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Chelsea FC
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Chelsea FC Information
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Chelsea FC History
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Chelsea Football Club (also known
as the Blues, previously known as the Pensioners), founded in
1905, is a Premier League football team that plays at Stamford
Bridge football ground in South west London. Notwithstanding the
club's name, it is not actually based in the borough of Chelsea,
but just outside its boundaries, in the borough of Hammersmith
and Fulham. It is on the Fulham Road, which runs between Fulham
and the borough district of Chelsea. Chelsea currently have the
seventh longest unbroken tenure in the top division, having been
there since the 1989-90 season.
Chelsea's history is inextricably linked to Stamford Bridge -
the club's stadium since its inception - and its history,
therefore, begins with the building of the stadium although this
was before the foundation of the Club.
Stamford Bridge officially opened on 28 April 1877. For the
first 28 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively
by the London Athletic Club as an arena for athletics meetings
and not for football at all. In 1904 the ownership of the ground
changed hands when H A (Gus) Mears and his brother, J T Mears,
obtained the deeds, having previously acquired additional land (formerly
a large market garden) with the aim of establishing a football
team there on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m²) site. The Mears
family remained the owners of the ground (and subsequently the
Club) until the 1970s.
Stamford Bridge was designed by Archibald Leitch and initially
included a 120 yard long stand on the East side which could hold
5000 spectators. The other sides were all open in a vast bowl
with thousands of tons of material excavated from the building
of the underground railway providing high terracing on the West
side.
The stadium was initially offered to Fulham Football Club, but
the offer was turned down. As a consequence, the owners decided
to form Chelsea Football Club to occupy the new grounds. Most
football clubs were founded first, and then sought grounds in
which to play. By contrast and a historical quirk, Chelsea was
founded for Stamford Bridge - a readymade club for the ground.
Although technically in Fulham, the founders decided to adopt
the name of the adjacent borough of Chelsea for the new club as
there was already a Fulham Football Club in existence.
Chelsea F.C. was founded on March 14, 1905 at The Rising Sun pub
(now The Greene Room) opposite today's main entrance to the
ground on the Fulham Road. This was followed by the club's
election into the Second Division at the Football League AGM on
May 29, 1905. Chelsea's first match took place away at Stockport
County on September 1, 1905. The Club began with established
players recruited from other teams and promotion to the top
flight was swift, but the club's early years were uneventful.
Chelsea reached the FA Cup final in 1915, but no major honours
were won until the 1954-55 season when Chelsea finished top of
the First Division and lifted its first trophy - the league
title.
The swinging 60's ushered in an era that saw football and
inimitable style merge in the heart of London; with the
fashionable King's Road at the heart of the swagger. A 60's
Chelsea that oozed charisma and class soon built up a major
following, but ultimately failed to match its swagger with
on-field triumphs. No major domestic titles were won, except for
the League Cup in 1965 (Chelsea's first League Cup), followed by
an FA cup final loss in 1967.
The early 1970s saw a great Chelsea team which is still fondly
remembered (not least because it was a couple of decades before
its achievements were matched at the club): it featured the
likes of Ron 'Chopper' Harris, Ian Hutchison and Peter Osgood.
In 1970 Chelsea ran out F.A. Cup winners (beating 'dirty' Leeds
2-1 in a pulsating final). A UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph was
added to the haul the following year - Chelsea's first
non-domestic honour.
But there was no further success in that decade as the
discipline of the team degenerated and an over-ambitious
redevelopment of the stadium (which only got as far as the
pioneering East Stand, which retains its place even in the
modern stadium) threatened the financial stability of the club
as well. Further problems were caused by a fearsome reputation
for violence amongst a section of the supporters (the boundary
between passion and hooliganism being dangerously narrow in
those days) and the club started to fall apart both on and off
the field.
The financial problems exacerbated the club's other difficulties
and a spiral of decline began. Star players were sold off, the
team was relegated, and the freehold of the stadium site was
sold off to property developers, which was to create serious
problems in the years to come.
