Posts Tagged ‘Chelsea’
Your friend, or your lover is a Chelsea Football Club Fan, and you are looking for a unique gift for him? One of the best way is considering a Chelsea Football Gifts for him. They have distinguished features as well as signatures of the famous players, and so on.
Chelsea Football Gifts can also be interpreted as an effort to relive the glorious history of the club and commemorate the players. The precious collection includes Chelsea Season Book, Chelsea Football Newspaper, Chelsea Signed Memorabilia, Chelsea Photos and Montages, Chelsea Framed Stadium Photos etc. You can pick any of the gift considering its significance and speciality. Chelsea Football Newspaper captures the glorious moments of the club from early 20th century to the recent bygone matches.
This memorabilia book is a collection of original newsprints and opens with amontage of the players. The events are reported by persons who have witnessed the matches and moments. This is a must have for Chelsea fans because the recipient would know all about the club’s victories.
Presenting photos and montages of legendary players is also a fascinating idea. Chelsea Football Gifts bring an attractive collection of high-quality photo prints in which players in action are captured. Photos and montages are beautifully framed and can be mounted on walls. The Chelsea Framed Stadium Photos provide a panoramic view of the stadiums where Chelsea has conquered their rivals. Chelsea Football Gifts can be personalised with the recipient’s name.
Chelsea football gifts can be consider on all occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversary, Christmas etc.
Some selected gifts are bear signatures of the legendary players and Chelsea fans will jump with joy when you present these wonderful gifts. Chelsea football gifts are perfect to enrich your collection or add dignity to your study room.
Find more gifts and gift items of Chelsea football club by browsing the Chelsea gifts. The gifts are genuine and refreshes past moments that have historical significance.
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Chelsea Soccer Club, affectionately nicknamed “The Blues” are a professional football club in Britain . The Chelsea home shirts are blue and many fans purchase a Chelsea shirt as they are definitely a much loved football club.
Chelsea’s home ground is Stamford Bridge in Fulham, West London. They have played there since the team was set up in 1905. On a little pedantic note of geographical accuracy, Chelsea aren’t basically based in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, rather in Hammersmith and Fulham. Chelsea FC was set up in March 1905 in the Rising Sun boozer opposite Stamford Bridge. They occupied Stamford Bridge at once later, taking over the site from the London Athletics Club which had utilized the facility for the previous twenty-eight years.
The Chelsea Shirt for home games has long been blue, though it wasn’t always the same dark shade it is today. In 1912, royal blue shirts were introduced. The now familiar blue shorts were added by Tommy Docherty in the 1960s. White socks were also added at this time as it was firmly believed that this suggestion, not in use by any other club made Chelsea more specific. In the 1980s a unusual mint green kit was sported by the Chelsea players. The 1990s saw the Chelsea shirt for away games at its most specific with red and white checks, and a gray and tangerine color scheme all being attempted.
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Giant numbers of sponsors have graced the front of the Chelsea shirt over time. These have included Gulf Air, Coors and most recently Samsung.
The club crest attached to the Chelsea shirt has gone thru 4 major iterations in the history of the club. This gave rise to the club’s nickname of “The Pensioners”. This crest was in use for 50 years when the design was modified as an element of a modernization program going on at the club. A non permanent solution was to use the C.F.C initials for a year till in 1953 when the new crest of a blue lion locking backwards and holding a staff was introduced. This crest took it’s inspiration from the coat of arms of the Borough Of Chelsea.
The crest also featured two footballs and 3 red roses. Another wave of modernisation in 1986 saw the heraldic lion replaced by a more pragmatic looking lion in yellow standing over the C.F.C initials. The final big design change came in 2004 where the old design was reinstated for the coming centenary. This design has made an appearance on the shirts in different color schemes. Like white and gold.
Russian multi-millionaire Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea football club in June 2003 from Ken Bates. The reported quantity of the purchase was 140 million pounds which was at the time the most costly sale in English soccer history. The club’s coach at that point, Italian Claudion Raniers, who took Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup last and Champions League qualification was at first kept but was later sacked for being totally unable to get titles for the team.
