Chelsea F.C.
Last updated- 14th January 2005 by Will Atkins.
Current position- 1st place Premier League
| Full name | Chelsea Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blues | ||
| Founded | 1905 | ||
| Ground | Stamford Bridge, London | ||
| Capacity | 42,449 | ||
| Owner | Roman Abramovich | ||
| Chairman | Bruce Buck | ||
| Manager | José Mourinho | ||
| League | FA Premier League | ||
| 2003-04 | Premier League, 2nd This season = 1st place | ||
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Chelsea Football Club (also known as the Blues, previously also known as the Pensioners), founded in 1905, is a Premier League football team that plays at Stamford Bridge football ground in west London. Despite the club's name, it is not based in the Chelsea neighborhood, or even in the Chelsea borough, but instead lies in nearby Hammersmith and Fulham.
At the moment, Chelsea are top of the Premiership, and in the Last 16 of the Champions League. The manager, José Mourinho, has so far led Chelsea to 3 months with no losses in the Premiership. This is mainly due to the debut of Arjen RObbe, who's partnership on the Chelsea flanks has breathed new life into a 'boring' team. When the ball gets up the other end, there is always John Terry, William Gallas, and Ricardo Carvalho, the devensive partnerships. In goal, there is Petr Cech, one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.
Where would Chelsea be without our midfield? Tiago, Joe Cole and Claudé Makelele are Chelsea central midfielders. But, the most important player is Frank Lampard ('Super Frankie Lamps')! Club Captain- John Terry Manager- José Mourinho Asst. Manager- Steve Clarke/ Rui Faria
The official website is www.chelseafc.com, and I suggest that you go to that instead of trawling through the rest of this which somebody else has written. As I did not write it, I will not claim responsibility, but as a true Chelsea fan, (Season Ticket holder since I was 7) I will only guide you in the right direction.
By Will Atkins Chelsea
Chelsea currently have the seventh longest unbroken membership of the top division, having being there since the 1989-90 season. Before that, the club had spent 15 years sliding between the top two divisions without threatening to achieve any real success.
In 1989-90, Chelsea finished fourth under Bobby Campbell but were denied a place in the UEFA Cup because only the runners-up (Aston Villa) qualified for the competition. Campbell quit as manager the following season to be replaced by Reading manager Ian Porterfield, a former Chelsea player. Chelsea finished 11th in the inaugural Premier League (1992-93), but in the January of that season Porterfield had resigned to be replaced by Southend's David Webb, who like Porterfield had once been a Chelsea player. Webb lasted until the end of the season when he made way for 35-year-old player-manager Glenn Hoddle. Hoddle, a former England international, had just won the Division One playoffs at the end of his second season as Swindon Town manager.
In Hoddle's first season their league form dipped slightly and they finished 14th as well as losing 4-0 to Manchester United in the F.A Cup final. But as Manchester United had won the Premiership/F.A Cup double, Chelsea would be England's representatives (along with holders Arsenal) in the 1994-95 Cup Winners' Cup. Chelsea lost by a single goal in the Cup Winners Cup semifinal and were thus denied a chance to take on London rivals Arsenal in the final. Their Premiership finish of 11th place was not brilliant but it was acceptable by Chelsea standards. The 1995-96 season brought Chelsea's third 11th place league finish in four seasons. At the end of June, Hoddle left Chelsea to manage the England team. He was replaced by 33-year-old Ruud Gullit, the legendary Dutch midfielder who had joined the club a year earlier on a free transfer from Sampdoria.
Ruud Gullit made history in 1996-97 when his Chelsea side beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the F.A Cup final, and he became the first foreign manager to win the F.A Cup. Chelsea's league form also improved, their sixth place finish was their best yet in the Premiership.
In February 1998, Gullit was suddenly sacked as manager following a dispute with the board of directors over transfer funds. Italian striker Gianluca Vialli took over as player-manager and quickly established himself by winning two major competitions - the League Cup and the Cup Winners Cup. By now the Chelsea squad was mostly made up of foreign players. The likes of Gareth Hall, Mark Stein, Paul Furlong, David Rocastle and John Spencer had been transferred to other clubs. In their place were the likes of Dutch goalkeeper Ed de Goey, Nigerian defender Celestine Babayaro, Italian striker Gianfranco Zola (in 2003, voted as the best player in club history by the fans) and French midfielder Bernard Lambourde. A few English players remained in the side, including defender Graeme le Saux and midfielder Dennis Wise.
