TEAM HISTORY

1905 Chelsea Football Club is formed to play at the athletics stadium Stamford Bridge in Fulham. It is voted straight into the Football League, the only club ever to play its first game in the Football League. Scottish wing-half John Tait Robertson becomes player-manager and signs up a team. The first game, on 2 September in Division Two, is lost 1-0 at Stockport.

1906 George Hilsdon is signed from West Ham on a free transfer and goes on to score 107 goals and become Chelsea’s first star. He also scores 14 for England while with us.

1907 Chelsea win promotion to the top flight for the first time. David Calderhead becomes manager and will stay until 1933, the record stint for a Chelsea manager.

1911 Our first FA Cup semi-final, a dismal 3-0 defeat to Newcastle.

1913 Danish amateur Nils Middelboe, a left-half, becomes Chelsea’s first overseas player. Later he becomes captain. He refuses to accept expenses because he loves playing so much.

1915 Our first FA Cup Final. Played at Old Trafford just before the cessation of the nationally organised game for the duration of World War I, it is known as the Khaki Cup Final due to so many soldiers being in the crowd. Left-back Jack Harrow, 333 games, captains us, but we lose heavily 3-0 to Sheffield United who score two late goals. Chelsea finish the league in 19th position and face relegation. The ‘spirit’ of the club has been formed: unpredictable, full of flair, hard working, entertaining big crowds.

1919 The Football League expands Division One by two clubs on the resumption of the game and Chelsea avoid relegation.

1920 A finish of third in the league, only the second top-10 finish, and a second FA Cup semi-final, means it is Chelsea’s best ever season. But still no silverware.

1924 Relegation. There’s to be no more top-flight soccer for six years.

1930 Promotion. Chelsea decide to spend big and sign four top stars, none bigger than Scotland center-forward Hughie Gallacher from Newcastle for £10,000. Gallacher goes on to score 81 goals in four years but is rarely far from controversy. His second game, away to Newcastle, draws what is still the biggest crowd in St James’ Park’s history.

1932 Chelsea lose our third FA Cup semi-final 2-1 to Newcastle with Gallacher getting our goal. There is to be no top-10 finish during the stay of the great Scottish striker.

1935 Stamford Bridge’s biggest official crowd, 82,905, watches a home 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

1945 Following the Second World War, Chelsea sign England center-forward and superstar Tommy Lawton for £11,500. Moscow Dynamo play a friendly at Stamford Bridge which attracts an estimated 100,000 crowd, many of whom are let in free to clear the streets.

1947 Having scored 35 goals in 53 games, Lawton leaves for Third Division Notts County in more controversy.

1950 2-0 up in an FA Cup semi-final, but Arsenal pull back to draw and win the replay. Roy Bentley gets the goals and goes on to score 150 for Chelsea.

1951 Chelsea win the last four league games to avoid relegation on goal difference.

1952 Another FA Cup semi-final is lost to Arsenal after a replay. Ted Drake becomes manager and promises we’ll win the league in three years.

1955 Champions! In our Jubilee Year, Drake delivers our first trophy. Captain Bentley and the team of non-superstars are quite old and full of great spirit. But chairman Joe Mears cannot lead us into the first European Cup when the Football League and FA oppose the new development. Chelsea miss a great opportunity.

1957 Jimmy Greaves, 17, is selected for the first game of the season and scores. He goes on to score 132 goals in 169 games over four years. Our youth system is now providing great players. But we are back in the bottom half of the table.

1962 Greaves has joined first AC Milan and then Tottenham, Drake is replaced as manager by Tommy Docherty, Chelsea get relegated.

1964 Back in the top flight and having come fifth, Docherty changes the strip to blue shorts and white socks to go with the blue shirts. Chelsea rocket into modern fashion as the nearby Kings Road becomes one of the style centers of the world.

1965 Third in the league, FA Cup semifinalists, the League Cup is won over two legs. A great team has unfolded. Defender Ron Harris will go on to make 795 appearances, goalkeeper Peter Bonetti 729, and midfielder John Hollins 592 – they are our top three appearance makers. Bobby Tambling will go on to score 202 goals, Chelsea’s scoring record, and Peter Osgood will go on to score 150 goals and be the club’s first modern superstar.