Successful coach Jose Mourinho from Portugal then took over as Chelsea’s new guide.
No matter how unsuccessful the team has been during the past, Chelsea has always enjoyed the faithful support of local fans, but the up to date success of the team means today Chelsea is an internationally recognized soccer team and a major business with many sides.
The Chelsea FC online megastore now ships Chelsea-related soccer attire, leisurewear, souvenirs, books and videos around the planet.
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/chelsea-football-1575718.html
Chelsea Football Club are a professional English football club based in West London. The team, founded in 1905, play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions three times, and have won the FA Cup five times, the League Cup four times and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup twice.
The club had their first major success in 1955, winning the league championship. Chelsea won several cup competitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but after that did not win another major title until 1997. The past decade has been the most successful period in Chelsea’s history, capped by winning consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, and reaching their first UEFA Champions League final in 2008.
Chelsea’s home is the 42,055 capacity Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their establishment. The club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, they were bought by Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea’s traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernize or re-brand; the current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion holding a staff, is a modified version of one first adopted in the 1950s.The club has sustained the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football. Their average home gate for the 2008–09 season was 41,464, the fifth highest in the Premier League.
Chelsea were founded on 14 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher’s Hook), opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards. The club’s early years saw little success; the closest they came to winning a major trophy was reaching the FA Cup final in 1915, where they lost to Sheffield United. Chelsea gained a reputation for signing big-name players and for being entertainers, but made little impact on the English game in the inter-war years.
Former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club’s Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions’ Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.
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The late 1970s and the 1980s were a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club, star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade. In 1982 Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of £1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home. On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.
In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million, completing what was then the biggest-ever sale of an English football club. Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies, so he was replaced by Portuguese coach José Mourinho. Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (2004–05 and 2005–06), in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and 2007). In September 2007 Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant, who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, in which they lost on penalties to Manchester United. Grant was sacked days later and succeeded by Luiz Felipe Scolari in July 2008.
Scolari spent only seven months in the job before being dismissed after a string of poor results. Russia coach Guus Hiddink was appointed caretaker manager until the end of the 2008–09 season. Chelsea’s season ended with a 2–1 win over Everton in the FA Cup Final. Two days later former AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was confirmed as Chelsea’s new manager.
Chelsea have only ever had one home ground, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since foundation. It was officially opened on 28 April 1877. For the first 28 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively by the London Athletics Club as an arena for athletics meetings and not at all for football. In 1904 the ground was acquired by businessman Gus Mears and his brother Joseph, who had previously acquired additional land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m²) site.
Chelsea’s kit is currently manufactured by Adidas, which is contracted to supply the club’s kit from 2006 to 2011. Their previous kit manufacturer was Umbro. Chelsea’s first shirt sponsor was Gulf Air, agreed midway through the 1983–84 season. Following that, the club were sponsored by Grange Farms, Bai Lin tea and Italian company Simod before a long-term deal was signed with computer manufacturer Commodore International in 1989; Amiga, an off-shoot of Commodore, also appeared on the shirts. Chelsea were subsequently sponsored by Coors beer (1995–97), Autoglass (1997–2001) and Emirates Airline (2001–05). Chelsea’s current shirt sponsor is Samsung.
Chelsea have the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the fifth best-supported Premier League team in the 2007–08 season, with an average gate of 41,673. Chelsea’s traditional fanbase comes from working-class parts of West London, such as Hammersmith and Battersea, from wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the Home Counties.In addition to the standard football chants, Chelsea fans sing songs like “Carefree”, “Blue is the Colour”, “We all follow the Chelsea” (to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory), “Ten Men Went to Mow”, “Zigga Zagga”, “Hello! Hello!” and the celebratory “Celery”, with the latter often resulting in fans ritually throwing celery.
Chelsea with 30 points is at the top of the Premier League table. Chelsea have highest points in the league table. Till now Chelsea have played 12 Matches in Barclays Premier League 2009-10, out of which they won 10 matches and lose just 2.