Chelsea lifted the European Super Cup at the start of 1998-99, by beating European Cup Winners Real Madrid - who had ironically been their opponents in their Cup Winners Cup triumph of 1971. Vialli guided Chelsea to success in the 2000 F.A Cup (the last at Wembley before its redevelopment) and the following August's Charity Shield, before he was suddenly sacked in September 2000. Another Italian, Claudio Ranieri, was drafted in as his replacement.
Claudio Ranieri was Chelsea manager for four years. In 2000-01 and 2001-02, they achieved UEFA Cup qualification and were on the losing side to Arsenal in the 2002 F.A Cup final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Chelsea finally qualified for the Champions League after navigating the qualifying stages of the 2003-04 competition. In the quarter finals they overcame neighbours Arsenal but lost in the semifinals. Chelsea also finished runners-up to Arsenal in the Premiership - their highest league finish for half a century.
In July 2003, Chelsea was acquired by Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire. British tabloids immediately dubbed the club Chelski. Abramovich used his fortune to wipe out the club's substantial debts at a stroke, and then directed funds towards the acquisition of new players. New signings for the start of the 2003/04 season included the Irish left winger Damien Duff, the Cameroon international right-sided midfielder Njitap Geremi, French midfielder Claude Makelele who joined from Real Madrid the Argentinian striker Hernán Crespo, promising English youngsters Wayne Bridge, Glen Johnson and Joe Cole and the Argentinian midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, who was out of favour at Manchester United. During the Christmas transfer period the young English midfielder Scott Parker joined after having impressed during the first half of the season at Charlton Athletic. Despite finishing runners-up in Premier League during the 2003-2004 season, and reaching the semi finals of the Champions League, manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked on 31 May 2004.
Despite the success, Ranieri was sacked, and José Mourinho was appointed as Manager and Coach on 2 June 2004, one week after managing FC Porto to the Champions League title.
With the recent signings of Didier Drogba, Mateja Kezman, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Arjen Robben, Petr Cech and Tiago, among others, Abramovich's spending on players since purchasing the club has now exceeded £200 million. As of this writing (2 January 2005), Chelsea are top of the Premiership. They have also advanced to the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Current Squad
| 1. | Petr Čech | Czech |
|---|---|---|
| 23. | Carlo Cudicini | Italian |
| 40. | Lenny Pidgeley | English |
| 2. | Glen Johnson | English |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | Ricardo Carvalho | Portuguese |
| 13. | William Gallas | 
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| 18. | Wayne Bridge | English |
| 20. | Paulo Ferreira | Portuguese |
| 26. | John Terry (captain) | English |
| 29. | Robert Huth | German |
| 32. | Steven Watt | English |
| 33. | Nuno Morais | Portuguese |
| 4. | Claude Makelele |
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|---|---|---|
| 5. | Alexei Smertin | Russian |
| 8. | Frank Lampard | English |
| 10. | Joe Cole | English |
| 11. | Damien Duff | Irish |
| 14. | Geremi | Cameroonian |
| 16. | Arjen Robben | Dutch |
| 19. | Scott Parker | English |
| 27. | Jirí Jarošik | Czech |
| 30. | Tiago | Portuguese |
| 9. | Mateja Kezman | Serbian |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | Didier Drogba | Ivorian |
| 22. | Eidur Gudjohnsen | Icelandic |
| tba. | Mikael Forssell | Finnish |
Notable Players
1900s: William 'Fatty' Foulke, George 'Gatling Gun' Hilsdon, Robert McRoberts, John Tait Robertson, Ben Warren
1910s: Jack Harrow, Nils Middelboe, Robert Whittingham
