1954–55 Chelsea F.C. season

The 1954–55 season was Chelsea Football Club's 50th of competitive football, their Golden Jubilee and their 20th consecutive year in the English top flight. It was also the club's most successful year up to that point, as they won the Football League Championship for the first time.

Chelsea
1954–55 season
ChairmanJoe Mears
ManagerTed Drake
First Division1st
FA CupFifth round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Roy Bentley (21)
All:
Roy Bentley (21)
Highest home attendance75,043 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (9 April 1955)
Lowest home attendance30,239 vs Burnley (23 August 1954)

The success was unexpected; Chelsea had never won a major trophy before and their league positions since the Second World War had ranged from 8th to 20th. They also began this season inauspiciously, and the club were languishing in 12th place after four consecutive defeats in October. Subsequently, results improved and the team lost just three of their next 25 matches, ultimately securing the title with a game to spare. Key to the success were two wins against their principal title rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and a ten match unbeaten streak during the title run-in. Club captain Roy Bentley finished as top scorer, with 21 goals, and the club attracted an average home gate of 48,307, the highest in the division.

As champions of England, Chelsea were invited to enter the inaugural European Cup. They initially accepted, but later withdrew from the competition under pressure from the Football League, who saw the tournament as a distraction to domestic football.[1]

Results

First Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
21 August 1954Leicester CityA1–138,941Bentley
23 August 1954BurnleyH1–030,239Parsons
28 August 1954Bolton WanderersH3–252,756Bentley, Lewis, Ball (o.g.)
31 August 1954BurnleyA1–152,756Bentley
4 September 1954Cardiff CityH1–142,688Lewis
6 September 1954Preston North EndH0–136,947
11 September 1954Manchester CityA1–136,230Bentley
15 September 1954Preston North EndA2–127,549Parsons, McNichol
18 September 1954EvertonH0–259,199
20 November 1954Sheffield UnitedA2–114,137Stubbs, Lewis
25 September 1954Newcastle UnitedA3–145,659McNichol, Bentley (2)
2 October 1954West Bromwich AlbionH3–367,440Parsons, Bentley, Lewis
9 October 1954Huddersfield TownA0–129,556
16 October 1954Manchester UnitedH5–655,966Armstrong, O'Connell (3), Lewis
23 October 1954BlackpoolA0–119,694
30 October 1954Charlton AthleticH1–254,113Parsons
6 November 1954SunderlandA3–342,416McNichol (2), Stubbs
13 November 1954Tottenham HotspurH2–152,961Bentley, Lewis
20 November 1954Sheffield WednesdayA1–125,913McNichol
27 November 1954PortsmouthH4–140,358McNichol, Stubbs, Bentley, Blunstone
4 December 1954Wolverhampton WanderersA4–332,095McNichol, Bentley (2), Stubbs
11 December 1954Aston VillaH4–036,162Parsons, McNichol (2), Bentley
18 December 1954Leicester CityH3–133,215Parsons, McNichol, Froggatt/Milburn (o.g.)
25 December 1954ArsenalA0–147,178
27 December 1954ArsenalH1–165,922O'Connell
1 January 1955Bolton WanderersA5–230,988Sillett, O'Connell, Bentley (2), Higgins (o.g.)
22 January 1955Manchester CityH0–234,160
5 February 1955EvertonA1–150,658Bentley
12 February 1955Newcastle UnitedH4–350,667McNichol, Bentley (3)
26 February 1955Huddersfield TownH4–135,786Parsons, Bentley, Stubbs, Blunstone
5 March 1955Aston VillaA2–324,822Parsons, McNichol
9 March 1955West Bromwich AlbionA4–27,764Sillett (2), Saunders, Bentley
12 March 1955BlackpoolH0–055,227
19 March 1955Charlton AthleticA2–041,415O'Connell, Blunstone
23 March 1955Cardiff CityA1–016,649O'Connell
29 March 1955SunderlandH2–133,203Willemse, McDonald (o.g.)
2 April 1955Tottenham HotspurA4–253,159Sillett (pen.), Wicks, McNichol (2)
8 April 1955Sheffield UnitedH1–150,978Parsons
9 April 1955Wolverhampton WanderersH1–075,043Sillett (pen.)
16 April 1955PortsmouthA0–040,230
23 April 1955Sheffield WednesdayH3–051,421Sillett (pen.), Parsons (2)
30 April 1955Manchester UnitedA1–234,933Bentley

