsea

A talented schoolboy footballer who played for England schoolboys, his signature as a professional player was sought out by several teams including

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

and the club he supported as a boy, Blackpool. Having met scout Jimmy Thompson and manager

Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...

Tambling joined Chelsea as a fifteen-year-old in 1957. He made his debut, aged seventeen in 1959 scoring in a 3–2 win against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. Two years later, following the transfer of

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer ...

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

, he became Chelsea's main striker and was their leading goal scorer for five seasons in the 1960s. Forming a partnership with

Barry Bridges Barry John Bridges (born 29 April 1941) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward in the Football League for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Birmingham City F.C., Birmingha ...

, Tambling was made club captain in 1962 by manager

Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times betw ...

after Chelsea's relegation to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. With Docherty adding new players

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...

and

Peter Bonetti Peter Philip Bonetti (27 September 1941 – 12 April 2020) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Chelsea, the St. Louis Stars, Dundee United and England. He was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes a ...

Chelsea made an immediate return to the top flight with Tambling as their top scorer as he was in their first season back in the top division. In 1965 he was a member of the team which won the

1965 Football League Cup Final The 1965 Football League Cup Final, the fifth to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between Leicester City and Chelsea over two legs. Leicester, the holders, were aiming to become the first side to retain the trophy whil ...

. Played over two legs, Tambling scored the first goal in the first leg, a 3–2 defeat of

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. Tambling was also a member of the Chelsea side which lost the

1967 FA Cup Final The 1967 FA Cup Final was the 86th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 20 May 1967 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. It was the first FA Cup Final to be contested between two teams from London, and is t ...

. Although he scored for Chelsea his 85th-minute goal was little more than a consolation as

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

, with former Chelsea players Greaves and Venables, won 2–1. Tambling holds the record for the highest number of goals scored for Chelsea in a league game. He scored five goals in a 6–2 away win at Aston Villa on 17 September 1966 before being substituted by

Allan Harris Allan Harris (28 December 1942 – 23 November 2017) was a footballer who played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers. His brother Ron was also a professional footballer. Harris was a full-back and began his career with Chelsea ...

. His record 202 for Chelsea goals came in only 370 games. By the end of the decade Tambling had lost his place in the starting line-up to younger strikers like

Peter Osgood Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) was an English footballer who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for representing Chelsea and Southampton at club level, and was also capped four times by Englan ...

and Ian Hutchinson. He played only seven games for Chelsea in the 1969–70 season and was not selected for the

1970 FA Cup Final The 1970 FA Cup Final was contested by Chelsea and Leeds United. The match took place on 11 April 1970 at Wembley Stadium and ended 2–2, making it the first FA Cup final to require a replay since 1912. The replay was staged at Old Trafford an ...

between Chelsea and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. At the end of the season he transferred to

. In 2004, Tambling had a suite named after him at Stamford Bridge, in honour of his status at Chelsea. He was named in the club's greatest ever XI, selected to mark the club's centenary. Despite suffering from Martorell's ulcer, a leg condition which saw him admitted to hospital for four months in 2013,"Relationship between two Chelsea legends: Bobby Tambling and Frank Lampard"
, HamroFootball website, 29 April 2013 he was able to travel from his home in Ireland to be the special guest of Chelsea at their home game against Swansea City on 28 April 2013, where he made "an emotional half-time lap of honour" on a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

."Bobby Tambling sees Frank Lampard close on his record as Chelsea beat Swansea"
''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'', 29 April 2013Chelsea 2-0 Swansea City
report, from TheChelseaChronicle website

Crystal Palace

Following his £40,000 transfer, Tambling played only three games for Crystal Palace during the 1969–70 season as a result of several injuries. The following two seasons saw him play 66 games scoring seventeen goals however seasons 1972–73 and 1973–74 saw only seven games and no goals. The highlight of his time with Palace was his two goals in the San Siro Stadium as Palace beat

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

2–1 in the

1971 Anglo-Italian Cup The 1971 Anglo-Italian Cup was the second staging of the annual association football tournament. It featured twelve teams — six from England and six from Italy. The competition started on 26 May 1971 and concluded on 12 June 1971 with Blackp ...

Ireland

In 1973 Tambling quit

and moved to Ireland. Tambling was a committed

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

and volunteered for evangelical duty in

. He subsequently played for several clubs in the

. On the advice of his former

teammate

Paddy Mulligan Patrick Martin "Paddy" Mulligan (born 17 March 1945 in Dublin) is an Irish retired footballer who played mainly as a right-back. Mulligan started his senior career playing for Bohemians in 1963. However, after only two games he signed for Shamr ...

