‘CROSSHAVEN players adored him. They respected him, responded to him, and would have run through brick walls for him’ – that’s the impact that Bobby Tambling had on Crosshaven AFC, the club he called home for more than 40 years.

Described as one of the great goalscorers, the Chelsea soccer legend (84), who passed away last week, made a huge impact on and off the pitch.

Before he moved to Cork in the 1970s, and soon after made Crosshaven his home, Tambling was a Stamford Bridge hero.

For 45 years, until Frank Lampard overtook him in 2013, Tambling was Chelsea’s record goalscorer with 202 in 370 appearances, lining out with the Blues between 1957 and 1970.

‘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 FC said.

He once scored five goals in a game for Chelsea against Aston Villa in 1966; it’s still a club record. Tambling also won three caps for England.

But it was in his post-Chelsea, and later Crystal Palace, days that Tambling’s connection to Cork began, first as a player with Cork Celtic in the 1973–74 season, firing the club to their only league title triumph. Spells followed with Waterford, Shamrock Rovers and Cork Alberts, before Tambling took charge of Cork City for the 1984-85 campaign, their first season in the League of Ireland.

‘Bobby’s contribution to football in Cork will not be forgotten,’ Cork City FC said.

It was in the 1980s that Tambling made Crosshaven his home. Here, his connection to Crosshaven AFC began.

‘It was Crosshaven that truly captured his heart,’ the club said in a tribute to their legend, highlighting how he took the reins of the Crosshaven senior team in 1985, guiding them to their one and only appearance in the FAI Senior Cup the following year, in 1986.

‘His passion for football was absolutely infectious. Whether he was talking tactics, working on set pieces, or telling stories from his playing days (sometimes for the tenth time), you couldn’t help but hang on every word. You didn’t mind hearing the same tale again, because it was Bobby telling it,’ Crosshaven AFC said.

‘His final game managing Crosshaven was a fitting one as some of the greatest local players he ever coached took on a Republic of Ireland Masters team in 2015 that included Packie Bonner, Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton in Camden.’

The club added: ‘Bobby leaves an enormous hole in all our lives. We are all better, kinder and richer for having known him. His warmth, his wisdom, his humour and his love will stay with us forever.’