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Chelsea (C) 42 20 12 10 81 57 1.421 52 Disqualified from the European Cup[lower-alpha 1]
2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 19 10 13 89 70 1.271 48
3 Portsmouth 42 18 12 12 74 62 1.194 48
4 Sunderland 42 15 18 9 64 54 1.185 48
5 Manchester United 42 20 7 15 84 74 1.135 47
6 Aston Villa 42 20 7 15 72 73 0.986 47
7 Manchester City 42 18 10 14 76 69 1.101 46
8 Newcastle United 42 17 9 16 89 77 1.156 43
9 Arsenal 42 17 9 16 69 63 1.095 43
10 Burnley 42 17 9 16 51 48 1.063 43
11 Everton 42 16 10 16 62 68 0.912 42
12 Huddersfield Town 42 14 13 15 63 68 0.926 41
13 Sheffield United 42 17 7 18 70 86 0.814 41
14 Preston North End 42 16 8 18 83 64 1.297 40
15 Charlton Athletic 42 15 10 17 76 75 1.013 40
16 Tottenham Hotspur 42 16 8 18 72 73 0.986 40
17 West Bromwich Albion 42 16 8 18 76 96 0.792 40
18 Bolton Wanderers 42 13 13 16 62 69 0.899 39
19 Blackpool 42 14 10 18 60 64 0.938 38
20 Cardiff City 42 13 11 18 62 76 0.816 37
21 Leicester City (R) 42 12 11 19 74 86 0.860 35 Relegation to the Second Division
22 Sheffield Wednesday (R) 42 8 10 24 63 100 0.630 26
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Chelsea were invited to play at the inaugural European Cup but were barred from participation by The FA.[2]

FA Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
8 January 1955R3WalsallStamford Bridge2–040,020O'Connell, Stubbs
29 January 1955R4Bristol RoversEastville Stadium3–135,952Parsons, McNichol, Blunstone
19 February 1955R5Notts CountyMeadow Lane0–141,930

Players Used

[3]

Player Position League Goals Cup Goals Games Goals
Scotland Charlie Thomson Goalkeeper 16 0
Scotland Bill Robertson Goalkeeper 26 0
England Ken Armstrong Right-half 39 1
England Stan Wicks Centre-half 21 1
England Alan Dicks Centre-half 1 0
England Ron Greenwood Centre-half 21 0
Scotland John Harris Centre-half/right-back 31 0
England Derek Saunders Left-half 42 1
England Peter Sillett Right-back 21 6
England Stan Willemse Left-back 36 1
England Eric Parsons Right-wing 42 11
England Frank Blunstone Left-wing 23 3
England Jim Lewis Left-wing 17 6
Scotland John McNichol Inside-Forward 40 14
England Roy Bentley (c) Centre forward 41 21
England Les Stubbs Inside-left 27 5
England Robert Edwards Outside-left 1 0
England Peter Brabrook Forward 3 0
England Bobby Smith Centre forward 4 0
England Seamus O'Connell Inside-Forward 10 7

References
General
  • Soccerbase
  • Hockings, Ron. 100 Years of the Blues: A Statistical History of Chelsea Football Club. (2007)
Specific
  1. Glanvill, Rick (2005). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography. London: Headline. p. 254. ISBN 0755314654.
  2. The great Chelsea surrender
  3. "Champions of a different era". BBC Sport. 30 April 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
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