, he first signed for

Cork Celtic Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champion ...

. In 1974, playing alongside

Alfie Hale Alfred "Alfie" Hale (born 28 August 1939 in Waterford, Republic of Ireland) is a former Irish footballer and manager who played for several clubs in both the League of Ireland and the English League, most notably, Waterford, Aston Villa, Doncas ...

, Tambling scored 7 goals as he helped Celtic win only their only league title. He also played and scored in the 1974–75 European Cup and between 1974 and 1977 also served Celtic as player manager. He spent the 1977–78 season at

Waterford United Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

, playing alongside Peter Thomas and

Johnny Matthews Johnny Matthews (27 August 1946 – 25 December 2019) was an English footballer and manager. Matthews started his career playing with his home club Coventry City. He moved to Waterford United during the 1965/66 season on St. Patrick's Day ...

, before switching to Shamrock Rovers for the 1978–79 season. He finished his playing career with Cork Alberts. Tambling also briefly served as manager of

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

during the 1984–85 season. In more recent times Tambling continues to live in

where he also manages the local Munster Senior League side."Bobby Tambling: The Other Blue"
by Shane Murphy, first published in the March 2010 Derry City programme, from the

website

International career

England

Between 1962 and 1966 Tambling made 3 international appearances for

. He had previously represented England at Under 23 level. He made his full England debut on 21 November 1962 in a 4–0 win against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

in the British Home Championship. On 27 February 1963, he scored his only international goal in a European Nations' Cup qualifier which England lost 5–2 to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

at Parc de Princes. Tambling would have to wait more than three years for his next game, on 4 May 1966, a 2–0 friendly win against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. It would prove to be his last international appearance for England. Tambling won all three of his England caps while a

player.

League of Ireland XI

Tambling also played for the

on at least 2 occasions. On 21 September 1977 at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

he featured against a

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

team that included

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

Liam Brady William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for the Ireland ...

Steve Heighway Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Li ...

and

Don Givens Daniel Joseph "Don" Givens (born 9 August 1949) is an Irish former footballer and coach. A forward, Givens played club football for Manchester United, Luton Town, Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City, AFC Bournemouth, Sheffield United and ...

. The league selection lost 2–1. On 19 April 1978 Tambling also played against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

at the

Estadio Alberto J. Armando The Alberto José Armando Stadium is a football stadium located in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Widely known as La Bombonera (; en, The chocolate box) due to its shape, with a "flat" stand on one side of the pitch and three steep stands rou ...

, in a warm up game as part of their preparations for hosting the 1978 FIFA World Cup. His teammates included

, Ray Treacy,

Eamonn Gregg Eamonn Gregg (born 28 March 1953 in Dublin) was an Irish soccer, football player during the 1970s and 1980s. Playing career He played for Shamrock Rovers, Bohemian FC, Bohemians, VfB Lübeck, Dundalk F.C., Dundalk, St Patrick's Athletic and K ...

and Synan Braddish. The starting eleven for Argentina included nine players who later played in the 1978 FIFA World Cup Final. Argentina won this game 3–1. On these two occasions Tambling was a

player.

Career statistics

Chelsea

Robert Victor Tambling
from TheBounder's Chelsea statistics website

Honours

*Chelsea ** Football League Cup: 1964–65 *Cork Celtic **

: 1973–74

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

Interview
with

Charlie Cooke Charles Cooke (born 14 October 1942) is a Scottish former footballer. He played as a winger for Aberdeen, Dundee, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, before ending his career in the United States. Club career Cooke began his professional career wi ...

, where he talks about "Chelsea's all-time leading scorer", 13 March 2012
Relationship between two Chelsea legends: Bobby Tambling and Frank Lampard , Barclays Premier League, La Liga,Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 : News, Previews, Match Highlights and Full Match
with Barun Pandey, where he talks about "relationship between Tambling and Lampard", 29 April 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tambling, Bobby 1941 births Living people English footballers Association football forwards England international footballers England under-23 international footballers English football managers Chelsea F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Cork City F.C. managers League of Ireland players League of Ireland managers English Jehovah's Witnesses People from Storrington English expatriates in Ireland English Football League players Cork Celtic F.C. players Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland League of Ireland XI players English Football League representative players Munster Senior League (association football) managers FA Cup Final players