|
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. Chelsea currently have the seventh longest unbroken membership of the top division, having being there since the 1989_90 season.
History
In the 1970s and 1980s Chelsea 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.
After Ranieri was sacked, 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 (5 February 2005), Chelsea are top of the Premiership. They have also advanced to the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Current Squad
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 , Didier Drogba
Managers
Honours - FA Premier League
- Division 1
- 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
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- Winners: 1970-71, 1997-98
- UEFA Super Cup
- FA Youth Cup
- Winners: 1960, 1961
- Runners-Up: 1958
Records
- 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
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.
External links - Official website (http://www.chelseafc.co.uk)
- BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/default.stm)
- 4thegame.com's Chelsea page (http://www.4thegame.com/club/cfc/)
- CFCnet (http://www.cfc_net.co.uk/content/default.asp)
- Chelsea Blog (http://www.chelseablog.com)
|
Feeds |
Contact