Chelsea

Chelsea FC 

Ground: Stamford Bridge

Capacity: 40,044

Club Founded: 1905

League: Premier League (current level)

One of English football's powerhouses, Chelsea FC has won many honours since the turn of the millennium, but their story wasn't always like that until major investment in the club.

Early History

Chelsea FC was formed on the 14th March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub, opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road. It was the brainchild of brothers Joe and Gus Mears, who bought the lease to Stamford Bridge, which had previously been home to the London Athletics Club and the World Shinty Championships since its opening in 1877. 

The Mears wanted to establish a top-class football club at the ground, and after failing to convince Fulham FC to move in, they formed their own club, which was accepted into the Football League. Chelsea recruited big-name players, including twenty-two-stone goalkeeper William ‘Fatty’ Foulke and Scottish international John Robertson as player-manager.

The noted stadium architect, Archibald Leitch, was given the job of redesigning Stamford Bridge. He created a Main Stand exactly the same as the one he'd already built at Craven Cottage. The rest of the ground was open banking around a track, with the land being excavated from the construction of the Piccadilly Tube Line. 

In 1914-15, Chelsea reached the FA Cup final for the first time, but they were defeated 3-0 by Sheffield United at Old Trafford. Massive crowds flocked to Stamford Bridge after the Great War, even though the team was relegated before reclaiming its top-flight status, with Hughie Gallacher wooing the fans.

Following World War II, Chelsea hosted Dynamo Moscow in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000 for the 3-3 draw. The club continued to splash the cash with Tommy Lawton joining the 'Pensioners’, as the club was nicknamed at the time. He would be replaced by Roy Bentley. A youth system was put in place, which would reap great rewards.

It went on to produce future first-team stars such as Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith, Peter Osgood, Peter Bonetti, Ray Wilkins, Ron Harris, Bobby Tambling, Alan Hudson, Terry Venables, and John Hollins. In 1952, Chelsea appointed former Arsenal and England striker Ted Drake as manager, who changed the club nickname to the 'Blues'.

Chelsea's old Pensioners crest

English League Champions

The new manager moulded a fine side together, who went on to win the Division One title in 1954-55. Chelsea were denied permission to become England’s first entrants into the European Cup by the Football League and the FA, who didn’t hold the tournament in high esteem. Jimmy Greaves was the darling of ‘Drakes Ducklings’. 

However, he was sold to AC Milan, and form dropped as Drake was replaced by Tommy Docherty. The Scotsman took the team back up after they were relegated, building a side based on youth. Bobby Tambling, Ken Shellito, Barry Bridges, Ron Harris, George Graham, and Eddie McCreadie played some fine football.

Docherty’s exciting team matched the image of London’s swinging sixties with Chelsea becoming the place to be seen as celebrities such as Michael Caine, Steve McQueen, Raquel Welch, Terence Stamp, and Richard Attenborough became regular attendees.

Peter Osgood statue at Stamford Bridge

The Swinging Sixties

Docherty signed winger Charlie Cooke with Peter Osgood shining up front. Chelsea reached the 1966-67 FA Cup Final but were defeated 2-1 by Tottenham Hotspur. Docherty was sacked and replaced by Dave Sexton, who added David Webb and Ian Hutchinson to the emerging talent of Alan Hudson and Peter Houseman. 

Chelsea reached another FA Cup Final in 1969-70 against Leeds United in what would turn out to be one of the most famous of finals. The first game at Wembley ended 2-2 on a quagmire. The replay at Old Trafford had plenty of skill on offer, but it is talked about for the over-the-top tackles that flew in at regular intervals. 

Chelsea came from behind to win the cup with goals from Osgood and Webb. In the following season's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, they reached the final against Real Madrid at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens. The first game ended in a 1-1 draw before goals from John Dempsey and Osgood sealed the cup in the replay. 

Team Break-Up and Financial Woes

Sexton fell out with some players over their lifestyle and attitude. The team lost the 1971-72 League Cup Final to Stoke City, while Osgood and Hudson were sold early in 1973, and the construction of the new East Stand saddled the club with debt. Sexton departed a year later before Chelsea were relegated. 

