Season by Season: 1931/2

George Pearson in action during the FA Cup
quarter-final at Anfield. 

Hughie Gallacher was notthe only notable arrival on our return to the big time.

Fellow Scotlandinternational forwards Alex Cheyne from Aberdeen (a substantial £6,000 signing)and Alec Jackson, a winger from the famous 1928 Wembley Wizards, had helped reshape our attack, and full-backGeorge Barber, who cost nothing, would play nearly 300 games for Chelsea.

Among several fondfarewells, none was more poignant than Simeon ‘Sam’ Millington’s. With 78shutouts, the solidly reliable keeper held the Chelsea record for clean sheetsfor half a century until surpassed by Peter Bonetti.

His replacement wasanother Chelsea legend, dashing 21-year-old Vic Woodley, who would establish aclub record for England international caps eventually topped by Ray Wilkins.His agility, safe-handling and tendency to come off his line for crosses – ararity at the time – would serve Chelsea superbly over 252 League games, all ofthem in the top flight.

The glamorous appeal ofChelsea, sorely tested during the wilderness years, had revived. Along with it,though, returned the old stigma of underachievement in the League.

We lost nine of the first13 matches this season, including a 3-6 hammering at home to Aston Villa. Thena run of seven wins in nine beginning at Christmas took us from the relegationzone to a respectable 13^th.

As was often the case, only the cupseemed to bring the best out of what was a star-studded team. An excellent runsaw off Tranmere, West Ham, and Sheffield Wednesday – typically, against them,after a replay. 

The quarter-finals brought a visit to Anfield to playLiverpool, then off the pace in the race for the Championship. Nearly 60,000turned out to see goals from Hughie Gallacher and George Pearson tame the Reds. 

“Gallacher was undoubtedly the best forward on the field.The little Scot was in brilliant form, and his wonderful dribbles seemed todemoralise the home defence.” The Daily Express on Chelsea’s FA Cup 2-0 defeatof Liverpool at Anfield

Gallacher had scored inevery round he had figured in – he missed the Sheffield Wednesday tie – and hemust have looked forward to our first semi-final since 1915 more than most, asit was against his old club Newcastle.

Again he managed a goal,but the Magpies were already two ahead by that stage and sadly we missed out on thefinal appearance.

Newcastle ran out victorsat Wembley, defeating Arsenal with a hotly disputed goal, scored from a crosswhen the ball appeared over the bye-line. 

In 1931/32...

Facts & figures: Arecord 75,334 crowd comes to Stamford Bridge for the visit of Arsenal.

League finish: Twelfth in Division One for the second successive season.

Cup run: All the way to the semis, where we lost to Newcastle.

All the rage: Coca-Cola uses its red livery in Xmas adverts to colour Santa’ssuit red for the first time. 

Season by Season: 1937/8

A rare clearance by Liverpool's goalie
in a 6-1 Chelsea win.

Like many a decent season, we started what would be the penultimatepre-war campaign with victory over Liverpool. That man George Mills did thedamage, grabbing three in a 6-1 humiliation of a side that included post-warManchester United legend Matt Busby in its midfield (he would later guest forthe Pensioners during World War Two).

To say it was disappointing was an understatement. Intheir usual way the board had set out to stem the tide with a major signing inthe spring: hard-working centre-forward Joe Payne arrived for a pricy £5,000from Second Division Luton Town. Originally tried out as an emergency striker,he’d notched up 83 goals in 72 games at Kenilworth Road.

Such a destruction set the tone for a great start, witheight wins out of our first 12 games established Chelsea two points clear ofnearest rivals Brentford. The prolific Joe Bambrick was succumbing to injury,but penalty-taking Wilf Chitty was enjoying one of his occasional hiatuses, andscored 11 this season.

With the agile and intuitive Woodley still at his bestbetween the sticks, and recently arrived England star Sam Weaver, with hispioneering long throws, skippering a surprisingly stable squad, the oldinconsistency of football’s Cinderellas was nevertheless close at hand.

“That must be a record: the combined ages of our full-backs is 80!” Fan overheard decrying the veteran Chelsea defence (from Scott Cheshire’s ‘Chelsea: An Illustrated History’) 

A run of just six wins in our last 30 matches saw usslip from two points clear at the top of Division One to tenth. We ended upwith the same points total as the previous year and, ironically, Liverpool.

By the time war interrupted he’d managed a respectable23 in 42 at the Bridge too. On top of his arrival, Leslie Knighton coped withill form and injury by giving rein to one or two bit-parters. These includedflying attacking midfielder Peter Buchanan, a tricky Glaswegian whose pace anddirect runs opened up defences but often lacked the final flourish to create agoal. He earned his sole Scottish cap in 1938.

Another cameo artiste was the ageing defender NedBarkas, hastily recruited from Huddersfield Town, who combined at the back withthe equally vintage Tommy Law – in his twelfth season at the back. Majorrepair was now needed on a creaking squad if Chelsea were to make progress.

In 1937/8...

Facts & figures: New signing Joe Payne had once notched 10 goals inone game for Luton.

League finish: Tenth in Division One.

Cup run: Out in the third round to Everton.

All the rage: The BBC runs its first live TV coverage of a football match: the FA Cup Final between Preston and Huddersfield.

