Chelsea best attackers
Chelsea best striker ever? Greatest Chelsea forwards? Who are the best Chelsea strikers of all time?
There have been many great former Chelsea strikers. So who were the best Chelsea attackers? Players like Didier Drogba, Bobby Tambling, and Peter Osgood probably come to mind. So here we will look at who the best Chelsea strikers of all time are. Watch & Bet Here =>
Best Chelsea forwards
Chelsea have struggled to replace Didier Drogba since he left. The Ivorian cemented his places as one of the greatest Chelsea strikers of all time in his two spells at the club. The Blues then got Diego Costa who scored countless goals at Chelsea. But unfortunately, the Spaniard fell out with manager Antonio Conte and left after three seasons at Chelsea.
But who were the best Chelsea strikers before them? Chelsea had a number of great players in the 1960’s and 70’s. Peter Osgood and Bobby Tambling are legends at Chelsea. So we will look at all of the past Chelsea strikers and identify the best strikers on this list.
Top 10 best Chelsea strikers of all time
Here are the top 10 best Chelsea strikers of all time:
Pos | Name | Years | League goals | FA Cup goals | League Cup goals | Europe goals | Other | Total |
1. | Bobby Tambling | 1959–1970 | 164 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 202 |
2. | Kerry Dixon | 1983–1992 | 147 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 13 | 193 |
3. | Didier Drogba | 2004–2012 & 2014–2015 | 104 | 12 | 10 | 36 | 2 | 164 |
4. | Roy Bentley | 1948–1956 | 128 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 150 |
5 | Peter Osgood | 1964–1974 & 1978–1979 | 105 | 19 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 150 |
6. | Jimmy Greaves | 1957–1961 | 124 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 132 |
7. | George Mills | 1929–1943 | 118 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 125 |
8. | George Hilsdon | 1906–1912 | 99 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108 |
9. | Barry Bridges | 1958–1966 | 80 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 93 |
10. | Tommy Baldwin | 1966-1975 | Â 73 | Â 5 | 6Â | Â 7 | Â 0 | Â 91 |
1. Bobby Tambling: 202 goals for Chelsea
Bobby Tambling is the best Chelsea striker of all time- based on goals scored for Chelsea.
Tambling arrived at Chelsea in 1959 and played 370 times for The Blues.
The Englishman is still Chelsea FC top goal scorer in the league with 164 goals. His total of 202 goals is the second highest goals scored for Chelsea in all competitions. Tambling held the record for most goals scored for 47 years until Frank Lampard surpassed him in 2013.
Tambling made his debut for Chelsea in 1959 at just 17-years-old. Over the years, Tambling scored frequently for the club throughout 12 seasons at Chelsea. He only won one major trophy though when he won the League Cup in 1964/65. But Tambling is still considered by many as one of the best Chelsea strikers of all time.
Bobby Tambling’s goals scored for Chelsea by season.
Season | League | F.A. Cup | Lg Cup | Europe | Oth | Ttl goals |
1958 / 59 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
1959 / 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
1960 / 61 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
1961 / 62 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
1962 / 63 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
1963 / 64 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
1964 / 65 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
1965 / 66 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 |
1966 / 67 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
1967 / 68 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
1968 / 69 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
Total | 164 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 202 |
2. Kerry Dixon: 193 goals for Chelsea
Kerry Dixon is the second highest goal scoring striker for Chelsea with 193 goals. Dixon is also the third highest goal scorer for Chelsea of all time ( behind Frank Lampard and Bobby Tambling).
The English striker arrived at Chelsea in 1983 and spent ten years at the club until he moved in 1992.
Dixon is also ninth on the all time appearances record list with 420 appearances for Chelsea.
Unfortunately, Dixon only ever won the Second Division two times but failed to win any other trophies with the club. But he is still one of the best Chelsea strikers of all time.
