First-team squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Petr Čech 3 DF Ashley Cole 4 MF Claude Makélélé 5 MF Michael Essien 6 DF Ricardo Carvalho 7 FW Andriy Shevchenko 8 MF Frank Lampard (vice-captain) 9 DF Khalid Boulahrouz 10 MF Joe Cole 11 FW Didier Drogba 12 MF John Obi Mikel 13 MF Michael Ballack

No. Position Player 14 DF Geremi Njitap 16 MF Arjen Robben 18 DF Wayne Bridge 19 MF Lassana Diarra 20 DF Paulo Ferreira 21 FW Salomon Kalou 22 GK Magnus Hedman 23 GK Carlo Cudicini 24 MF Shaun Wright-Phillips 26 DF John Terry (captain) 47 FW Ben Sahar 40 GK Henrique Hilário

In popular culture

In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, The Great Game.^[50] One-time Chelsea centre forward, Jack Cock, who by then was playing for Millwall, was the star of the film and several scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including the pitch, the boardroom and the dressing rooms. It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills and Sam Millington.^[51] Owing to the notoriety of the Chelsea Headhunters, a football firm associated with the club, Chelsea have also featured in films about football hooliganism, most recently The Football Factory.^[52] Chelsea also appear in the Hindi film, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.^[53]

Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with the music halls, with their underachievement often providing material for comedians such as George Robey.^[54] It culminated in comedian Norman Long's release of a comic song in 1933, ironically titled "On The Day That Chelsea Went and Won The Cup", the lyrics of which described a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical day when Chelsea finally won a trophy.^[6]

The song "Blue is the Colour" was released as a single in the build-up to the 1972 League Cup final, with all members of Chelsea's first team squad singing; it reached number five in the UK Singles Chart.^[55] The song was later adapted to "White is the Colour" and adopted as an anthem by the Vancouver Whitecaps.^[56] In the build-up to the 1997 FA Cup final, the song "Blue Day", performed by Suggs and members of Chelsea's squad, reached number 22 in the UK charts.^[57] Bryan Adams, a fan of Chelsea, dedicated the song "We're Gonna Win" from the album 18 Til I Die to the club.

Club records

Chelsea's highest appearance-maker is ex-captain Ron Harris, who played in 795 first-class games for the club between 1961 and 1980.^[41] This record is unlikely to be broken in the near future; Chelsea's current highest appearance-maker is Frank Lampard with 316.^[42] The record for a Chelsea goalkeeper is held by Harris' contemporary, Peter Bonetti, who made 729 appearances (1959-79). With 116 caps (67 while at the club), Marcel Desailly of France is Chelsea's most capped international player.

Bobby Tambling is Chelsea's all-time top goalscorer, with 202 goals in 370 games (1959-70).^[41] Six other players have also scored over 100 goals for Chelsea: George Hilsdon (1906-12), George Mills (1929-39), Roy Bentley (1948-56), Jimmy Greaves (1957-61), Peter Osgood (1964-74 & 1978-79), and Kerry Dixon (1983-92), who is the only player in the club's recent history to have come close to matching Tambling's record, with 193 goals. Greaves holds the record for the most goals scored in one season (43 in 1960-61). Chelsea's current top-scorer is Frank Lampard with 89.^[42] Lampard's 16 goals in the 2005-2006 season is a record for a midfielder in the English Premier League.^[43]

Officially, Chelsea's highest home attendance is 82,905 for a First Division match against Arsenal on 12 October 1935. However, an estimated crowd of over 100,000 attended a friendly match against Soviet team Dynamo Moscow on 13 November 1945.^[44] The modernisation of Stamford Bridge during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands mean that neither record will be broken for the foreseeable future. The current legal capacity of Stamford Bridge is 42,055.^[1]

Chelsea hold numerous records in English and European football. They hold the record for the highest points total for a league season (95), the fewest goals conceded during a league season (15), the most consecutive clean sheets during a league season (10), the highest number of Premier League victories in a season (29), the highest number of clean sheets overall in a Premier League season (25) (all set during the 2004-05 season),^[14] and the most consecutive clean sheets from the start of a league season (6) (2005-06). Their 21–0 aggregate victory over Jeunesse Hautcharage in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 remains a record in European competition.^[45] Chelsea may also hold the British transfer record, but the fee for Andriy Shevchenko, estimated at around £30m, remains unconfirmed.^[46]

Chelsea have recorded several "firsts" in English football. Along with Arsenal, they were the first club to play with shirt numbers on 25 August 1928 in their match against Swansea Town.^[47] Chelsea were the first English side to travel by aeroplane to a domestic away match, when they visited Newcastle United on 19 April 1957,^[48] and the first First Division side to play a match on a Sunday, when they faced Stoke City on 27 January 1974. On December 26, 1999, Chelsea became the first British side to field an entirely foreign (non-UK) starting line-up in a Premier League match against Southampton.^[49]

Crest

Chelsea's first crest.

