Chelsea FC’s 50 Greatest Players Of All-Time
43. Roy Bentley: 1948-56
Roy Bentley is one of many veterans of the armed forces who played for Chelsea FC, having served in World War II for the Royal Navy. After the end of the war, Bentley played for Bristol City and later for Newcastle United from 1946-48.
Bentley struggled to adapt at first to Chelsea’s style of play but in a short time became one of the club’s best ever center forwards. He played as a deep-lying forward (an unusual slot at the time) who would force center backs out of position. The England international was gifted from range and was a force in the air so he piled up goals for the Blues.
The Bristol native ended his Chelsea career in 1956 with 150 goals in 367 appearances and is tied for fifth on the club’s all-time goalscoring charts with Peter Osgood. Bentley was one of many incredible strikers to wear Chelsea blue and was the predecessor to fellow greats such as Bobby Tambling and Osgood.
The Chelsea striker also made 12 appearances for England and is the last surviving member of the Three Lions squad that traveled to the 1950 World Cup. An interesting tidbit is that he was in the side that lost to the United States in one of the biggest upsets in the history of world football.
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