Chelsea have a large fan base and have millions of fans all over the world and people love to watch their matches live into the play ground. Chelsea fans love to enjoy and experience the thrill during the Chelsea match live in the ground. Getting football tickets for their matches is really a hard task for the Chelsea fans. Ticket4football.com solves this problem by offering the Chelsea football tickets , easy to get and relatively at cheaper price. So Chelsea Tickets are just at the distance of one click from the fans.
http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/chelsea-in-premier-league-200910-1465088.html
The news of Premier League has grabbed the attention of the football fans. The fans of football are dying to see their most loved football stars, creating histories on the grounds of famous and popular football stadiums. There is a great importance of this league. This year Barclays is sponsoring the Premier League. All the big names of the world of football are taking part in this renowned championship. The management is working really hard to go beyond the expectations of football fans. The Premier League has a charm of its own kind. There is no other football tournament, which can be compared to this great football event. This championship has played a vital role in raising the standard of football. This league has been proudly standing at the first position.
Barclays Premier League has been a highly acclaimed football league. All the famous and popular football clubs are preparing their squads for this championship. The expectations of the fans are soaring high up in the sky. The teams and management are working hard and there preparations are in full swing. They really do not want to disappoint the fans of football. There are plenty of matches, which will be played between compatible and tough teams. Among all the matches, there’s an incredible football match on the list, which is going to be played on Saturday, 15th August, 2009, between the teams of Chelsea and Hull City. The match will start at 12:45, according to the local time. for this match will be seen on internet. This match is going to be one of the most amazing and thrilling football events of the year. The fan following of both the teams are very huge. They are going to hit the stadium, in order to boost up the morale of their most loved footballers.
The preparation of both the teams shows that they are willing to fulfill their aim of winning. The footballers are going to enter on the ground with flying colors and will be giving neck to neck competition to each other, but the teams will play the game with positive spirits. The past record of both the teams is brilliant. The footballers of these teams have been giving commendable performances in their past. will be seen online. A large number of football fans will be going to come to the stadium, for this lovely and magnetic football match.
The tickets for this match are being sold. People are bustling to buy the tickets. If you also want clutch some great deal of fun by watching this charming match, then you can visit the club shop and get the tickets for your family and friends. The tickets can also be purchased from internet. There is going to be a lot of joy and excitement in the stadium, on the day of this splendid football match. You can watch your favorite football stars and can enjoy lip smacking snacks and luscious soft drinks. will be displayed on internet, for the football fans.
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/an-inscrutable-football-match-between-chelsea-and-hull-city-1122901.html
Chelsea football Club, nicknamed’The Blues’ are a professional soccer club in Britain. They play in the select England Premiership League and are one of the most successful teams in the history of English football. They have been English League champs three times and have won the FA cup on 4 occasions.
Chelsea’s home ground is Stamford Bridge in Fulham, West London. They have played there since the team was founded in 1905. On a barely pedantic note of geographical accuracy, Chelsea are not actually based in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, rather in Hammersmith and Fulham. Chelsea FC was set up in March 1905 in the Rising Sun bar opposite Stamford Bridge. They occupied Stamford Bridge shortly later, taking over the site from the London Athletics Club which had used the facility for the previous twenty-eight years.
The Chelsea Shirt for home games has long been blue, although it was not always the same dark shade it is today. The strip was finished with white shorts and blue socks. In 1912, royal blue shirts were introduced. The now familiar blue shorts were added by Tommy Docherty in the 1960s. White socks were also added at this time as it was thought that this suggestion, not in use by any other club made Chelsea more specific. The away kit is typically all yellow or all white, however this has gone thru some engaging deviations over the years. The first away shirt made up black and white stripes. In the 1980s a strange mint green kit was sported by the Chelsea players. The 1990s saw the Chelsea shirt for away games at its most special with red and white checks, and a grey and tangerine colour scheme all being tried. Massive numbers of sponsors have enhanced the front of the Chelsea shirt over time. These have included Gulf Air, Coors and most latterly Samsung.
