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| Hundreds of millions later Chelsea still lack the ultimate pot of gold | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Season One 2003-04 | Season One 2003-04 |
| Roman Abramovich's £60m takeover of an institution with debts of around £80m was accompanied by a blaze of eye-catching signings, from the likes of Damien Duff for £17m to Hernán Crespo at £16.9m, as Claudio Ranieri constructed a squad aimed at challenging both domestically and in Europe. More than £110m was spent overhauling the playing staff and the second-place finish secured behind Arsenal's "invincibles" represented the club's best in 49 years. Indeed, their rivals were defeated at Highbury in the Champions League quarter-finals, only for Ranieri, long tagged a "dead man walking" as a remnant of a previous regime, to tinker too much in the semi-finals and succumb to Monaco. Abramovich duly wielded the axe and recruited José Mourinho and his entourage, as well as the Dutch scout Piet de Visser to bolster his scouting options. | Roman Abramovich's £60m takeover of an institution with debts of around £80m was accompanied by a blaze of eye-catching signings, from the likes of Damien Duff for £17m to Hernán Crespo at £16.9m, as Claudio Ranieri constructed a squad aimed at challenging both domestically and in Europe. More than £110m was spent overhauling the playing staff and the second-place finish secured behind Arsenal's "invincibles" represented the club's best in 49 years. Indeed, their rivals were defeated at Highbury in the Champions League quarter-finals, only for Ranieri, long tagged a "dead man walking" as a remnant of a previous regime, to tinker too much in the semi-finals and succumb to Monaco. Abramovich duly wielded the axe and recruited José Mourinho and his entourage, as well as the Dutch scout Piet de Visser to bolster his scouting options. |
| No honours; League position 2nd | No honours; League position 2nd |
| Net spend £111.6m | Net spend £111.6m |
| Season Two 2004-05 | Season Two 2004-05 |
| A new manager instigated another overhaul of the playing squad, with Didier Drogba (£24m) and Ricardo Carvalho (£19.6m) among high-profile incoming transfers, with the squad given a flavour of that which had claimed the European Cup with Mourinho at Porto the previous season. The self-styled Special One's impact was immediate,, a remarkable league campaign culminating in a first title in half a century with 95 points amassed en route and only one defeat sustained. There was League Cup success as well and, while Uefa imposed a two-match ban on the manager for claims made against the referee Anders Frisk at Barcelona, the only sour note was provided by Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Champions League, where Luis Garcia's "ghost goal" denied Mourinho's side passage to Istanbul. | A new manager instigated another overhaul of the playing squad, with Didier Drogba (£24m) and Ricardo Carvalho (£19.6m) among high-profile incoming transfers, with the squad given a flavour of that which had claimed the European Cup with Mourinho at Porto the previous season. The self-styled Special One's impact was immediate,, a remarkable league campaign culminating in a first title in half a century with 95 points amassed en route and only one defeat sustained. There was League Cup success as well and, while Uefa imposed a two-match ban on the manager for claims made against the referee Anders Frisk at Barcelona, the only sour note was provided by Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Champions League, where Luis Garcia's "ghost goal" denied Mourinho's side passage to Istanbul. |
| Premier League and League Cup winners Net spend £103.4m | Premier League and League Cup winners Net spend £103.4m |
| Season Three 2005-06 | Season Three 2005-06 |
| Mourinho had secured more lucrative terms after protracted, and occasionally tortuous, negotiations and his squad was lavishly tweaked, rather than rebuilt, ahead of the new campaign with Michael Essien (£24.4m) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (£20.6m) the most notable arrivals. Nine consecutive league wins at the start of the season set the tone for another upbeat campaign. So dominant were Chelsea that they ended up claiming their second successive title by defeating Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in April, Mourinho hurling his medal and blazer into the crowd at the presentation ceremony. Frank Arnesen, who had been lured controversially from Tottenham for some £8m in compensation, filled the role of sporting director to offer the club a semblance of structure away from Mourinho's entourage, while the club also started training at a 140-acre site in Cobham, purchased for £20m, which would take two years to develop fully. | Mourinho had secured more lucrative terms after protracted, and occasionally tortuous, negotiations and his squad was lavishly tweaked, rather than rebuilt, ahead of the new campaign with Michael Essien (£24.4m) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (£20.6m) the most notable arrivals. Nine consecutive league wins at the start of the season set the tone for another upbeat campaign. So dominant were Chelsea that they ended up claiming their second successive title by defeating Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in April, Mourinho hurling his medal and blazer into the crowd at the presentation ceremony. Frank Arnesen, who had been lured controversially from Tottenham for some £8m in compensation, filled the role of sporting director to offer the club a semblance of structure away from Mourinho's entourage, while the club also started training at a 140-acre site in Cobham, purchased for £20m, which would take two years to develop fully. |
| Premier League winners Net spend £37.6m | Premier League winners Net spend £37.6m |
| Season Four 2006-07 | Season Four 2006-07 |