1966 Our first great European adventure, reaching the semi-final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup after wins over Roma and Milan among others, and finally going out to Barcelona. Another FA Cup semi-final appearance too.

1967 At last, our first Wembley FA Cup Final, but Tottenham win 2-1. Docherty goes in controversy and is replaced by Dave Sexton.

1970 At last, Chelsea win the FA Cup after a replay, beating Leeds 2-1 in extratime at Old Trafford.

1971 Now Chelsea win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, again after a replay, 2-1 against Real Madrid. It is the most glorious era so far.

1973 The building of a new East Stand is started and goes wrong financially. By 1976 Chelsea has no money and has been relegated.

1982 The club, with its debts of over £3 million, is sold to Ken Bates for £1. But Stamford Bridge is sold off separately.

1983 Chelsea avoid relegation to Division Three on the last day of the season. Manager John Neal buys a new team, including Kerry Dixon from Reading for £175,000, who goes on to score 193 goals.

1990 It is now 19 years since Chelsea has won anything. Dennis Wise is signed for £1.6 million and goes on to play 445 games for the club.

1992 Stamford Bridge has long been sold to property developers who got planning permission to develop the entire site. The ground has fallen into disrepair with restricted capacity. But the battle for ownership is finally won and Chelsea can start developing again.

1993 Glenn Hoddle becomes manager. The north terrace is closed and the North Stand started.

1994 Chelsea reach our first Cup Final since 1972, the FA Cup, but lose 4-0 to Manchester United. But we qualify for Europe. The Shed terrace, the last terrace, is closed for development into a modern stand.

1995 The semi-final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup is reached. Ageing but still world class Ruud Gullit and Mark Hughes are signed.

1996 Hoddle becomes England manager. Gullit becomes Chelsea manager. Vialli, Lebouef, Di Matteo and Zola – all internationals – are signed.

1997 Chelsea win the FA Cup Final, beating Middlesbrough 2-0. Di Mattscores the FA Cup Final’s quickest goal in 43 seconds. Gullit is the first black manager to win a major trophy in England. Zola is the first Chelsea player to be voted Footballer of the Year.

1998 Vialli replaces Gullit as manager. Chelsea win the League Cup against Middlesbrough again, the European Cup Winners’ Cup against Stuttgart with a magnificent Zola goal and the Uefa Super Cup against Real Madrid with a Gustavo Poyet shot. Chelsea players Marcel Desailly and Leboeuf win the World Cup. We are a cosmopolitan club.

1999 Chelsea come third, our highest league finish since 1970, and qualify for the Champions League for the first time. Only three league games are lost all season.

2000 The quarter-finals of the Champions League are reached in a fantastic campaign. A finish of fifth in the Premiership is a disappointment. The FA Cup is won again, 1-0 against Aston Villa. The Charity Shield is won against Manchester United, but Vialli is replaced early in the new season by Claudio Ranieri.

2001 A fortune is spent bringing in new players to replace the ageing team.

2002 A second successive finish of sixth is a disappointment, but the FA Cup Final is reached where Arsenal win 2-0. Then, once again, financial ruin threatens and all purchases are stopped.

2003 With Chelsea around £100m in debt, a finish of fourth and Champions League qualification is a major achievement. But with debts still a problem, the club is sold to Roman Abramovich, who invests heavily, and suddenly Chelsea is a wealthy club.

2004 Second in the Premiership, our highest finish since 1955, and semifinalists in the Champions League. Ranieri goes and is replaced by José Mourinho, who is the reigning Champions Leaguewinning manager from Porto.

2005 Champions in our Centenary year! Chelsea lose just one league game all season. The League Cup and Community Shield are also won. Youth team product John Terry is captain and becomes our first player to win the PFA Player of the Year award. Frank Lampard becomes our second to be Footballer of the Year. But the Champions League stops at the semi-final again.

2006 Back-to-back champions. Only Liverpool and Manchester United have done that in the last 40 years. Lampard breaks the record for playing in successive Premiership games. Terry becomes England captain. All home domestic games are sell-outs.