Ever since the dawn of the English Premier League (EPL) just shy of three decades ago, many clubs have attempted to clinch the competition’s highest honor and failed miserably at that endeavor. Only seven teams have managed to get over the hump and lift the coveted trophy – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea.
How many Premier League titles has Chelsea won? Chelsea has won an impressive five Premier League titles over their illustrious tenure in the top-tier league. The Blues are tied for the second most EPL titles in history with perennial rivals Manchester City. That’s roughly 17% of all titles won.
If we were to consider all top-flight championships, then Chelsea would have six since they won their first League trophy in their 1954-55 season. The five titles mentioned above were won in the EPL era which started in mid-1992 and replaced the defunct Football League, which had been in existence since 1888.
The Unlikeliest of Beginnings
Chelsea’s beginnings differ from those of other English clubs in that it was formed after its home ground – Stamford Bridge – had already been in existence for some time. The first owner of the club founded it in early March in the year 1905 for the stadium. The norm is that a club or team is first started then a home ground is sought or built.
The club’s founder, Gus Mears, purchased Stamford Bridge in 1904, which was then known as the Stamford Bridge Athletics Stadium, and decided to start his own team after rejecting lease offers from a neighboring club.
Mears considered several names for his new creation including London FC and Stamford Bridge FC but ultimately settled on the name Chelsea in reference to a nearby borough. Though the stadium was located in Fulham, West London, the name Fulham was off the table since a club using that name had already been in existence for several years.
Years of Struggles
Like most football clubs, Chelsea had its own fair share of problems, especially during its early years. Despite securing promotion to the First Division in only their second season, the Pensioners struggled to stay afloat and often slipped back into the Second Division.
These early inconsistencies could be attributed to improper management since the club didn’t necessarily have serious financial problems. Most of the revenue collected during the era was almost exclusively from ticket sales – a department which the club excelled in having recorded the league’s highest attendance in at least 10 seasons.
Chelsea had to wait for five decades (50 years) to win their first major trophy – the Football League title which they won in their 1954-55 season. The club continued to modernize over the next decade and a half and managed to have some semblance of success but often fell short of the ultimate prize.
A Turnaround of Fortunes
The club entered into its “dark ages” in the late 1970s and 1980s due to a number of factors. Chief among them were an ill-advised redevelopment project which just came shy of bankrupting the club.
By 1982, the English side was so riddled with financial problems that it was sold to its former owner, Ken Bates, for just £1. The Blues were relegated twice over the course of the decade but managed to fight their way back into the First Division on both occasions.
The 1990s and the formation of the Premier League gave Chelsea a new lease on life. The club won the FA Cup in 1996 and the League Cup and UEFA Super Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998. They also had their most successful run in the EPL up to that point and finished in second place in their 1998-99 campaign.
Bates, however, made some poor financial decisions which landed the club into serious debt by the turn of the new millennium. The Englishman nevertheless acquitted himself honorably by selling Chelsea to Russian businessman Roman Abramovich in July 2003 for £140 million.
The Championship Era
Abramovich’s arrival propelled the club into a new era of financial abundance. The billionaire’s immediate motivation was winning trophies – a desire that saw him put £100 million at then boss Claudio Ranieri’s disposal to facilitate the signing of new players.
Despite a significant improvement in his squad, Ranieri failed to deliver any silverware and soon parted ways with the club. Abramovich then struck gold by entrusting the future of the club to a then little-known strategist by the name of José Mourinho, who was until then the manager of Portuguese side FC Porto.
Mourinho bolstered his squad on both the offensive and defensive ends with the addition of forward Didier Drogba and defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira respectively. Other notable signings at the time included goalkeeper Petr Čech and midfielder Arjen Robben.
The five joined the already existing core of midfielders Frank Lampard and Joe Cole and defender John Terry and won back-to-back EPL titles in the Blues’ 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons under the leadership of the “Special One”.
Mourinho was booted from the club after a poor outing in their 2007-08 campaign and succeeded by two other managers (Avram Grant, Luiz Scolari and Guus Hiddink), who steered the club to success but failed to clinch the EPL trophy.
Hiddink was a temporary solution after coming in to look after Chelsea following the sacking of Luiz Scolari. Carlo Ancelotti took charge in the 2009-10 season. Ancelotti instituted a style of play that was branded as “attacking football” and led the club to their third EPL title, breaking a number of league statistics and records along the way.
Chelsea continued to find success particularly abroad even after Ancelotti’s departure. Mourinho returned for his second stint as manager in 2013 hoping to lead the then three-time EPL champions back to the promised land.
The tactician delivered on that promise in their 2014-15 season and guided the Blues to their fourth EPL trophy in the absence of the club’s all-time top goal scorer, Frank Lampard. The English side had however replenished their ranks with the likes of forward Diego Costa and midfielders Eden Hazard, Cesc Fàbregas, Willian and Oscar.
Mourinho was again ousted from the club after a terrible start to their following campaign and was replaced by the architect of their fifth and final EPL title to date – Antonio Conte. Powered by their attacking duo of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, who combined for an impressive 36 EPL goals, Chelsea beat all comers to finish atop the league standings in their 2016-17 season (seven points clear of runners up Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielder N’Golo Kanté and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who finished with a league best 16 EPL clean sheets also starred in their campaign. Chelsea currently hold the records for the highest and second highest points tally in EPL history having managed to garner 103 and 93 points in their 2009-10 and 2016-17 outings respectively.