21. Bobby Tambling: 1959-70
Before Frank Lampard became Chelsea FC’s all-time leading goalscorer in 2013, Bobby Tambling sat alone at the top for more than 40 years. Tambling played professional football for 20 years but played the first 11 at Chelsea after graduating from the club’s youth academy in 1959.
During those 11 years and after an initial adjustment period where he made five appearances in two years, Tambling became an unstoppable goalscoring machine. It was not just his profligacy in front of goal that made him impressive but his longevity as well.
From 1961 to 1969, Tambling scored no less than 19 goals a season, including a season in 1962 where he scored 37 times. His record of 202 goals in just 370 games is incredible even by the freescoring standards of modern football. Compare that to Frank Lampard who took 648 appearances to score his 211 to truly put it into perspective.
Playing alongside the likes of Peter Osgood and Eddie McCreadie, Tambling shined bright as one of the stars of Stamford Bridge. He just missed out on one of the club’s great moments of the 1970 FA Cup Final but lifted the League Cup in 1965 for the Blues. Tambling is still second on the goal-scoring charts and with no active player within reach of even the top 10 he should be there comfortably for quite a while.
Next: #20