| The cracks that had appeared the previous season with Mourinho's mood swings steadily widened. Andriy Shevchenko's British record £30m arrival from Milan was on Abramovich's whim, the Ukraine international scoring only four times in the league all season. His omission from the starting line-up was considered political, regardless of his form, and he was not even included on the bench as Chelsea again exited the Champions League at Anfield. That tested the relationship between owner and manager, and the latter was seemingly further undermined by Avram Grant's arrival as director of football. The Israeli was a friend of Abramovich's and appeared to be his stooge. Amid the back-drop of resignation threats and general discord, success in both domestic cup competitions went almost unnoticed. | The cracks that had appeared the previous season with Mourinho's mood swings steadily widened. Andriy Shevchenko's British record £30m arrival from Milan was on Abramovich's whim, the Ukraine international scoring only four times in the league all season. His omission from the starting line-up was considered political, regardless of his form, and he was not even included on the bench as Chelsea again exited the Champions League at Anfield. That tested the relationship between owner and manager, and the latter was seemingly further undermined by Avram Grant's arrival as director of football. The Israeli was a friend of Abramovich's and appeared to be his stooge. Amid the back-drop of resignation threats and general discord, success in both domestic cup competitions went almost unnoticed. |
| FA Cup and League Cup winners League position 2nd | FA Cup and League Cup winners League position 2nd |
| Net spend £28.8m | Net spend £28.8m |
| Season Five 2007-08 | Season Five 2007-08 |
| The summer appeared to mark a change, the manager declaring himself "mellow Mourinho" in pre-season and relations with the owner apparently restored. The club's transfer policy was more conservative, too, with Florent Malouda at £13.5m the main arrival and free transfers adding to squad numbers. Yet it took only two months for normal service to resume, with Mourinho sacked after a relatively sloppy start to the campaign. Grant was promoted from director of football and, having been granted funds to sign Nicolas Anelka for £15m, finished second, reached the League Cup final and was a penalty kick away from delivering the Champions League. Yet John Terry slipped, Anelka missed and Grant was subsequently sacked. The compensation eventually paid to Mourinho, Grant and five members of the coaching staff amounted to some £23.1m. | The summer appeared to mark a change, the manager declaring himself "mellow Mourinho" in pre-season and relations with the owner apparently restored. The club's transfer policy was more conservative, too, with Florent Malouda at £13.5m the main arrival and free transfers adding to squad numbers. Yet it took only two months for normal service to resume, with Mourinho sacked after a relatively sloppy start to the campaign. Grant was promoted from director of football and, having been granted funds to sign Nicolas Anelka for £15m, finished second, reached the League Cup final and was a penalty kick away from delivering the Champions League. Yet John Terry slipped, Anelka missed and Grant was subsequently sacked. The compensation eventually paid to Mourinho, Grant and five members of the coaching staff amounted to some £23.1m. |
| No honours; League position 2nd | No honours; League position 2nd |
| Net spend £10.7m | Net spend £10.7m |
| Season Six 2008-09 | Season Six 2008-09 |
| Luiz Felipe Scolari, a World Cup winner with his native Brazil in 2002 and the bane of also the bane of England's hopes while with Portugal, was appointed on a three-year deal worth around £6m a season, his immediate task to persuade Frank Lampard to remain at the club amid interest from Internazionale. A new five-year contract worth around £150,000 a week was eventually agreed, with Jose Bosingwa and Deco the main arrivals and the squad actually trimmed. Yet Scolari's tenure, after a bright start, deteriorated dramatically and, by February, the board's concern at potentially missing out on Champions League qualification prompted the axe after barely seven months in the role. Compensation amounted to some £12.6m. Guus Hiddink was hired until the end of the season and won the FA Cup, while Abramovich courted the Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti. | Luiz Felipe Scolari, a World Cup winner with his native Brazil in 2002 and the bane of also the bane of England's hopes while with Portugal, was appointed on a three-year deal worth around £6m a season, his immediate task to persuade Frank Lampard to remain at the club amid interest from Internazionale. A new five-year contract worth around £150,000 a week was eventually agreed, with Jose Bosingwa and Deco the main arrivals and the squad actually trimmed. Yet Scolari's tenure, after a bright start, deteriorated dramatically and, by February, the board's concern at potentially missing out on Champions League qualification prompted the axe after barely seven months in the role. Compensation amounted to some £12.6m. Guus Hiddink was hired until the end of the season and won the FA Cup, while Abramovich courted the Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti. |
| FA Cup winners; League position 3rd | FA Cup winners; League position 3rd |
| Net spend £8.8m | Net spend £8.8m |
| Season Seven 2009-10 | Season Seven 2009-10 |
| Ancelotti was unveiled on a three-year deal worth £6m a season, with Yuri Zhirkov, purchased from CSKA Moscow apparently for £16m, the only major arrival, John Terry secured on new terms worth over £150,000 a week and Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, a high-profile departure. A transfer ban imposed by Fifa following Gaël Kakuta's controversial arrival from Lens served to limit the activity, with the club subsequently cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The campaign ended in a glut of goals to secure the title, and FA Cup success over Portsmouth, though Ancelotti had been hired to secure the European Cup. To that end, a loss to Mourinho's Internazionale in the knock-out phase was damaging. | Ancelotti was unveiled on a three-year deal worth £6m a season, with Yuri Zhirkov, purchased from CSKA Moscow apparently for £16m, the only major arrival, John Terry secured on new terms worth over £150,000 a week and Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, a high-profile departure. A transfer ban imposed by Fifa following Gaël Kakuta's controversial arrival from Lens served to limit the activity, with the club subsequently cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The campaign ended in a glut of goals to secure the title, and FA Cup success over Portsmouth, though Ancelotti had been hired to secure the European Cup. To that end, a loss to Mourinho's Internazionale in the knock-out phase was damaging. |
