Tambling, who until 2013 was the club’s all-time highest scorer before being surpassed by Frank Lampard, remembers that debut against the Hammers and a famous FA Cup win at Liverpool, as well as speaking about his affection for the Chelsea supporters.



Tell us about how you came to sign for Chelsea?

Being a Hampshire man, I was right next to Portsmouth and everybody thought I was going to sign for them. I was playing for England schoolboys but there was no interest from Portsmouth at all. One or two other clubs from further afield came in. Wolves, who were one of the main clubs at the time and had just won the championship, were the first ones to come on the phone. I spoke to them, they said they were very interested, but that interest only lasted until the next game because I had a stinker. The game after that, they said it was a mistake and they did actually want me, but by that time Chelsea had shown interest in me.

Jimmy Thompson was the chief scout at the time and what a brilliant guy he was. You can see how much he meant to the club just by the players be signed, the likes of Peter Brabrook, Jimmy Greaves and a host of the 1960s side. He gave the club a tremendous advantage and he was a great character, you couldn’t help but like him. He was the one who took me to the club and when you walked through those big blue gates for the first time you knew you were joining one of the better clubs and I’ve never lost that thrill. That’s how I came to be a blue boy.



What were your immediate impressions of the club?

There was a fantastic atmosphere at the club and it had everything you could only ever dream about as a young boy. In those days we were commonly known as the lower part of the staff, the ground boys. We had to work between training sessions and we’d have to sweep down the stadium after a big game and look after the gear in the dressing room.

What it meant was that we never lost sense of where we were at that time. We knew our place and we knew we had to work hard to improve. We also got to know the senior players and that was good fun. We used to have a laugh and a joke with them and it made you feel part of it. It didn’t matter what you were, you were part of Chelsea Football Club.

