FORMER Hereford United stars have joined the tributes for soccer legend John Charles.

The man nicknamed the 'Gentle Giant', who spent five years at Edgar Street at the tail-end of his illustrious career, died in a Wakefield hospital at the weekend aged 72 after a long battle with cancer.

Charles joined Hereford as a player in the summer of 1966, eventually taking over as player-manager from Bob Dennison in December 1967.

He scored 130 goals in 243 appearances for the Bulls, which included five against Folkestone in his first month at the club and two four-goal hauls in successive matches - against Newport in the Herefordshire Senior Cup and Chelmsford in a Southern League clash.

Charles resigned in September 1971 to devote more time to his sports shop in Cardiff and was succeeded by Colin Addison, who within a few months had led the Bulls to their legendary FA Cup win over Newcastle and a place in the Football League.

Dudley Tyler, who was plucked by Charles from Swindon amateur football to star in the FA Cup run and later earned a move to West Ham, said: "He was the first manager that gave me a chance.

"Even though he was nearing the end of his career, he was still able to do a lot of the things that he was famous for. I have never come across anybody who could head the ball as far as he could.

"As a manager I don't think he was the greatest tactician in the world but he managed to put good sides together - he knew players and knew who could and who couldn't play."

Paddy Mullen, signed by Charles from Worcester City, added: "He was awesome. If you ever went a goal down you wouldn't worry because you knew he would score.

"He was just an incredible athlete but he was so modest with it."

Addison said of the team he inherited from Charles: "There were some good and talented players here when I came to the club and we took it on another step. John can take a lot of credit for bringing those players to the club.

"He had so much natural ability, great strength and great presence, and was a great fellow as well."

Charles was highly respected by opponents as well. Former Worcester defender Alan Wood said: "He took every challenge but you never saw him lose his temper.

"I played against him five times and we had some great battles, but he was always the first to shake your hand after the game - he was a perfect gentleman."

Charles, equally adept at centre-half or centre-forward, was never booked or sent off throughout his career.

He was the first British player to be a success in Italy during a five-year spell with Juventus - in a recent poll of the club's fans, Charles was voted their best ever foreign player.

He also had two spells with Leeds United and one with Cardiff City, and had a stint as player-manager at Merthyr Tydfil after leaving Edgar Street.

Charles was capped 38 times by Wales and was a key player in the 1958 World Cup, when they reached the quarter-finals before losing to Brazil - a game Charles missed through injury.

Hereford held a minute's silence in his memory before Saturday's Conference clash with Woking, as did Kidderminster Harriers ahead of their Division Three clash with Swansea - the city where Charles was born.