1920s: Ben Howard Baker, Jack Cock, Tommy Law, Tommy Meehan, GR Mills, Jack Townrow, Bob Turnbull, Andrew Wilson
1930s: Hughie Gallacher, Sam Weaver, Vic Woodley, George Mills
1940s: John Harris, Tommy Lawton, Willi Steffen
1950s: Ken Armstrong,Roy Bentley, Jimmy Greaves
1960s: Frank Blunstone, Peter Bonetti, Eddie McCreadie, Ken Shellito, Bobby Tambling, Terry Venables
1970s: Charlie Cooke, Ron Harris, John Hollins, Alan Hudson, Ian Hutchinson, Peter Osgood, Ray Wilkins
1980s: Paul Canoville, Kerry Dixon, Pat Nevin, Nigel Spackman, David Speedie, Clive Walker
1990s: Steve Clarke, Roberto Di Matteo, Ruud Gullit, Glenn Hoddle, Mark Hughes, Frank Leboeuf, Graeme Le Saux, Dan Petrescu, Gianluca Vialli, Dennis Wise, Ed de Goey, Dimitri Kharine, Tore Andre Flo, Gianfranco Zola
2000s: Marcel Desailly, Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Carlo Cudicini, Damien Duff, Arjen Robben
Managers
Honours
- FA Premier League
- Runners-Up: 2003-04
- Division 1
- Winners: 1954-55
- Division 2
- Winners: 1983-84, 1988-89
- Runners-Up: 1906-07, 1911-12, 1929-30, 1962-63, 1976-77
- FA Cup
- Winners: 1970, 1997, 2000
- Runners-Up: 1915, 1967, 1994, 2002
- League Cup
- Winners: 1965, 1998
- Runners-Up: 1972
- FA Charity Shield/Community Shield
- Winners: 1956, 2000
- Runners-Up: 1971, 1997
- Full Members' Cup
- Winners: 1986, 1990
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- Winners: 1970-71, 1997-98
- UEFA Super Cup
- Winners: 1998
- FA Youth Cup
- Winners: 1960, 1961
- Runners-Up: 1958
Records
- Record League Victory: 9-2 v Glossop, Division 2, 1 September, 1906
- Record Cup Victory: 13-0 v Jeunesse Hautcharage, Cup Winners' Cup, 1st Round 2nd Leg, 29 September 1971
- Record Defeat: 1-8 v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Division 1, 26 September 1953
- Most League Points (2 for a win): 57, Division 2, 1906-1907
- Most League Points (3 for a win): 99, Division 2, 1988-1989
- Most League Goals: 98, Division 1, 1960-1961
- Highest League Scorer in Season: Jimmy Greaves, 41, 1960-1961
- Most League Goals in Total Aggregate: Bobby Tambling, 164, 1958-1970
- Most League Goals in One Match:
- 5, George Hilsdon v Glossop, Division 2, 1 September, 1906
- 5, Jimmy Greaves v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Division 1, 30 August, 1958
- 5, Jimmy Greaves v Preston North End, Division 1, 19 December, 1959
- 5, Jimmy Greaves v West Bromwich Albion, Division 1, 3 December, 1960
- 5, Bobby Tambling v Aston Villa, Division 1, 17 September, 1966
- 5, Gordon Durie v Walsall, Division 2, 4 February, 1989
- Most Capped Player: Marcel Desailly, 67 (116), France
- Most League Appearances: Ron Harris, 655, 1962-1980
- Youngest League Player: Ian Hamilton, 16 years 138 days v Tottenham Hotspur, 18 March 1967
- Record Transfer Fee Received: £12,000,000 from Rangers for Tore André Flo, November 2000
- Record Transfer Fee Paid: £24,000,000 to Marseille for Didier Drogba, July 2004
- Longest Sequence of League Wins: 8, 15 March 1989 - 8 April 1989
- Longest Sequence of League Defeats: 7, 1 November 1952 - 20 December 1952
- Longest Sequence of League Draws: 6, 20 August 1969 - 13 September 1969
- Longest Sequence of Unbeaten League Matches: 27, 29 October 1988 - 8 April 1989
- Longest Sequence Without a League Win: 21, 3 November 1987 - 2 April 1988
- Successive scoring Runs: 27 from 29 October 1988
- Succesive Non-scoring runs: 9 from 14 March 1981
Chelsea have spent 69* seasons in the national top flight, finishing in these positions: 1st: 1 2nd: 1 3rd: 4 4th: 2 5th: 5 6th: 7 7th: 1 8th: 3 9th: 2 10th: 1 11th: 6 12th: 5 13th: 5 14th: 4 15th: 1 16th: 2 17th: 1 18th: 6 19th: 6 20th: 2 21st: 2 22nd: 2
As one can see, the Blues' «favourite» position in the table is No. 6. They are one of those few clubs that found themselves in every position during the years in the top flight.
- it is the 9th result (shared with Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion). Only eight teams can boast of more seasons at top level under their belts.
