Soccerette | Chelsea

Chelsea

Stamford Bridge
Capacity:42055
Founded:1905
Club Nickname:The Blues
Head Coach: Guus Hiddink
Premier League
2009-09 Premier league 3rd
www.Chelseafc.com

away Kit advert to buy

Chelsea were founded on 14 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook), opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards. The club's early years saw little success; the closest they came to winning a major trophy was reaching the FA Cup final in 1915, where they lost to Sheffield United. Chelsea gained a reputation for signing big-name players and for being entertainers, but made little impact on the English game in the inter-war years.

Former England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.
Chart showing the progress of Chelsea F.C. through the English Football League system since joining in 1905–1906 to 2007–08

The 1960s saw the emergence of a talented young Chelsea side under manager Tommy Docherty. They challenged for honours throughout the decade, and endured several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup but faltering late on in the other two. In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. In 1970 Chelsea were FA Cup winners, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the following year, with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.

The late 1970s and the 1980s were a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club, star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade. In 1982 Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of £1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home. On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.
Chelsea reached their first UEFA Champions League final in 2008.

After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash. Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the FA Cup final in 1994. It was not until the appointment of former European Footballer of the Year Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 that their fortunes changed. He added several top-class international players to the side, as the club won the FA Cup in 1997 and established themselves as one of England's top sides again. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, who led the team to victory in the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2000. Vialli was sacked in favour of another Italian, Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.

In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million, completing what was then the biggest-ever sale of an English football club. Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies, so he was replaced by Portuguese coach José Mourinho. Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (2004–05 and 2005–06), in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and 2007). In September 2007 Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant, who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, in which they were defeated in a penalty shootout by Manchester United. Grant was sacked days later and succeeded by Luiz Felipe Scolari in July 2008. Scolari spent only seven months in the job before being dismissed after a string of poor results. Russia coach Guus Hiddink was appointed caretaker manager until the end of the 2008-09 season.

[Home] [Back] [Previous Page]

Chelsea Football Club, also known as The Blues or previously The Pensioners) are a professional English football club based in West London. The team, founded in 1905, plays in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions three times, and have won the FA Cup four times, the League Cup four times and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice.

The club had their first major success in 1955, winning the league championship. Chelsea won several cup competitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but after that did not win another major title until 1997. The past decade has been the most successful period in Chelsea’s history, capped by winning consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, and reaching their first UEFA Champions League final in 2008, losing to fellow English side Manchester United after extra time and penalties.

Chelsea's home is the 42,500-person-capacity Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their establishment. Despite their name, the club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, they were bought by Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernise or re-brand; the current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion holding a staff, is a modified version of the one first adopted in the 1950s. The club has sustained the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football. Their average home gate for the 2007–08 season was 41,673, the fifth highest in the Premier League.

Premier League winners: 2005, 2006
Division One winners: 1955
Division Two winners: 1984, 1989
Runners-up: 1907, 1912, 1930, 1963, 1977
FA Cup winners: 1970, 1997, 2000, 2007
Runners-up: 1915, 1967, 1994
League Cup winners: 1965, 1998, 2005
Runners-up: 1972, 2008
European Cup-winners Cup winners: 1971, 1998
European Super Cup winners: 1998

Legend: Chelsea fans voted Gianfranco Zola as their best ever player. The diminutive genius helped revive his side's fortunes before anyone had even heard of Roman Abramovich on the King's Road.

Terrace hero: Captain Fantastic John Terry. With all the big money signing's of recent times, Terry's rise through the Chelsea ranks ensures the supporters still have one of their own to lead the team.

Finest hour: Jose Mourinho's arrival at Stamford Bridge resulted in Chelsea ending their 50-year wait for the league title. Avram Grant could claim leading Chelsea to their first ever Champions League final is also up there.

Lowest ebb: The expensive rebuilding of the East Stand in the 1970's almost bankrupt the club. It ultimately forced the sale of the Stamford Bridge free-hold to property developers and saw Chelsea come perilously close to losing their home.

[Results] [Current Squad] [Quick Facts] [History] [Chelsea Kits]

Arsenal Home Kit
(08)
Adult £25
Junior£20

Arsenal Away Kit (08)
Adult £15
Junior£12

Click on the club badge to watch live football,and get all the latest news, and pics from your team

Premier league Sat 15/08/09

Chelsea vs Hull

Premier League Tue 18/08/09

Sunderland vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 22/08/09

Fulham vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 29/08/09

Chelsea vs Burnley

Premier League Sat 12/09/09

Stoke vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 19/09/09

Chelsea vs Tottenham

Premier League Sat 26/09/09

Wigan vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 03/10/09

Chelsea vs Liverpool

Premier League Sat 17/10/09

Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 24/10/09

Chelsea vs Blackburn

Premier League Sat 31/10/09

Bolton vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 07/11/09

Chelsea vs Man Utd

Premier League Sat 21/11/09

Chelsea vs Wolves

Premier League Sat 28/11/09

Arsenal vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 05/12/09

Man City vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 12/12/09

Chelsea vs Everton

Premier League Wed 16/12/09

Chelsea vs Portsmouth

Premier League Sat 19/12/09

West Ham vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 26/12/09

Birmingham vs Chelsea

Premier League Mon 28/12/09

Chelsea vs Fulham

Premier League Sat 09/01/10

Hull vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 16/01/10

Chelsea vs Sunderland

Premier League Wed 27/01/10

Chelsea vs Birmingham

Premier League Sat 30/01/10

Burnley vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 06/02/10

Chelsea vs Arsenal

Premier League Wed 10/02/10

Everton vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 20/02/10

Wolves vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 27/02/10

Chelsea vs Man City

Premier League Sat 06/03/10

Portsmouth vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 13/03/10

Chelsea vs West Ham

Premier League Sat 20/03/10

Blackburn vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 27/03/10

Chelsea vs Aston Villa

Premier League Sat 03/04/10

Man Utd vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 10/04/10

Chelsea vs Bolton

Premier League Sat 17/04/10

Tottenham vs Chelsea

Premier League Sat 24/04/10

Chelsea vs Stoke

Premier League Sat 01/05/10

Liverpool vs Chelsea

Premier League Sun 09/05/10

Chelsea vs Wigan

Soccerette > Chelsea

Emirates Stadium Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas	Abou Diaby
Bacary Sagna	Philippe Senderos
Tomas Rosicky	Eduardo
William Gallas	Robin Van Persie
Carlos Vela	Theo Walcott
Denilson	Aaron Ramsey
Alex Song	Johan Djourou
Lukasz Fabianski	Gael Clichy
Vito Mannone	Nicklas Bendtner
Emmanuel Eboue	Armand Traore
Samir Nasri	Jack Wilshere
Mikael Silvestre	Andrey Arshavin
Kieran Gibbs	Thomas Vermaelen

Chelsea go for £42m Aguero
15/08/2009
CHELSEA are ready to make a £42million bid for Atletico Madrid superstar Sergio Aguero.

Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich wants to give new boss Carlo Ancelotti a big-name signing.
Send Comments

Aug	DEC	May
	18
2009	2011	2013