Chelsea legend and former Crawley Town manager John Hollins dies aged 76

Hollins made almost 600 appearances across two spells at Chelsea between 1963 and 1984, before taking over as a manager for three years in 1985.

Hollins was announced as manager of then Conference National side Crawley Town on November 21 2005 after the departure of Francis Vines.

He remained with the club during the financial crisis that saw them docked ten points for going into administration, but left the club on October 30 2006 after Crawley had been beaten by Lewes in the final qualifying round for the FA Cup.

A statement from Chelsea said: “Chelsea Football Club is greatly saddened to announce the passing of our former player and manager John Hollins MBE at the age of 76. All the club send our heartfelt condolences to John’s family and friends.”

His son Chris Hollins added: “My hero, best friend and dad left us today. He was so modest but I will say it. He was a great player, brilliant teammate and one hell of a person. My mum, sister and all his grandchildren will miss him so much.”

A statement from Crawley Town said: “Crawley Town Football Club is saddened to learn of the passing of our former manager John Hollins MBE.

“Our thoughts are with John’s family at this time.”

John Yems worked with Hollins at Crawley and took over as Reds caretaker manager following Hollins’ departure in 2006.

Yems added: “He was a great man. He a real, real football person, I have known him a long long time. He managed the club through a very turbulent time.

“He was a true original. There are not many people who I call a proper football person but he was one of them. A real real gentleman of football.

“He really enjoyed his time at Crawley. I have kept in touch with him and he was always on the end of a phone.”

Hollins was born in Guildford in 1946 and began his youth career with Chelsea, making his debut for the Blues’ senior team against Swindon Town in 1963, aged just 17.

He was known for his dedicated attitude to the game and eventually became club captain. He scored 69 times in 592 games for Chelsea in his first spell there, lifting the FA Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup. The full-back and midfielder was sold to Queens Park Rangers in 1975.

Following a four year stint with QPR, Hollins then made a surprising move to Arsenal becoming a regular in the Gunners’ side, playing more frequently in the full-back role. He scored 13 times for the North London club and was part of the side that lost the Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1980.

In 1983, Hollins returned to his beloved Chelsea for a single season and helped the club back to the First Division. He retired at the end of the season and had played 939 first-class matches in total.

Hollins was immediately appointed as coach at Chelsea but sacked in 1988 and went on to coach a number of lower league sides, such as Swansea City, Rochdale, Stockport County, Crawley Town and latterly Weymouth in 2008.