The cost of the stand rocketed over the period. Chelsea were unable to buy any new players for the next few years. At the same time, the crowds dropped, with some of those remaining being involved in serious crowd trouble both home and away as Chelsea’s hooligan element gave the club a bad name for several ensuing seasons.

Former full-back Eddie McCreadie took over as team manager and led the side, captained by Ray Wilkins, taking Chelsea to promotion in 1976-77. Chelsea fans were banned from away games in April 1977 because of several incidents throughout the campaign, although many defied the order. 

My drawing of Stamford Bridge, club crests, and team kits.
Click on the images to enlarge them.

The Ken Bates Era

McCreadie departed after a disagreement with chairman Brian Mears and was replaced by Ken Shellito, then Danny Blanchflower, as the Blues were relegated again. Geoff Hurst came in as the new manager, but was sacked in the summer of 1981 after Chelsea failed to win promotion. Chairman Mears appointed John Neal as manager. 

He then sold Chelsea to former Oldham Athletic chairman Ken Bates for £1 to end his family’s seventy-six-year association with the club. Although Bates owned the club, he didn’t purchase the freehold of Stamford Bridge, which would lead to severe complications. The club was in dire financial plight, as the team struggled on the pitch.

Bates dealt with issues behind the scenes. Marler Estates had bought a large shareholding in Stamford Bridge from Mears and Lord Chelsea. They then began a campaign to move the club out and build on the land, while Bates launched the ‘Save the Bridge’ campaign

More Ups and Downs

Neal's astute signings in the summer of 1983 turned around the club's fortunes as Kerry Dixon, Pat Nevin, Nigel Spackman, Eddie Niedzwiecki, and David Speedie linked up with player-coach Hollins. A mixture of steel and attractive football saw Chelsea romp to promotion in 1983-84, before Neal resigned due to ill health in the summer of 1985.

Bates came up with the idea of an electric high fence around the pitch to counter the club's hooligan problems and pitch invasions. The plans were blocked by the Greater London Council. Hollins was appointed as manager. He was replaced by Bobby Campbell, whose side was relegated via the playoffs against Middlesbrough in May 1987.

The goals of Dixon and Gordon Durie led Chelsea to the Division Two title a year later. By now, Cabra Estates had bought out Marler Estates and served notice to the club to quit the stadium despite Bates having plans accepted to turn the Bridge into a modern football arena.

The Future of the Bridge Secured and Matthew Harding

Managers came and went while Chelsea consolidated their position in the top flight. Good news came off the pitch when Cabra Estates went bust, with Bates being able to strike a deal with their creditors, the Royal Bank of Scotland, to purchase Stamford Bridge for the club. 

At the same time, he set up the Chelsea Pitch Owners. This was a non-profit organisation that owned the stadium's freehold and ensured that property developers would no longer own the site. Construction on a new stand began at the south end of the stadium with the removal of the old greyhound track. Glenn Hoddle was appointed as manager in the summer of 1993.

Matthew Harding invested significant sums into the club, giving Hoddle the funds to make big signings. the club signed Mark Hughes, Ruud Gullit, and Dan Petrescu in the summer of 1995, while Harding and Bates clashed over the direction the club was taking. 

Chelsea's Unpopular late 80s Crest

Hoddle departed to take up the England job. Bates eventually banned Harding from the Chelsea boardroom and effectively limited his input and influence over the club. The dispute continued, ending only after Harding's untimely death in 1996. 

Gullit was appointed as player-manager and brought in Gianluca Vialli, Frank Leboeuf, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo, Gus Poyet, and Tore André Flo. The side won the 1996-97 FA Cup final against Middlesbrough. The same opponents were defeated in the League Cup final the following season after Vialli had been put in charge of the team.

They also reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where a goal from Zola defeated VfB Stuttgart at the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm. Chelsea became the first-ever English club to take the field without a single Englishman in the side the following season.

The Roman Abramovich Era

Chelsea went on to win the last FA Cup final to be played at the old Wembley Stadium in 1998-99. In the post-season, Vialli added Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eiður Guðjohnsen to his squad, before he was replaced by Claudio Ranieri. John Terry, William Gallas, Frank Lampard, and Jesper Grønkjær all made their mark in the side under the Italian.