| Premier League and FA Cup winners Net spend £16m | Premier League and FA Cup winners Net spend £16m |
| Season Eight 2010-11 | Season Eight 2010-11 |
| Ancelotti's second season began with the release of senior players such as Joe Cole and Michael Ballack and demands from the ownership to make better use of the youth-team players recruitedat relatively substantial expense by Arnesen, though during a mid-season slump that policy was ditched in spectacular style with the signings of Fernando Torres and David Luiz for a combined £73.3m. By then, faith in the Italian was on the wane. Ray Wilkins, the assistant manager, was sacked and Michael Emenalo, a former Nigeria international who had joined the club under Grant, was incorporated into the backroom staff. Defeat by Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals sealed the manager's fate, and he was sacked after finishing second to be placed on gardening leave until taking a position at Paris St Germain in December 2011. | Ancelotti's second season began with the release of senior players such as Joe Cole and Michael Ballack and demands from the ownership to make better use of the youth-team players recruitedat relatively substantial expense by Arnesen, though during a mid-season slump that policy was ditched in spectacular style with the signings of Fernando Torres and David Luiz for a combined £73.3m. By then, faith in the Italian was on the wane. Ray Wilkins, the assistant manager, was sacked and Michael Emenalo, a former Nigeria international who had joined the club under Grant, was incorporated into the backroom staff. Defeat by Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals sealed the manager's fate, and he was sacked after finishing second to be placed on gardening leave until taking a position at Paris St Germain in December 2011. |
| No honour; League position 2nd | No honour; League position 2nd |
| Net spend £71.7m | Net spend £71.7m |
| Season Nine 2011-12 | Season Nine 2011-12 |
| It cost Abramovich £13.3m to secure his primary target, the young Europa League winning coach André Villas-Boas from Porto, in the summer with the new man's brief to overhaul and revitalise the playing staff. Money was spent in the market, principally on Juan Mata (£23m), Raul Meireles (£12m) and Gary Cahill (£7m) with further funds invested in youth. Romelu Lukaku, Thibault Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne and even Oriol Romeu represented recruits for the future, though only the last bore the hallmarks of a Villas-Boas target. The others, as the Portuguese put it, were "club signings". Yet, predictably enough, there was resistance to attempts to move on some of the established senior players, and fall-outs with the influential Lampard and Ashley Cole undermined Villas-Boas' standing in the dressing room. Results suffered as the team failed to grasp the style of play the manager wished to impose and Chelsea have rather limped out of the top four as a result. They are now three points adrift and trailing Napoli after the first leg of their Champions League knock-out tie, a reality that prompted Abramovich, much to his own irritation, to dismiss the Portuguese 256 days into a three-year contract. The squad is still imbalanced, the entrenched senior pros still appearing to dictate policy, with the next permanent manager facing the onerous task of culling the dead wood and then creating a team of contenders. That will most likely have to be done without the lavish funding enjoyed by some of his predecessors given the imminent application of Financial Fair Play rules. Chelsea's clout in the market would suffer even more should they fail to reach the Champions League for the first time in the Abramovich era. | It cost Abramovich £13.3m to secure his primary target, the young Europa League winning coach André Villas-Boas from Porto, in the summer with the new man's brief to overhaul and revitalise the playing staff. Money was spent in the market, principally on Juan Mata (£23m), Raul Meireles (£12m) and Gary Cahill (£7m) with further funds invested in youth. Romelu Lukaku, Thibault Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne and even Oriol Romeu represented recruits for the future, though only the last bore the hallmarks of a Villas-Boas target. The others, as the Portuguese put it, were "club signings". Yet, predictably enough, there was resistance to attempts to move on some of the established senior players, and fall-outs with the influential Lampard and Ashley Cole undermined Villas-Boas' standing in the dressing room. Results suffered as the team failed to grasp the style of play the manager wished to impose and Chelsea have rather limped out of the top four as a result. They are now three points adrift and trailing Napoli after the first leg of their Champions League knock-out tie, a reality that prompted Abramovich, much to his own irritation, to dismiss the Portuguese 256 days into a three-year contract. The squad is still imbalanced, the entrenched senior pros still appearing to dictate policy, with the next permanent manager facing the onerous task of culling the dead wood and then creating a team of contenders. That will most likely have to be done without the lavish funding enjoyed by some of his predecessors given the imminent application of Financial Fair Play rules. Chelsea's clout in the market would suffer even more should they fail to reach the Champions League for the first time in the Abramovich era. |
| Current league position 5th | Current league position 5th |
| Net spend £46.5m | Net spend £46.5m |