Club crest 1953-1986.

Centenary club crest.

Since the club's foundation, Chelsea have had four main crests, though all underwent minor variations. In 1905, Chelsea adopted as their first crest the image of a Chelsea pensioner, which obviously contributed to the "pensioner" nickname, and remained for the next half-century, though it never appeared on the shirts. As part of Ted Drake's modernisation of the club from 1952 onwards, he insisted that the pensioner badge be removed from the match day programme in order to change the club's image and that a new crest be adopted.^[24] As a stop-gap, a temporary emblem comprising simply the initials C.F.C. was adopted for one year. In 1953, Chelsea's crest was changed to an upright blue lion looking backwards and holding a staff, which was to endure for the next three decades.

Club crest 1986-2005.

This crest was based on elements in the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea^[25] with the "lion rampant regardant" taken from the arms of then club president Viscount Chelsea and the staff from the Abbots of Westminster, former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea. It also featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs. This was the first club badge to appear on shirts, since the policy of putting the crest on the shirts was only adopted in the early 1960s.^[24]

In 1986, with new owners now at the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and to capitalise on new marketing opportunities.^[24] The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, yellow and not blue, standing over the C.F.C. initials. It lasted for the next 19 years, with some modifications such as the use of different colours. With new ownership, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the club's traditional badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2004. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2005-06 season and marks a return to the older design of the blue heraldic lion holding a staff.^[4] As with previous crests, this one has appeared in various colours, including white and gold.

Chelsea player of the year (1967–2006)

Year Winner 1967 Peter Bonetti 1968 Charlie Cooke 1969 David Webb 1970 John Hollins 1971 John Hollins 1972 David Webb 1973 Peter Osgood 1974 Gary Locke 1975 Charlie Cooke 1976 Ray Wilkins 1977 Ray Wilkins 1978 Micky Droy 1979 Tommy Langley 1980 Clive Walker 1981 Petar Borota 1982 Mike Fillery 1983 Joey Jones 1984 Pat Nevin 1985 David Speedie 1986 Eddie Niedzwiecki

Year Winner 1987 Pat Nevin 1988 Tony Dorigo 1989 Graham Roberts 1990 Ken Monkou 1991 Andy Townsend 1992 Paul Elliott 1993 Frank Sinclair 1994 Steve Clarke 1995 Erland Johnsen 1996 Ruud Gullit 1997 Mark Hughes 1998 Dennis Wise 1999 Gianfranco Zola 2000 Dennis Wise 2001 John Terry 2002 Carlo Cudicini 2003 Gianfranco Zola 2004 Frank Lampard 2005 Frank Lampard 2006 John Terry

Stamford Bridge

Name: Stamford Bridge
Inauguration: 28 April 1877
Capacity: 42,500 seats
Record Attendance: 82,905; Chelsea-Arsenal, 1935
Address: Fulham Road, London, SW6 1HS

Chelsea History

Chelsea Football Club (also known as The Blues or previously The Pensioners) are an English professional football club based in west London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier in English football. They have had two broad periods of success, one during the 1960s and early 1970s, and the second from the late 1990s to the present day. Chelsea have won three league titles, three FA Cups, four League Cups and two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups.^[2] During the 2005-06 season, they became Premier League champions for the second consecutive year.

Chelsea's home is the 42,055 capacity^[1] Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their foundation. Despite their name, the club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, the club were bought by Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich.^[3]

The club's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. Their traditional crest is a ceremonial blue lion holding a staff; a modified version of this was adopted in 2005.^[4] Chelsea are one of the best-supported clubs in the UK, with an estimated fanbase of around four million.^[5] The club have also made a contribution to popular culture, appearing in films and the music charts.