Meanwhile, rumours of financial troubles again raised their head. Bates sold the club for £60M to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who quickly paid off most of the club's £80M debt and then authorised the signings of Claude Makélélé, Geremi, Hernán Crespo, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole and Damien Duff.

In 2003-04 Chelsea ended as Premier League runners-up and Champions League semi-finalists. Ranieri was criticised for his continual tinkering of the team line-up and was sacked, with FC Porto boss José Mourinho coming in as his replacement.

Welcome, José Mourinho

In came Arjen Robben, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, and Petr Čech as Chelsea lifted the 2004-05 Premier League title while Lampard and Didier Drogba banged in the goals. To add to the championship win, the Blues defeated Liverpool 3-2 to win the League Cup. However, they went out to the same opponents in the semi-final of the Champions League.

Chelsea retained their Premier League crown in 2005-06 before finishing runners-up the following season but winning the League Cup against Arsenal and the first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley when Manchester United were defeated by Drogba’s extra-time goal. Once again, Liverpool defeated Chelsea in the semi-final of the Champions League.

Mourinho surprisingly departed from the Bridge in September 2007 to be replaced by Avram Grant. The team reached the League Cup Final, where they were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea finished as runners-up to Manchester United in the league but reached the final of the Champions League to face up against the same opponents.

Champions League Final Despair

The all-English final was held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The match ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time, with Lampard netting for the Blues. Club stalwart Terry missed a penalty to lift the trophy, allowing United back in. Nicolas Anelka missed the decisive penalty as the famous cup headed to Manchester.

Grant was sacked as former Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari came in. The new boss only lasted until February 2009 after some poor performances. Russia national team coach Guus Hiddink was appointed caretaker manager until the end of the season, taking Chelsea to another Champions League semi-final; this time going out to FC Barcelona. 

Chelsea came from behind to defeat Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup Final, lifting the trophy for the fifth time. Carlo Ancelotti was appointed in the summer of 2009, with the Italian leading Chelsea to the Premier League and FA Cup double, with Portsmouth the defeated team at Wembley as Drogba scored the winning goal once again.

The Managerial Merry-Go-Round Continues

£50M was spent on Fernando Torres from Liverpool, along with another signing, David Luiz, for the 2010-11 season, but the move failed to pay off. Ancelotti's side finished runners-up, and the manager was duly dismissed. The owner turned to the highly successful young manager of FC Porto, Andre Villas-Boas, to lead a revolution of the playing squad. 

Unfortunately, AVB, as he was to be known in the media, came a cropper as he tried to change things too quickly. A dressing room revolt led to his sacking. Roberto Di Matteo became caretaker manager as performances were suddenly transformed. 

The team stormed to the FA Cup Final, where they defeated Liverpool. However, the greatest achievement was to finally bring the Champions League trophy to Stamford Bridge.

Plans for the new Stamford Bridge

Champions of Europe

Chelsea reached the Champions League final as their run continued. Bayern Munich were their opponents, in their own Allianz Arena, with captain Terry missing the game through suspension. The majestic Didier Drogba carried on his amazing run of form to score a late equaliser. Chelsea won 4-3 on penalties.

To much surprise, Di Matteo didn't last much longer following his triumph. The hugely unpopular decision to bring in Rafael Benitez saw him lead the side to a second European trophy in as many years. Benfica were beaten in Amsterdam as Chelsea lifted the Europa League crown. 

Fans' hero José Mourinho returned to the Bridge, making several astute signings along the way, including Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa. The promise was fulfilled as Mourinho's side won the 2014-15 Premier League with relative ease, thanks in no small part to their defensive record, with keeper Thibaut Courtois returning from his loan spell at Atletico Madrid. 

The League Cup was also collected for the fifth time following a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Mourinho was sacked for a second time in December 2016. Guus Hiddink was brought back as interim manager until the end of the season before Chelsea appointed the former Juventus and current Italy manager, Antonio Conte.

Conte made the valuable signing of midfielder N'Golo Kanté and surprisingly bought back David Luiz. The moves proved pivotal to a happier, more settled squad as Conte’s side played scintillating football, with Luiz and Hazard putting in outstanding performances. Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions for 2016-17, losing the FA Cup final against Arsenal.

