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Chelsea's Foreign Revolution, 1993-2003

By Gary Watton
March 13 2014

Glenn Hoddle signed Ruud Gullit, Mark Hughes, and Dan Petrescu as Chelsea started to flex their muscles in the FA Cup in 1994 and 1996. European football returned in 1994. Then Gullit became player-manager and he attracted foreign stars such as Di Matteo, Leboeuf, Vialli, and Zola. Now Chelsea were silverware contenders. Flo, Poyet, Gudjohnsen, and Hasselbaink all added to Chelsea's star billing.

1993-94: Chelsea finished fourteenth in the Premier League. The team won only three of their first twenty league matches before their new year revival.

Best result: Swindon Town 1 CHELSEA 3 (Shipperley and Stein scored first half goals. Both teams then managed a goal apiece in the dying seconds.)

Horrible result: Leeds United 4 CHELSEA 1 (This match was scoreless at the interval. Then the hosts scored four times. Neil Shipperley netted a consolation.)

 

1994-95: Chelsea finished eleventh. The team started with three consecutive wins. They also lost only one of their last nine league outings.

Best result: CHELSEA 4 Leicester City 0 (Spencer and Peacock scored in the first five minutes. Spencer and Shipperley added two more goals later on.) 

Horrible result: CHELSEA 0 Leeds United 3 (Tony Yeboah scored once in each half as the old rivals won easily. Gary McAllister also found the back of the net.)

 

1995-96: Chelsea finished eleventh again. The team failed to score in eight of their first fifteen fixtures. They also only won two of their last thirteen matches. 

Best result: CHELSEA 5 Middlesbrough 0 (On a Sunday afternoon, the Blues were superb. Peacock netted a hat trick, and Spencer and Furlong also scored.)

Horrible result: CHELSEA 1 Manchester United 4 (Scholes scored twice in the first ten minutes. Hughes scored against his old club, but his goal was in vain.)

 

1996-97: Chelsea finished sixth. The team lost only two of their first fourteen league matches and were unbeaten in their final four league outings.

Best result: CHELSEA 6 Sunderland 2 (The Blues scored the first three goals, conceded the next two, and scored another three, with Hughes netting twice.)

Horrible result: CHELSEA 0 Arsenal 3 (Ian Wright, David Platt, and Dennis Bergkamp each scored for Arsenal. Chelsea were 'distracted' by their FA Cup run.)

 

1997-98: Chelsea finished fourth. If this improving team had not lost two of their last three league matches, they would have finished third.

Best result: Barnsley 0 CHELSEA 6 (Petrescu, Poyet, and Vialli all scored in the first half. Luca Vialli added three more in the second half of this Sunday stroll.)

Horrible result: Everton 3 CHELSEA 1 (Tore Andre Flo provided Chelsea with the lead, but the Toffees soon equalised and then added two second half goals.)

 

1998-99: Chelsea finished third. Three consecutive draws in April ruined the team's chances of winning the elusive Premiership.

Best result: Aston Villa 0 CHELSEA 3 (Flo opened the scoring just before the hour mark and added a late third. Bjarne Goldbaek contributed the second goal.)

Horrible result: CHELSEA 0 West Ham United 1 (Toothless Chelsea failed to score and then Kitson netted a late goal to inflict the team's only home defeat.)

 

1999-2000: Chelsea finished fifth. This impressive team only won two of their last six league matches, or else they would have finished third.

Best result:CHELSEA 5 Manchester United 0 (Gus Poyet scored in each half and even Chris Sutton scored too in this demolition of the European champions.)

Horrible result: Sunderland 4 CHELSEA 1 (Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn shared four first-half goals between them. Gus Poyet grabbed a late consolation goal.)

 

2000-01: Chelsea finished sixth. Our lethal new striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink recorded 23 goals in 35 league matches.

Best result: Derby County 0 CHELSEA 4 (This match was goal-less until the last half hour. Then Zola and Hasselbaink scored, and Poyet added two late goals.)

Horrible result: CHELSEA 0 Leicester City 2 (Izzet scored an early goal and Collymore added a late goal as manager-less Chelsea slumped to a home defeat.)

 

2001-02: Chelsea finished sixth. They only won three of their eight remaining league matches or they would have finished fifth.

Best result: CHELSEA 5 West Ham United 1 (Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen shared four goals. Defoe added a consolation and Forssell then scored our fifth.)

Horrible result: CHELSEA 0 Manchester United 3 (Scholes, van Nistelrooy, and Solskjaer each scored past Cudicini in this April massacre.)

 

2002-03: Chelsea finished fourth. Victory in their last match, 2-1 at home to Liverpool on May the 11th, took the club back into the Champions League.

Best result: Manchester City 0 CHELSEA 3 (Zola opened the score halfway through the second half. He and Hasselbaink added two late goals to seal the win.)

Horrible result: CHELSEA 2 West Ham United 3 (Two second-half goals from Paolo di Canio stole the show as the Hammers took maximum points again.)

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Chelsea's Foreign Revolution, 1993-2003
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