Chelsea were not formed until the relatively late date of 1905 and struggled to make an impact in a London containing many already well-established football clubs, with a sole appearance in the 1915 FA Cup final their only pre World War II adventure of note. The club finally sprung to life in the 1950s under Ted Drake who led a stylish side to the title in 1955. A second celebrated team emerged in the 1960s under Tommy Docherty, coming close to a domestic treble in 1965. The club finally secured their first FA Cup in 1970 and tasted European glory a year later in the European Cup Winners Cup. Both trophies were won again in the 1990s which was a welcome relief after a 1980s in which Chelsea almost went out of business, almost lost their stadium Stamford Bridge and suffered hooliganism issues. Chelsea's traditional glamour returned in the 1990s with a series of foreign managers including Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli. 2003 saw controversial owner Ken Bates sell to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic and he pumped in an unprecedented amount of money into the club in a short period. Under Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho the club won their first title for 50 years in 2005 and retained it the following year. In 2008 the club reached their first European Cup final but lost on penalties to Manchester United.
| Record win 9-2 v Glossop, 1906 |
Record defeat 1-8 v Wolves, 1953 |
| Record league appearances Ron Harris, 655 |
Most league goals in a season Jimmy Greaves, 41 (1960-61) |
| Most league goals Bobby Tambling, 164 |
League Champions 1955, 2005, 2006 |
| FA Cup winners 1970, 1997, 2000, 2007 |
League Cup winners 1965, 1998, 2005, 2007 |
| European Cup Winners Cup winners 1971, 1998 |
European Super Cup winners 1998-99 |
| Record transfer fee paid £30m for Andrei Shevchenko (AC Milan, 2006) |
Record transfer fee received £24m for Arjen Robben (Real Madrid, 2007) |
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