Leagues

Club History
The catalyst for the formation of Chelsea Football Club was the fact that nearby Fulham FC turned down the opportunity to rent the Stamford Bridge ground from landlord Mr H A Mears, who had owned the site since 1904. Mears, though, was determined to develop the site as a football stadium rather than sell it to the Great Western Railway. He got together with Frederick Parker, who covinced Mears that it would be financially advantageous to develop a major sporting venue in south-west London. So Chelsea FC was formed in 1905. When they were denied admission to the Southern League, Chelsea were immediately admitted into the Second Division of the Football League. Despite spending seven spells in the old Second Division between 1905 and 1989, Chelsea have never been out of the top two tiers of English football, and in 1992 became one of the founder members of the Premier League. In 1954-55 manager Ted Drake - legendary swashbuckling goalscorer for Arsenal and England in the 1930s - guided Chelsea to their one and so far only League title. Tommy Docherty and Dave Sexton built teams that made an impact in cup competitions in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but by the early 1980s the near-bankrupt club had been bought by Ken Bates for a token £1. As chairman Bates enjoyed a flamboyant reign that saw Chelsea secure Stamford Bridge as their home. Bates oversaw the ambitious development of the stadium as part of the Chelsea Village hotel, sports and leisure complex. He also appointed, in succession, Glenn Hoddle, Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri as team managers. The club duly established themselves among the small band of England"s elite and enjoyed a glamorous image as well as more success in cup competitions. But by mid-2003 Chelsea were nearly bankrupt again. Enter Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire, who bought the club off Bates and embarked on a spending spree unprecedented in English or indeed world football. The investment in highly-priced international talent nearly paid early dividends: Chelsea finished second in the Premiership, their best position for 49 years; and they were European Cup (Champions League) semi-finalists. But nearly was not good enough for Abramovich, and manager Ranieri - who position had been insecure all season despite good results - paid the price with his job in early summer 2004. His replacement was Jose Mourinho, who had just won five major trophies in two years with Porto, including the Uefa Cup (2003) and European Cup (2004). The Portuguese coach has promised Chelsea the Premiership title under his management. Abramovich will expect him to deliver.