Chelsea went on to lift the FA Cup against Manchester United thanks to an Eden Hazard goal. Maurizio Sarri arrived as the new team boss after leaving Napoli in the summer of 2018. He led his side to lift the Europa League following a 4-1 win against Arsenal in Baku through a Hazard brace and goals from Pedro and Olivier Giroud. 

Champions League Joy and Ownership Despair

FIFA ruled that Chelsea had broken the rules on signing overseas youngsters, introducing a transfer ban for the following two windows. Sarri left for Juventus while Hazard moved on to Real Madrid. Former playing legend Frank Lampard was appointed as the new manager, giving young players their chance in 2019-20. 

They reached the FA Cup final, where they lost 2-1 to Arsenal. After expensive new signings failed to gel, Lampard was replaced by Thomas Tuchel in January 2021. The German took the side to the FA Cup final, where they lost 1-0 to Leicester City. However, Kai Havertz's goal saw the Champions League final secured with a 1-0 victory against Manchester City in Porto.

Major issues hit the club in 2022. Owner Abramovich was forced to leave because of sanctions imposed by the British Government on Russia owing to their invasion of Ukraine. Initially, he tried to hand over the stewardship to the Chelsea Foundation. He then wrote off the debt owed to him and put the club up for sale. 

The Todd Boehly Era

The side lost on penalties in both the League Cup and FA Cup finals to Liverpool in the 2021-22 season before a group led by American Todd Boehly bought Chelsea. Huge sums were spent, but Tuchel was soon dismissed over a disagreement. Graham Potter arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion but found managing Chelsea to be a completely different experience. 

Enzo Fernández was signed for a record British fee of £107M, but results didn’t improve. Potter was dismissed in April 2023. Former hero Lampard was brought back as interim. Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as manager in the summer of 2023. The team failed to gel, and fans became restless during the season. 

Pochettino was replaced by Enzo Maresca. Chelsea were crowned 2025 World Club Champions, defeating Paris Saint-Germain. Maresca departed six months later to be replaced by Liam Rosenior. Remarkably, Rosenior was sacked after just three months, and just a few days before an FA Cup semifinal against Leeds United. 

Calum McFarlane was put in charge of the side that lost the final 1-0 to Manchester City, with Xabi Alonso taking on the role from July 2026.

My visits

Chelsea 1 Scarborough 1

League Cup Round Two First Leg - Tuesday 19th September 1989

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 10,439

Chelsea were to experience their most successful period, although they were top of the old First Division when Scarborough were drawn to play them in the League Cup Second Round. The first leg at The Bridge was in September 1989. I booked to go on the Supporters Club coach with Crusher and his dad, George. 

In a somewhat unusual development, the coach got us down there well before kick-off, before 6pm. Chelsea had a bit of a reputation for not being the most welcoming to away fans, so we were summing up whether to go for a beer or not. At that point, Chelsea and Boro fan Andy Borrie, who'd taken a bus of 'Blues' to the game, appeared. 

We went with him to a pub he assured us was fine. I reckon it was probably The Rising Sun looking back. We kept quiet for some time and tried to be discreet, but there were no worries. The home fans knew we weren't locals, but they came up to us and started chatting and were fine.

Boro had about 400 fans in attendance. The locals obviously thought the game would be a formality and not worth attending. We were on the vast open North Terrace, which curved around the disused track like The Shed End opposite. The stadium had staged athletics, speedway, greyhounds, until 1968, and a few games of floodlit cricket in the early 80s. 

To the right was the West Stand, which was two large shallow tiers of seating built into the original bank with a flat roof, while on the other side stood the tall three-tiered East Stand that nearly bankrupted the club some years earlier. Just to the left of where we stood, an unusual elevated North East Stand was previously in place, on its own until it was demolished in the late 70's.

The game itself did not go how the Chelsea fans, or indeed the more realistic Boro fans, had anticipated. Ken Monkou put Boro ahead with an outrageous 40-yard own-goal, which would be nigh on impossible to replicate if he tried from his location on the wing. Chelsea equalised in the second half for the score to end 1-1. 

Although there was no violence, it was obvious from their body language that not all the Chelsea fans wanted to be quite as hospitable at full-time, even more so after the second leg when Boro came from two goals down to win 3-2 and progress to the next round.