The club crest attached to the Chelsea shirt has gone through four major iterations during the history of the club. The 1st crest design was based round the picture of a Chelsea Pensioner. This gave rise to the club’s nickname of’The Pensioners’. This crest was in use for fifty years when the design was changed as part of a modernization program going on at the club. A non permanent solution was to use the C.F.C initials for a year till in 1953 when the new crest of a blue lion locking backwards and holding a staff was introduced. This crest took it’s inspiration from the coat of arms of the Borough Of Chelsea. The crest also featured two footballs and 3 red roses. This was the 1st crest to appear on the Chelsea shirt, which was unadorned until this time. Another wave of modernisation in 1986 saw the heraldic lion replaced by a more practical looking lion in yellow standing over the C.F.C initials. The final large design change came in 2004 where the old design was reinstated for the approaching centenary. This design has appeared on the shirts in different colour schemes. Such as white and gold.
It is to be hoped that this brief article has given an engaging background into the shirt and crest of one of England’s most successful and famous groups.
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Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stamford Bridge in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The club is also known by the nickname “The Blues” or “The Pensioners”. Its traditional kit is royal blue shirts and shorts. The club’s crest features a ceremonial blue lion, which holds a staff in his paws.
Chelsea football club was founded in 1905 and was elected to the Football League. Since its foundation the club has played in Stamford Bridge which has a capacity of 42,055 people. Today, Chelsea is considered one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football. In the 60-s and the 90-s they have had two significant periods of success, having won major trophies. The club has won three league titles, four League Cups, two UEFA Winners’ Cups and four FA Cups.
Chelsea is a very popular football club, with many of Chelsea fans, constantly searching for Chelsea news and Chelsea gossip. Its matches have the fifth highest average in English football, attracting over 40,000 people. In 2003 the club was bought by Roman Abramovich, Russian oil tycoon. Chelsea is traditionally associated with working class, although lately it was criticized for becoming a more elitist club due to the raise of ticket prizes. Unlike many other football clubs, Chelsea doesn’t have a long-standing traditional rivalry with any other clubs. Chelsea rumors and gossip are depicted in many articles in the Net and in newspapers. Chelsea fans publish fan magazines, which describe the latest Chelsea news and articles depicting victories of their favorite club.
Are you a keen football fan and love to collect items of Chelsea Football Club? To obtain unique and real items of Chelsea football club consider the Chelsea gifts. The Chelsea gifts a collection of authentic items that relives the magnificent history of the club and also pays homage to the players.
Considering Chelsea gifts is rewarding for Chelsea nuts because they can access items that are archives and not easily available in any sports store. The gifts are valuable because they are signed by legendary players. Gifts such as- shirts, photos and montages bear personal signatures of the celebrated players and presented beautifully in frames. The gifts comes with the certificate of authentic and lifetime guarantee. The gifts are dignified to make the football nut feel elevated.
Chelsea gifts also relive the renowned players and capture them in their action. The photos and montage of the players are presented in different sizes and with the provision to mount or display on the desktop. For example: Chelsea Back To Back Premiership Champions Presentation is truly amazing gift. This montage captures Chelsea’s victory the league championship in 2004 or 05. The stunning presentation exhibits colour photographs of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Jose Morinho holding the trophy. You can consider this gift and make the recipient feel exalted.
You can also consider the signed shirts that are authentic. The signed shirts have the limited edition and are rare. For instance: Frank Lampard Chelsea Signed Shirt is a precious gift as it is personally signed with a black marker pen. The signature is 100% genuine. To purchase such fabulous gifts consider the internet as the best medium. The online gives you the advantage to purchase instantly before the item is out of stock or at the wee hours of any occasions. Additionally, the Chelsea gifts can be delivered to the door steps of the recipient and surprise him on birthdays, anniversary, Christmas, wedding etc.
Do you have the passion of collection authentic items of Chelsea football club? Then consider the Chelsea memorabilia because the unique collection will leave you spell bound. The collection includes- photos, shirts and montages of the legendary players.
