London, June 4 (IANS) West London club Chelsea's former record goal scorer and legendary football player Bobby Tambling has passed away at the age of 84 on Thursday. Chelsea mourned the death of its star player and described Tambling as “one of our most legendary players” and said, “his name is written very large in our history.”

Tambling was one of the great goal scorers, the holder of the record for the most Chelsea goals for 45 years until his 202 were overtaken by Frank Lampard in 2013.

He was also part of a fashionable and exciting Chelsea team, a significant proportion of it homegrown, and he was a cup winner, helping the Blues to our first knockout trophy triumph, the League Cup in 1965.

"Chelsea Football Club has very sadly lost one of our most legendary players with the passing of Bobby Tambling at the age of 84. We send our deepest condolences to Bobby's family and friends at this difficult time," Chelsea said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Tambling family said, "We are heartbroken to announce the death of Bobby. He died peacefully, surrounded by his beloved Val, Jamie, Frankie, and Adelaide. We are so thankful for the fabulous care Bobby has had these last few years in the CareChoice Home in Montenotte as he fought his hardest battle with dementia. He leaves us with a wealth of fabulous memories."

"Football was his life, and Chelsea was his forever home; there was no place he was happier than being at Stamford Bridge talking football with the fans. We will miss him beyond words," the statement added.

Born in Hayling Island, just off the south coast, he was a proud product of a highly fruitful Chelsea youth system under the tutelage of Dickie Foss, with many future first-team colleagues growing up together. Tambling was a prodigious scorer for the juniors from the age of 15 and was handed his first-team debut at just 17.

Tambling finished his career in the Republic of Ireland and settled in Cork, where he managed local sides Cork Celtic, Cork City, and Crosshaven.

--IANS

sds/bsk/