Season by Season: 1912/13

With memories of the debacle of relegation three seasons earlier still fresh, the most realistic hope in August 1912 was that the club would survive, rather than thrive, in Division One.

A run of the three defeats at the start of the campaign, including a dispiriting 1-2 loss at home to an insignificant Liverpool team, confirmed the worst. This was going to be tough.

Still, David Calderhead’s side managed to beat Sheffield United 4-2 and swiftly followed that with morale-boosting wins over Sunderland and, in Plumstead, The Arsenal. The Gunners fired blanks that season and would finish bottom of the table and in considerable turmoil.

The map of football in the capital was about to change though. Complaining that no one wanted to go and watch them where they were – and taking just £200-odd through the turnstiles – Woolwich Arsenal accepted that other London clubs they had recently voted into existence, including Chelsea, were proving far too attractive to the football-going public in that part of the city.

They would soon move to land owned by the College of Divinity in Islington.

“It has been the experience that when professional football has been established in any quarter that a new public is created for the game. Chelsea is a case in point” Daily Mirror 1913

Chelsea’s rebuilding centred around the squad as usual. The most important new arrival had been Jack Harrow the previous campaign. Now settled into his new home, the former Croydon player (above, left) would be the left-back of choice for many years into the future. He became the first Blue to rack up 300 appearances, either side of the First World War, at that.

Yet Bob Whittingham was injured for long periods and the Pensioners missed his regularity, despite managing a creditable 51 goals, Viv Woodward again pulling more than his weight.
But 71 goals conceded in 38 games told its own story.

Between October and the start of January Chelsea notched just one win, against fellow top flight rookies Derby, in 14 attempts. The rest of the season, almost to the final day, was a torment to Stamford Bridge loyalists.

As it unfolded, it became clear that either Chelsea or Notts County would suffer the drop with The Arsenal.

Losing 1-6 at home to Blackburn Rovers at the end of March must have appeared disastrous at the time, but a spree of two wins in mid-April, one against struggling Spurs, happily rendered the final match superfluous.

Relieved, the Pensioners whacked Notts County 5-2. Better, much better, was to come in the ensuing seasons, but for now it was just great to remain among the top nobs.

In 1912/13…
Facts and figures: 21 defeats was the most suffered up to this point; it was 38 years before a worse record was established
Cup run: Second round, losing to Sheffield Wednesday in a replay
All the rage: Coco Chanel, icon of tailored chic, opened her first shop in Deauville, France

Season by Season: 1909/10

These were uncertain times around the world, not just the footballing community of London SW. In England’s coffee houses there were fears about Germany building a battleship fleet, problems in the Balkans and the destabilising effect of the Revolution in Russia.

From Indonesia, meanwhile, Dutch zoologists announced the discovery of the enormous Komodo Dragon to the world. If dragons - albeit not fire-breathing ones - actually existed, what other unwelcome surprises lay in store?

For the growing band of followers of Chelsea, London’s second and infinitely more attractive alternative to Woolwich Arsenal, the answer came on 30th April at White Hart Lane. A win against Spurs would have earned two points and, on superior ‘goal average’ (goals for divided by those against), consigned our Woolwich rivals to Division Two. As it is we lost 1-2, the winner coming courtesy of former Pensioner Percy Humphreys, and the bitter pill of relegation was swallowed for the first of six times in our history.

"To-day it is brass bands and fireworks or the Dead March in Saul and funeral coaches. Ah me! How we shall await the half-time verdict from Tottenham!" The Chelsea Chronicle ponders the club's fate ahead of the last game of the season

In actual fact for parts of the season it had looked as if Chelsea would achieve tedious mid-table again. But David Calderhead's team gradually slipped away from 14th at Christmas, with home form standing examination against the very best, but away form woeful.

The team, despite regular shake-ups from manager David Calderhead, won only once on its travels – at Middlesbrough. There were dispiriting defeats to Liverpool (1-5) and Bolton (2-5).

One of the primary causes was the early absence through injury of peerless goal poacher George Hilsdon, who played only a few matches and contributed just three goals rather than his familiar two dozen. The quality of a squad also boasting Ben Warren and Jimmy Windridge was augmented by the arrival of muscular midfield artist Sam Downing and another Chelsea legend, Vivian Woodward (pictured scoring against Tottenham). Woodward, a celebrated amateur international forward who oozed class, had quit Spurs in the summer and surprisingly reappeared as a Chelsea player.

His association with Chelsea would be a long one, but it began with disappointment. In April, as the Division Two trapdoor creaked open, Chelsea’s pockets were rifled again. English McConnell, Marshall McEwan and lantern-jawed striker Bob Whittingham, all deployed in the final match of the season, were among the panicking manager’s last throw of the dice. These emergency purchases prompted the Football Association to introduce the first ever transfer deadline.

But the wave of enthusiasm and finance that created had Chelsea Football Club, and that had carried the team into the upper echelon of the Football League after just 76 matches, had waned.

The Pensioners finished 19th, with just 29 points and a goal difference of –23.

In 1909/10...
Facts and figures: The 29 point haul remains Chelsea's worst ever
Cup campaign: Second round, losing to Tottenham Hotspur
All the rage: Morgan’s first three-wheel Runabout motor car is the urban head-turner