As always, however, Chelsea retained its high profile; and its
widespread base of supporters, many of them very hard core, saw
it through what proved to be the very difficult years of the
1970's and 1980's. However, although relegated to the Second
Division twice, it never fell further (although it came
dangerously close).
Chelsea was, at the nadir of its fortunes, acquired from the
Mears family interests by new Ken Bates for the princely sum of
£1, and Bates proved to be a real fighter as the new Chairman,
although his opponents included supporters (who did not take
kindly to his suggestion of electrified fences to keep them off
the pitch) as well as the property developers who now owned the
freehold. In 1992, Bates finally outmanoevred the latter and
reunited the freehold with the Club, by seeing the property
developers go bust and doing a deal with their banks.
In the meantime, Chelsea had achieved promotion to the First
Division again as Second Division champions in 1989 and, this
time, it managed to stay in the top flight: indeed, it has
remained there ever since.
In 1989-90, Chelsea finished fourth in the First Division 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. In the
inaugural 1992-1993 season of the Premier League Chelsea
finished 11th, but not before seeing Porterfield resign and
replaced (in a stop-gap capacity till the end of the season) by
another former Chelsea player - David Webb, who had been part of
the legendary 1970 FA Cup winning side. He made way for
35-year-old player-manager Glenn Hoddle at the end of the
season.
Although Hoddle himself had no Chelsea pedigree at all - having
spent his best playing years at rival London club Tottenham
Hotspur - his appointment proved to be a turning point. Hoddle
recruited world class players, albeit at the end of their
careers, such as Ruud Gullit, and a vision of continental flair
(Hoddle himself had played for AS Monaco) was introduced to the
club. Upgrading of the stadium facilities also began again, now
that the ownership question had been resolved, and a large
contribution from millionnaire supporter Matthew Harding (later
killed in a helicopter accident whilst travelling to an away
game) made it possible to construct the present Matthew Harding
Stand (the North Stand).
Hoddle's first season saw the club's league position drop 3
places to 14th - but this was made up for by the club reaching
in 1994 its first FA Cup final since 1970. The final was lost
4-0 to Manchester United in a game marred by the award of two
penalties against Chelsea.
But since Manchester United had won the Premiership, the runners
up spot nevertheless qualified Chelsea for the 1994-95 Cup
Winners' Cup competition. This was its first participation in
non-domestic competition since its former glory days in the
early 1970's and marked another step forward for the club.
Chelsea reached the semi-finals in the 1994-1995 Cup Winners'
Cup competition (losing by a single goal). The same season saw a
respectable if unexciting mid-table Premiership finish at 11th
place.
The 1995-96 season saw Chelsea finishing 11th in the Premiership
- its third 11th place finish in four seasons. Hoddle left at
the end of the season to manage the England national team. He
was replaced as player-manager by the 33-year-old Ruud Gullit,
the celebrated Dutch exponent of 'total football' who had joined
the club a year earlier on a free transfer from Sampdoria.
Under Gullit, Chelsea started winning major honours again. He
made history in 1996-97 by being the first foreign manager to
win the FA Cup when his Chelsea side beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in
the Final. That game set the record for the fastest goal scored
in an F.A. Cup ever - with Chelsea's Roberto di Matteo scoring
43 seconds into the game. This was Chelsea's first major trophy
for 25 years. Chelsea also achieved its best-yet finish in the
Premiership, in sixth place.
In February 1998, Gullit was suddenly sacked as manager
following a dispute with the board of directors. Another of
Chelsea's star foreign players, the veteran Italian striker
Gianluca Vialli took over as player-manager and quickly
established himself by winning two major competitions - the
domestic League Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup, both in
1998. By now, Chelsea had one of the largest contingents of
foreign players in the Premiership, and had the dubious
distinction of being the first team to field a non-English
starting 11. Out went the likes of Gareth Hall, Mark Stein, Paul
Furlong, David Rocastle and John Spencer. In came 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. But important English players remaining in
the side included defender Graeme Le Saux and midfielder and
Captain Dennis Wise.
