1954–55 Chelsea F.C. season

Chelsea

1954–55 season
Chairman	Joe Mears
Manager	Ted Drake
First Division	1st
FA Cup	Fifth round
Top goalscorer	League: Roy Bentley (21) All: Roy Bentley (21)
Highest home attendance	75,043 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (9 April 1955)
Lowest home attendance	30,239 vs Burnley (23 August 1954)

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. Four consecutive defeats in October had left the club in 12th place this time.

But the team lost just three more meaningful league games that season and beat principal rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers twice to secure the Championship with a game to spare. 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.

Results

First Division

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	Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Chelsea	42	20	12	10	81	57	1.421	52
2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	19	10	13	89	70	1.2714	48
3	Portsmouth	42	18	12	12	74	62	1.1935	48

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

FA Cup

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

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

General

• Soccerbase
• Hockings, Ron. 100 Years of the Blues: A Statistical History of Chelsea Football Club. (2007)

Specific