The Chelsea memorabilia display some of the rare and unique items. The memorabilia relives the colourful history of the club and commemorates them. Photos and montages capture the celebrated players in action. The prints are of high quality and beautifully presented. The memorabilia also captures the victories of the club and reminiscence the glorious moments. For example: the Chelsea Back to Back Premiership Champions Presentation is a splendid gift to amuse a Chelsea fan. This gift captures the amazing win of the club for the first time in 50 years Chelsea, the league championship in 2004 or 05. The great achievement followed with another title in 2005 or 06 and now has one of the best squad of players in the world.
The Chelsea memorabilia are stunning are available in limited edition. The memorabilia carry the original signatures of players. All these gift items are presented with a certificate of authenticity and lifetime guarantee. You can easily grab pictures of your favourite players. The Chelsea football memorabilia are also best sellers and are ideal gifts on all occasions. For instance- the Chelsea Squad Photo is truly wonderful and awesome item because it is autographed by the Chelsea FC superstars.
Chelsea memorabilia are not easily available in any sports store as they are genuine. The best way to obtain these unique items is by using the internet. Suppliers exhibit these items in their websites and deal with manufactures that rely only on quality. Thus, with the Chelsea Memorabilia gifts you can make your mates envy with these exceptional possession of Chelsea football club.
Find more fascinating and exceptional gift items of Chelsea football club by considering the Chelsea Memorabilia. The football items are presented in beautiful frames and come with certificate of guarantee.
On the 14th March 1905 at the public house The Rising Sun – today called The Butchers Hook – on Fulham Road, London, businessman Henry Mears along with others formed a football club and named it, Chelsea. Fulham would have been the ideal title; unfortunately this had already been taken. Prior to this in 1904, Mears had purchased Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground with the intentions of having Football Clubs play their games there, in particularly Fulham, whom declined. With this, Mears decided to create his own football club.
Like countless other clubs, Chelsea attempted to play in the Southern League but with – and no surprise – Fulham and other Clubs objecting they were refused. Friend and colleague of Mears, Fred Parker then applied for Chelsea to play in the Football League. With some good talking and persuasion by Parker to the appropriate individuals Chelsea were acknowledged to the Football League on May 5th 1905.
Scottish football player and manager John Tait Robertson, was employed as Chelsea Manager and wasted no time in searching for talent for the Club, one of these been the huge 6ft 4”, 22 stone, William “Fatty” Foulke who had already tasted success with Sheffield United, winning the FA Cup.
Chelsea did not get off to the best of starts, loosing their first game away against Stockport County 1-0 on the 2nd September 1905. Their first home game though had a sweeter result when they beat Liverpool 4-0. For their first season in the Second Division, they did make a decent challenge and managed to finish third.
In January 1907, Robertson departed for Glossop, a Football Club based in Derbyshire. Behind closed doors, Chelsea’s Board of Directors typically over ruled the Manager on squad setup and players to play; for Robertson and appropriately so that was the role of Manger and his position became untenable. A Mr William Lewis stepped into Robertson’s shoes for a time been. He was Chelsea’s first Club Secretary and started out as a Football Referee. Unexpectedly, Lewis guided Chelsea to promotion at the end of the season, helped by the football gifts and the first player to score 100 goals for the club, George Hilsdon. Lewis was replaced by Chelsea’s longest serving manager, David Calderhead. He served the club for an astonishing 26 years and with such a lengthy spell at Chelsea, there should have been more achievement to his credit. Even his son, David junior spent time at Chelsea as a player while his Father managed. In total Calderhead oversaw Chelsea play in 966 games.