Kerry Dixon’s goal scoring stats by season at Chelsea FC
Season | League | F.A. Cup | Lg Cup | Europe | Oth | Ttl goals |
1983 / 84 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
1984 / 85 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
1985 / 86 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 23 |
1986 / 87 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
1987 / 88 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
1988 / 89 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
1989 / 90 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25 |
1990 / 91 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
1991 / 92 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Total | 147 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 13 | 193 |
3. Didier Drogba: 164 goals for Chelsea
The king of Stamford Bridge in the Roman Abramovich era. Didier Drogba scored an incredible 164 goals for Chelsea during his two spells at the club.
Drogba first joined Chelsea from Marseille in July 2004 following the Roman Abramovich take-over. The £24 million transfer fee was a club record at the time.
In his debut season, he won the Premier League title which was Chelsea’s first top league title in 50 years. The following season, he won another.
It took him a couple of seasons though to get into his peak form and start scoring. But in his third season at Chelsea, Drogba scored 20 league goals. Drogba also holds the record for most goals in a Premier League season with 29 goals scored in 2009/10.
Most fans will remember Drogba for winning the Champions League for Chelsea. His equalising goal and penalty won the game in extra time.
Drogba left Chelsea after the 2011/12 season, but later returned to the club in 2014/15. He only spent one season though in his second spell and left for the MLS.
Didier Drogba was famous for his big-game performances. He routinely scored in big games. The half-volley against Liverpool comes to mind in the Premier League and an almost half-way line stunner against Wigan is etched firmly in my memory.
Drogba has to go down as one of the best Chelsea strikers of all time.
Didier Drogba’s goals by season stats Watch & Bet Here =>
Season | League | F.A. Cup | Lg Cup | Europe | Oth | Ttl gls |
2004 / 05 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16 |
2005 / 06 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
2006 / 07 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 33 |
2007 / 08 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
2008 / 09 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
2009 / 10 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 37 |
2010 / 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
2011 / 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
2014 / 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
Total | 104 | 12 | 10 | 36 | 2 | 164 |
4. Roy Bentley: 150 goals
Roy Bentley is the fourth highest goal scoring striker for Chelsea of all time. Bentley is also one of the best Chelsea strikers of all time.
Arriving at Chelsea in 1947 from Newcastle, Bentley was signed for £11,000. He made 367 appearances for the club in a career spanning just over 10 years. In those 367 appearances, Bentley scored 150 goals.
The English striker captained Chelsea to their first ever league title in 1954/55.
Bentley sadly passed away in April 2018 at the age of 93-years-old.
Roy Bentley’s goals by season
Season | League | F.A. Cup | Lg Cup | Europe | Oth | Ttl |
1947 / 48 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
1948 / 49 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
1949 / 50 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
1950 / 51 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
1951 / 52 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
1952 / 53 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
1953 / 54 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
1954 / 55 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
1955 / 56 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
Total | 128 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 150 |
5. Peter Osgood: 150 goals for Chelsea
Peter Osgood is a legend at Stamford Bridge and is one of the best Chelsea strikers of all time. Osgood scored a total of 150 goals in all competitions and scored 105 in the league.
Osgood signed for Chelsea in 1964 and played for ten years at the club until he moved to Southampton in 1974.
The English striker made his debut for Chelsea at just 17-years-old. Ossie was then dubbed “king of Stamford Bridge” following his many years of scoring goals for Chelsea. Known for his “playboy” lifestyle, Osgood only ever made four appearances for the England national team.
Following his death in 2006, Osgood’s ashes were buried underneath the penalty spot at the Shed End of Stamford Bridge. To this day, there is a statue of Peter Osgood outside the West Stand (after being completed in 2010).
In total, Osgood made 384 appearances for The Blues.
Peter Osgood’s goals by season stats
Season | League | F.A. Cup | Lg Cup | Europe | Oth | Ttl |
1964 / 65 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1965 / 66 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
1966 / 67 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
1967 / 68 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
1968 / 69 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
1969 / 70 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
1970 / 71 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
1971 / 72 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 31 |
1972 / 73 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
1973 / 74 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
1978 / 79 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Total | 105 | 19 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 150 |
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