1954–55 Chelsea F.C. season

English football club season February 2015 February 2015 Chelsea 1954–55 Ted Drake Joe Mears First Division 1st FA Cup Fifth round Roy Bentley (21) Roy Bentley (21) 75,043 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (9 April 1955) 30,239 vs Burnley (23 August 1954) _whitecollarplain _whitetop 0000ff 0000ff 0000ff 000000 _whitecollarplain _whitetop ff0000 ff0000 ff0000 000000 1953–54 1955–56 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. 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.https://archive.org/details/chelseafcofficia0000glan/page/254/mode/2up 254 Chelsea FC: The Official Biography Rick Glanvill 2005 Headline London 0755314654 Results First Division DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 21 August 1954 Leicester CityA1–138,941Bentley 23 August 1954 BurnleyH1–030,239Parsons 28 August 1954 Bolton WanderersH3–252,756Bentley, Lewis, Ball (o.g.) 31 August 1954 BurnleyA1–152,756Bentley 4 September 1954 Cardiff CityH1–142,688Lewis 6 September 1954 Preston North EndH0–136,947 11 September 1954 Manchester CityA1–136,230Bentley 15 September 1954 Preston North EndA2–127,549Parsons, McNichol 18 September 1954 EvertonH0–259,199 20 November 1954 Sheffield UnitedA2–114,137Stubbs, Lewis 25 September 1954 Newcastle UnitedA3–145,659McNichol, Bentley (2) 2 October 1954 West Bromwich AlbionH3–367,440Parsons, Bentley, Lewis 9 October 1954 Huddersfield TownA0–129,556 16 October 1954 Manchester UnitedH5–655,966Armstrong, O'Connell (3), Lewis 23 October 1954 BlackpoolA0–119,694 30 October 1954 Charlton AthleticH1–254,113Parsons 6 November 1954 SunderlandA3–342,416McNichol (2), Stubbs 13 November 1954 Tottenham HotspurH2–152,961Bentley, Lewis 20 November 1954 Sheffield WednesdayA1–125,913McNichol 27 November 1954 PortsmouthH4–140,358McNichol, Stubbs, Bentley, Blunstone 4 December 1954 Wolverhampton WanderersA4–332,095McNichol, Bentley (2), Stubbs 11 December 1954 Aston VillaH4–036,162Parsons, McNichol (2), Bentley 18 December 1954 Leicester CityH3–133,215Parsons, McNichol, Froggatt/Milburn (o.g.) 25 December 1954 ArsenalA0–147,178 27 December 1954 ArsenalH1–165,922O'Connell 1 January 1955 Bolton WanderersA5–230,988Sillett, O'Connell, Bentley (2), Higgins (o.g.) 22 January 1955 Manchester CityH0–234,160 5 February 1955 EvertonA1–150,658Bentley 12 February 1955 Newcastle UnitedH4–350,667McNichol, Bentley (3) 26 February 1955 Huddersfield TownH4–135,786Parsons, Bentley, Stubbs, Blunstone 5 March 1955 Aston VillaA2–324,822Parsons, McNichol 9 March 1955 West Bromwich AlbionA4–27,764Sillett (2), Saunders, Bentley 12 March 1955 BlackpoolH0–055,227 19 March 1955 Charlton AthleticA2–041,415O'Connell, Blunstone 23 March 1955 Cardiff CityA1–016,649O'Connell 29 March 1955 SunderlandH2–133,203Willemse, McDonald (o.g.) 2 April 1955 Tottenham HotspurA4–253,159Sillett (pen.), Wicks, McNichol (2) 8 April 1955 Sheffield UnitedH1–150,978Parsons 9 April 1955 Wolverhampton WanderersH1–075,043Sillett (pen.) 16 April 1955 PortsmouthA0–040,230 23 April 1955 Sheffield WednesdayH3–051,421Sillett (pen.), Parsons (2) 30 April 1955 Manchester UnitedA1–234,933Bentley First Division 5 y CHE FA Cup DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 8 January 1955 R3WalsallStamford Bridge2–040,020O'Connell, Stubbs 29 January 1955 R4Bristol RoversEastville Stadium3–135,952Parsons, McNichol, Blunstone 19 February 1955 R5Notts CountyMeadow Lane0–141,930 Players Used "Champions of a different era". BBC Sport. 30 April 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2013. 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 Chelsea Category:Chelsea F.C. seasons 1955