It wasn’t until 1952 that Chelsea started to have an impact on the game under new manager Ted Drake. Drake was an ex footballer himself, starting his career with Southampton but his time at Arsenal is where he acquired his recognition. Unlike his predecessors, Drake felt more at ease kitted out like a player and not as a manger so it was exceptional to see him in a suit. With the old days gone of the Boards interference, Drake set out to improve the club. Ball work was established in training and instead of looking to the big transfer signings more scouts were sent out to find young hungry talent that would bring quality football gifts to Chelsea. And no longer was the Chelsea Pensioner for this was to be replaced by the lion rampant crest. Fans were urged to get behind the club and team in unison. Patience would be required; for it took until the 1954/55 season for things to start to fall into place and Chelsea were beginning to look and feel like a Football Club with ambition. And they were, winning the League title with a close Wolverhampton Wanderers in second place just 4 points behind. What’s more intriguing is that the majority of the Chelsea squad were considered amateurs with the exception of Roy Bentley. It was difficult for Drake to repeat this accomplishment the following season and Chelsea finished in the bottom half of the table. One Football gift to shine through for the club was top goal scorer and club record holder, scoring 41 goals in a season, Jimmy Greaves but he left for AC Milan in 1961. Without his presence and the balls he once netted, Chelsea drifted down the table meaning it was time for a change and Drake was sacked by the Board.
There was little new manager Tom Docherty could do to prevent relegation to Division 2. He tried and tested various techniques and in doing so sold many of the now aging players. Luckily, Chelsea had many up and coming talented youth players who were eager to prove themselves along with other football gifts. These included Ron “Chopper” Harris, Bobby Tambling, Peter Bonetti and Terry Venables all at Docherty’s disposal. With now a rebuilt squad of such talent, Chelsea finished in second place in Division 2 and on their last game embarrassed Portsmouth with a 7-0 win. On their first season back to Division 1 they finished fifth in the table and the season that followed won the League Cup. There trophy cabinet had space for more but Chelsea missed out on the FA Cup to Manchester United.
Docherty blew hot and cold and this did cause tension with certain players, especially Terry Venables, one for speaking his mind. Venables later signed to Tottenham Hotspur where by this time his old teammate Jimmy Greaves was. Ironically for Docherty and the club it was Tottenham they played against in the first all London FA Cup final and Chelsea’s first appearance at a Wembley final. Chelsea lost 2-1 and not long after Docherty was sacked.
Chelsea really turned the corner in the mid 90’s. 1996 saw the football gifts of Holland legend, Ruud Gullit takes over as manager from Glenn Hoddle who decided to try his hand managing England, as it happens with not much success. Gullit had instant triumph in his opening season, winning the FA Cup, their first significant trophy for 26 years and finishing sixth in the League, Chelsea’s best position since 1990. Regrettably, in 1998 Gullit was sacked over a contract disagreement with the board. His replacement was 33-year-old Gianluca Vialli and within a short space of time had won the Club 2 trophies, the League Cup and the Cup Winners Cup. In 2000 Vialli, with a quality squad that consisted of Zola, Ed de Goey, Frank Leboeuf and Poyet, lifted the FA Cup with a win against Aston Villa. Then they beat Manchester United 2-0 to add the Charity Shield. Vialli by now became Chelsea’s most successful manager. Bizarrely, Vialli was also sacked by the club in the same season for what must be due to a bad start, loosing 5 games on the bounce.
By 2003 Chelsea were financially in trouble with £80 million worth of debt hanging over their head. Unexpectedly, Ken Bates who brought the Club in 1981 for just a pound sold it to Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich for £60 million, which netted Bates a nice profit. Abramovich, made his masses of wealth through the Russian oil industry, buying it exceptionally cheap then selling it on to international companies.
Now the club had no debts and massive funds to buy players like Joe Cole, Geremi, Glen Johnston to name a few.
In 2004/05 season, Abramovich employed the outspoken Jose Mourinho to succeed Ranieri’s as manager of Chelsea. Up until his replacement, Ranieri’s had created a number of good results for Chelsea and helped them finish as runners up in the League. It appears somewhat unforgiving the reason he was sacked but changes made to the formation of the squad by Ranieri’s during a semi-final with AC Monaco which Chelsea ultimately lost was enough for Abramovich to have him replaced.
