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

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First Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
21 August 1954 Leicester City A 1–1 38,941 Bentley
23 August 1954 Burnley H 1–0 30,239 Parsons
28 August 1954 Bolton Wanderers H 3–2 52,756 Bentley, Lewis, Ball (o.g.)
31 August 1954 Burnley A 1–1 52,756 Bentley
4 September 1954 Cardiff City H 1–1 42,688 Lewis
6 September 1954 Preston North End H 0–1 36,947
11 September 1954 Manchester City A 1–1 36,230 Bentley
15 September 1954 Preston North End A 2–1 27,549 Parsons, McNichol
18 September 1954 Everton H 0–2 59,199
20 November 1954 Sheffield United A 2–1 14,137 Stubbs, Lewis
25 September 1954 Newcastle United A 3–1 45,659 McNichol, Bentley (2)
2 October 1954 West Bromwich Albion H 3–3 67,440 Parsons, Bentley, Lewis
9 October 1954 Huddersfield Town A 0–1 29,556
16 October 1954 Manchester United H 5–6 55,966 Armstrong, O'Connell (3), Lewis
23 October 1954 Blackpool A 0–1 19,694
30 October 1954 Charlton Athletic H 1–2 54,113 Parsons
6 November 1954 Sunderland A 3–3 42,416 McNichol (2), Stubbs
13 November 1954 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–1 52,961 Bentley, Lewis
20 November 1954 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–1 25,913 McNichol
27 November 1954 Portsmouth H 4–1 40,358 McNichol, Stubbs, Bentley, Blunstone
4 December 1954 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 4–3 32,095 McNichol, Bentley (2), Stubbs
11 December 1954 Aston Villa H 4–0 36,162 Parsons, McNichol (2), Bentley
18 December 1954 Leicester City H 3–1 33,215 Parsons, McNichol, Froggatt/Milburn (o.g.)
25 December 1954 Arsenal A 0–1 47,178
27 December 1954 Arsenal H 1–1 65,922 O'Connell
1 January 1955 Bolton Wanderers A 5–2 30,988 Sillett, O'Connell, Bentley (2), Higgins (o.g.)
22 January 1955 Manchester City H 0–2 34,160
5 February 1955 Everton A 1–1 50,658 Bentley
12 February 1955 Newcastle United H 4–3 50,667 McNichol, Bentley (3)
26 February 1955 Huddersfield Town H 4–1 35,786 Parsons, Bentley, Stubbs, Blunstone
5 March 1955 Aston Villa A 2–3 24,822 Parsons, McNichol
9 March 1955 West Bromwich Albion A 4–2 7,764 Sillett (2), Saunders, Bentley
12 March 1955 Blackpool H 0–0 55,227
19 March 1955 Charlton Athletic A 2–0 41,415 O'Connell, Blunstone
23 March 1955 Cardiff City A 1–0 16,649 O'Connell
29 March 1955 Sunderland H 2–1 33,203 Willemse, McDonald (o.g.)
2 April 1955 Tottenham Hotspur A 4–2 53,159 Sillett (pen.), Wicks, McNichol (2)
8 April 1955 Sheffield United H 1–1 50,978 Parsons
9 April 1955 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 75,043 Sillett (pen.)
16 April 1955 Portsmouth A 0–0 40,230
23 April 1955 Sheffield Wednesday H 3–0 51,421 Sillett (pen.), Parsons (2)
30 April 1955 Manchester United A 1–2 34,933 Bentley

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[a]
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

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Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
8 January 1955 R3 Walsall Stamford Bridge 2–0 40,020 O'Connell, Stubbs
29 January 1955 R4 Bristol Rovers Eastville Stadium 3–1 35,952 Parsons, McNichol, Blunstone
19 February 1955 R5 Notts County Meadow Lane 0–1 41,930

Players Used

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[3]

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

References

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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.