Under Vialli, Chelsea continued to win trophies faster than at
any time in its previous history. Chelsea lifted the European
Super Cup at the start of 1998-99 season when it beat the
reigning European Cup champions Real Madrid. Vialli subsequently
led Chelsea to victory in the FA Cup in 2000 (the last showpiece
final to be held at Wembley before its redevelopment). Chelsea
also won the Charity Shield in August 2000. But despite these
trophies, Vialli was sacked in September 2000. He had, it was
reported, lost the confidence of his players.
Another Italian, Claudio Ranieri, replaced him as manager and
set about rebuilding what was now an ageing side. Ranieri was
Chelsea manager for four years, and bought players wisely
without having unlimited funds at his disposal. His team, whilst
it disappointingly won no honours, routinely pushed for a top 3
finish in the league and qualified, through its league
positions, for UEFA Cup competition in the 2000-01 and 2001-02
seasons. In 2002 Chelsea reached the final of the FA Cup, but
were beaten finalists at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Ranieri
qualified for the 2003-04 Champions League competition in his
penultimate season - a competition that saw the high of an
emotional Chelsea victory over their London rivals Arsenal,
followed by the low of ignominious defeat in the semi-final by
10-man Monaco. In the Premiership, Chelsea finished an
extraordinary 2003-4 season as Premier League runners up - their
highest league placing for half a century - once again
qualifying them for the Champions League.
By now, the Club's extravagant spending on players and on
buildings had caused it to accumulate huge debts of some £80
million which had brought it to the brink of insolvency. But in
July 2003, Chelsea was suddenly acquired from Ken Bates by Roman
Abramovich, a previously unknown Russian billionaire who was far
and away the richest person ever to acquire a British football
club. British tabloids immediately dubbed the club Chelski.
At a stroke, Abramovich used his fortune to wipe out the club's
substantial debt, and then proceeded to fund the acquisition of
new players on an unprecedented scale. New signings for the
start of the 2003/04 season included the Irish left winger
Damien Duff, Cameroon international right-sided midfielder
Njitap Geremi, French midfielder Claude Makelele who joined from
Real Madrid, Argentinian striker Hernán Crespo, English
youngsters Wayne Bridge, Glen Johnson and Joe Cole and the
Argentinian midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón. During the
Christmas transfer period English midfielder Scott Parker joined
after having impressed with his performances for Charlton
Athletic.
Despite his side 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 at the end
of his fourth season at the Club, and first season under
Abramovich's ownership, on 31 May 2004. It was clear that
Abramovich wanted more than runners up status for his new club -
and it seemed that he had the money to get what he wanted.
Ranieri was well-liked inside and outside the Club, but he had
won nothing, worked only with the first team, and did not share
the holistic vision the board had for a manager in his capacity.
Ranieri's replacement is one of the most successful young
managers of recent times - José Mourinho. Having won successive
Portuguese league titles, the UEFA Cup, and the Champions League
on the trot with an unfancied FC Porto, he was appointed Chelsea
manager on 2 June 2004.
Mourinho's signings of Didier Drogba, Mateja Kezman, Paulo
Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, and Tiago, coupled with the
already-agreed deals for Arjen Robben and Petr Cech, pushed
Abramovich's total spending on players above £200 million.
In the 2004-05 season, Chelsea went on to win the 2005 League
(Carling) Cup, beating Liverpool 3-2 in the final. They are also
top of the Premiership, and have advanced to the semi-finals of
the Champions League. |
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Chelsea FC Honours, Trophies & Awards
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FA Premier League
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Division 1
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Division 2
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Winners:
1983-84, 1988-89
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Runners-Up:
1906-07, 1911-12, 1929-30, 1962-63,
1976-77
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FA Cup
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Winners:
1970, 1997, 2000
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Runners-Up:
1915, 1967, 1994, 2002
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League Cup
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Winners:
1965, 1998, 2005
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Runners-Up:
1972
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FA Charity Shield/Community Shield
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Winners:
1956, 2000
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Runners-Up:
1971, 1997
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Full Members' Cup
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UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
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Winners:
1970-71, 1997-98
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UEFA Super Cup
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FA Youth Cup
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Winners:
1960, 1961
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Runners-Up:
1958
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