Chelsea Football Club

Established in 1905 Chelsea have spent most of their history in the top flight of English Football. Based in London Chelsea play their matches at Stamford Bridge and are rivals with fellow neighbours Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham. In the early years Chelsea achieved little success however they grabbed the attention of the masses by signing big name players. A trait which some would argue continues today with the seemingly never-ending backing of Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea made little impact on English Football during the inter-war years but during the 1950s modernisation of the club led to their lifting the League Championship for the 1954/1955 season. During the 1960s Chelsea challenged for honours with a young talented side eager to impress but failed to win any trophies despite several near misses.

In the 1970s and 1980s the club suffered through a period of financial instability caused by an ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge. Money worries coupled with the emergence of a hooligan element among supporters plagued the club throughout the 1980s. The team itself was at one of its lowest ebbs coming close to relegation to the Third Division. However things began to change and with a new team put together for a nominal outlay Chelsea secured the Second Division title in the 1983-1984 season and earned promotion back to the top flight.

Chelsea suffered relegation in 1988 but bounced back to the top division immediately and attempted to secure themselves as a constant fixture in the First Division. With the appointment of Rudd Gullitt as player-manager in 1996 the fortunes of the club began to change with the influx of several top-class international players such as Gianfranco Zola. Chelsea secured the FA club in 1997 and began to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the top flight. Claudio Ranieri guided the club to Champions League qualification in 2002-2003 and things were looking good for the London team.

Chelsea were sold to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in June 2003 for £140 million and despite over £100 million being spent on new players Ranieri was unable to secure any trophies. Ranieri was duly replaced by Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho. Mourinho then led the club to great success evidenced by lifting the Premiership title in 2005 and 2006, Chelsea becoming only the fifth team to win back to back championships since the Second World War.