United sad to hear of Baldwin's passing

Having risen through the ranks at Arsenal, Tommy made his name during an eight-season stint at Chelsea, where he was part of the team which won the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup under future United boss Dave Sexton.

A sharp-minded forward, Tommy carved a place in Stamford Bridge folklore and, to this day, retains a place in the Blues’ all-time top 10 goalscorers chart.

It was that pedigree which convinced Tommy Docherty, who had also worked with Baldwin at Chelsea, to take him to Old Trafford in January 1975 as a temporary replacement for the injured Stuart Pearson.

Though he arrived during a swashbuckling time for United, who were amidst a successful bid for promotion back to the First Division, Tommy’s brief stint coincided with a rare blip in the Reds’ campaign.

He was able to laugh about his misfortune, telling the Daily Telegraph in 2007: “I only played twice. We got a 0-0 draw at Sunderland, then came Bristol City at home. They were bottom and they beat us 1-0!”

An affable north-easterner, Tommy subsequently retired after stints with Seattle Sounders and Brentford, where he made the foray into coaching. In his later years, he was a regular matchday host for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge fixtures, where he was deeply popular with supporters.

Everybody at Manchester United wishes to pass on condolences to Tommy’s family and friends at this difficult time.