Chelsea 2 CSKA Moscow 0

Champions League - Tuesday 20th October 2004

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 33,945 🎟️ Complimentary

In October 2004, I was training for my new position as a Customer Service Assistant with London Underground when the phone rang. I had won two tickets for the Chelsea v CSKA Moscow tie in the Champions League through a competition on Talksport. 

I met Colm, my drinking pal, in Earl's Court before the game, before we headed down to the stadium. The seats were for the upper tier of the West Stand.

This was a relatively new structure with two tiers of seats being separated by sumptuous corporate facilities. The only part of the stadium that remained from my previous visit was the East Stand. To the left, the two-tiered Matthew Harding Stand replaced the North Terrace and was home to the more vocal of the home fans. 

At the other end stood The Shed Stand, which was not dissimilar to its compatriot behind the other goal, only smaller in size and containing more corporate boxes. Behind this stood "Chelsea Village", a creation by Bates to stabilise the club's finances, which included a hotel, apartments, bars, and restaurants. 

The original Shed back wall has been retained; otherwise, there would be no indication of the ground's former shape. It was now rectangular with stands right up to the pitch.

CSKA gave a decent performance, but an early goal and one just before half-time closed out the contest. It was quite a dull second half, so we decided to leave before full-time to beat the crowds. The game finished 2-0 before a crowd which turned out to be the lowest of the season.

Chelsea 2 Hull City 0

Premier League - Sunday 22nd January 2017

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 41,605 🎟️ £30

Following work at Ruislip station, I took the tube down to Parsons Green, where I met my brother Nick, nephew Stan, and niece Sally outside the impressive White Horse, where the Oakham Ales JHB was most welcome. We were joined by Andy and his little lass Heidi before we walked to the ground and were in for kick off just twenty minutes after supping up.

A shocking head injury to Ryan Mason knocked the heck out of the first half after Diego Costa came very close after ten seconds. The ref and medical staff did so well with their prompt attention to both Mason and Cahill immediately after their sickening clash. There was also great work from Tom Huddlestone and Abel Hernandez in holding their teammate down when he wanted to get up.

City dulled the atmosphere further with a doughty defensive display. Eventually, Chelsea found a deserved way through as Victor Moses's cut back was rifled home by Costa. We had an excellent view from our lofty seats in the upper section for £30. The excellent programme was £3.

There was quite a bit of consternation in the away section regarding the amount of ‘tourist fans’ where City’s hard-core support should have been. Don't get me wrong, there will always be some looking to get in, especially at the bigger clubs. I've been one myself at various European grounds, but you don't expect at least a third of the away section to be non-English speakers. 

It got the goat of the City fans, and there were a few close to the knuckle remarks passed on as the tourists played incessantly with their phones or sat in silence. City gave the second half a real go, creating a few half-chances and being turned down for what looked like a stone wall penalty. William fell over with nine minutes to go, and referee Swarbrick was suckered in. 

From the resulting free kick, new striker Oumar Niasse decided it was more prudent to kneel down than challenge Gary Cahill, who scored with a free header. Just before full-time, Eldin Jakupovic saved a one-on-one from Costa. Harry Maguire was head and shoulders above the other defenders on display. 

I'd have been amazed if no club went in for him before the end of the transfer window. All in all, it was a good afternoon out, Mason’s injury aside. It was great to be able to take three City mad, two of whom were under ten, youths to a game. I warned them all of what League One would look like if the mad Allams didn't sell up! 

Chelsea’s fans had gone up in my estimation. They seemed a decent bunch. I left, not quite sure how 60,000 will get away when the Bridge was rebuilt? It was pretty congested as it was. I walked back to Earls Court and eventually got home at 8.30 because of no Jubilee or Metropolitan line trains due to engineering works.

The evening was a little bit nervy, with no thanks to certain tabloids claiming that Ryan Mason was fighting for his life. The truth of the matter was that his condition was under control thanks to the amazing emergency services and surgeon at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

Monday 30th November 2020

I made a further visit as part of my 100-mile Sawasdee Cup Charity Walk late in 2020, visiting all the clubs in the top five tiers within Greater London to raise money for Junior Cricket Development in Thailand.

Many of the pictures of the 'old' Stamford Bridge have been taken from the internet.