Chelsea History

• March 14, 1905 – a lot of names were suggested for a new football club. Among them were: Stamford Bridge FC, Kensington FC and intriguingly, London FC, but they were rejected. In such a way Chelsea Football Club was formed at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher’s Hook). John Tait Robertson, a Scottish international became the first player/manager.
• September 2, 1905 – Chelsea’s first football game took place at Stockport County. Unfortunately they lost 1-0, but won the first home match 4-0 against Liverpool.
• May 29th 1905 - Chelsea were elected to the Football League. The club’s early years saw little success.
• 1906 – William Lewis the team’s secretary became a temprorary manager. Chelsea got more popularity due to striker Bob Whittingham and half-back Ben Warren. The game against Manchester United was attended by 67,000 fans.
• 1915 - the club almost reached the FA Cup. They lost to Sheffield United.
• 1920 - the occasion when Chelsea very nearly reached the FA Cup, losing 3-1 to Aston Villa at the semi-final stage.
• 1930 – they finally reached the First Division where they were to remain for the next 32 years. Then the club bought three Scottish international forwards: Alec Cheyne, Alec Jackson and Hughie Gallacher.
• 1952 - Ted Drake became a new manager. He modernized the club by removing the club’s Chelsea pensioner crest, improving the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilding the side.
• 1954 – 1955 – changes followed to the first major trophy success – the League championship. The Championship was won in the penultimate game, at home to Sheffield Wednesday on St. George’s Day.
• 1960 – Chelsea appointed Tommy Docherty as a manager. He selected fresh-faced players with names like Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris, Barry Bridges, Bobby Tambling and Terry Venables. The average age of the side dropped down to just 21.
• 1965 - The Pensioners won the League Cup. It was Chelsea’s first knockout cup success. Leicester City were defeated 3-2 on aggregate in the League Cup Final, those days a two-legged affair.
• 1966 – The Blues were defeated by the Yorkshire club 2-0.
• 1970 - beating Leeds United 2–1, Chelsea became champions.
• 1971 – The Blues took first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup triumph, beating Real Madrid in Athens.
• 1983 – 1984 - Chelsea won the Second Division title.
• 1988 – the club was relegated again.
• 1988 – 1989 – The Blues won the Second Division championship.
• 1993 - Glenn Hoddle was appointed to the manager’s chair. The quality of Chelsea’s play improved. In 1994 the team reached the FA Cup final.
• 1996 – Ruud Gullit became a play-manager of The Blues. He was a former European Footballer of the Year. He invited such professional players as Gianfranco Zola.
• 1997 – Chelsea won the FA Cup.
• 1998 – the next manager was Gianluca Vialli. He led Chelsea to victory in the League Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup.
• 2000 – the club won the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
• 2002 - 2003 – Claudio Ranieri (a new manager) guided Chelsea to the FA Cup final and Champions League qualification.
• 2003 -Roman Abramovich became a new owner of Chelsea. Bates sold the team for £140 million. Roman Abramovich spent over £100 million on new players and changed the coach on José Mourinho.
• 2005 – after big changes Chelsea became Premiership champions. Also they beat Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium 3-2 winning the League Cup and reached the Champions League semi-finals.
• 2006 – The Blues were the League Champions again.
• 2007 – Chelsea won the League Cup for the second time in three years. They also were winners with a 1-0 win over Manchester United.
• September, 2007 – Avram Grant became a manager.