The 2004/05 season was slow off the marks for Mourinho but gradually gained momentum. In the company of football gifts like Lampard, Cole, Arjen Robben, Ricardo Carvalho and Captain John Terry, Chelsea were beginning to win more and more games. In November, they beat Everton placing them top of the table and never really looked back. The outstanding goalkeeping skills of Petr Cech gave him his own Premiership record of 1025 minutes without a goal scored against him. With two goals from Lampard, the match with Bolton Wanderers was over and so was the title race. It had been a long fifty years since their last League Title. In addition, this gave Chelsea the double with their 2-0 win over Liverpool FC earlier in the year. The Club was heading for the treble in the Champions League. In the semi-final, they met old rivals Liverpool again. This time the scouse club had different ideas and Chelsea couldn’t manage the same result they had previously, loosing 1-0 to a Liverpool squad who defensibly were flawless. The season after saw, Chelsea keep hold of their League title and during a visit to Anfield, they unleashed something special on their hosts, in annihilating them 4-1. Manchester United were close on the heels towards the end of season but Chelsea put that to bed at Stamford Bridge, beating United 3-0. Also becoming the only London Club to win two League Titles in consecutive years. Mourinho’s Chelsea certainly became the team to beat around this time.
The following 2006/07 season saw Chelsea just have a slight dip in form but not enough to stop them from winning the League Cup, beating Arsenal 2-1. Manchester United were back on top in the League tables but Chelsea, still in super form went on to win the FA Cup again, beating United 1-0 at the new Wembley Stadium.
By this time, it was common knowledge that Mourinho and Abramovich did not see eye to eye on numerous matters and with Mourinho not one to back down he decided to leave Stamford Bridge in September 2007. This was indeed a sad day for Chelsea Football Club and the millions of fans worldwide. It is widely agreed that Jose Mourinho, whether you love or hate him brought many football gifts to Chelsea and one that will be very difficult to substitute.
Israeli Avram Grant, replaced Jose Mourinho but the club lacked the success they were accustomed too. He did manage to lead them to the Champions League final but lost out to Manchester United on penalties, subsequently Grant was sacked shortly after.
It was then, Luiz Felipe Scolari turn, a well-known and respected manger worldwide, who had brought glory to the Brazil national team in the 2002 World Cup. Again, sacked after another short spell on 9th February 2009.
On the 1st June 2009, Carlo Ancelotti took over from temporary manager Guus Hiddink. It is still early days but Chelsea’s first match with Ancelotti in charge was for the Community Shield against Manchester United, which ended 2-2. Chelsea went on to win through penalties 4-1. With that, it was Chelsea’s first win taking penalties in over 10 years.
A football club with an illustrious background dating back several decades, Chelsea Football Club is one of the most popular sports clubs in the world, thanks to the fabulous performances the team has gifted their fans over the years. Established in the early 1900s, this mega football club is one of the best teams featured in the English Premier League. Most often than not you will find Chelsea FC’s name firmly placed at among the top 4 teams at the top of the table, along with similar high profile teams the likes of Arsenal FC, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Chelsea FC is even recognized as a potent force on the global stage, taking up the challenge of coming face to face with worthy opponents such as AS Roma, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Celtic, FC Bayern and Werder Bremen in various European tournaments. The club has won a staggering number of trophies and titles over the years to solidify its place on the global football arena. Known as “The Blues” by millions of fans across the world, Chelsea FC has managed to contract a multitude of famous players both local and foreign by spending millions of pounds.
Under the leadership of its current owner, wealthy Russian businessman, Roman Abramovich, Chelsea FC has been able to expand its horizons in terms of their budget and sigh up players such as Didier Drogba from the Ivory Coast and Petr Cech from the Czech Republic.
However, it was not by chance that Chelsea FC made a name for itself as a football club. Rather it was with the help of a handful of great personalities such as Roy Bentley, Steve Clarke, Marcel De Sailly, Kerry Dixon, Ron Harris, Pat Nevin, Dennis Wise, Gianluca Vialli, Frank Lampard and John Terry to name a few. Visitors to Stamford Bridge, London will have the chance of taking a guided tour of the stadium to learn about the greatest achievements of the club and its history.
If you’re on the lookout for London hotel accommodation in the heart of the city, reserve your stay at Millennium and Copthorne Hotels at Chelsea Football Club and enjoy a holiday full of pleasant memories. Catering to every need of the modern day traveler, this charming rest offers a variety of useful facilities along with exceptional hotel accommodation in London to its guest.