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BEST FOOTBALL CLUBS OF THE WORLD

FOR ALL PEOPLE ON THE WORLD

srijeda, 9. prosinca 2009.

FC CHELSEA





























CLUB BADGES


Chelsea's official badge has changed five times (with a few variations on each) in our 100+ year history.


Badge 1905-1952This is the the first Chelsea badge showing one of the famous Chelsea Pensioners that gave rise to our early nickname. It was never worn on any shirts however but did appear on later matchday programmes.



Badge 1952-1953When Ted Drake became Chelsea manager in 1952, he instigated a move away from the old 'Pensioners' tag and wanted a new image to go with the new nickname, the Blues. While the new design was being worked on, this cipher of the club's initials was used for a solitary season as a stop-gap.



Badge 1953-1986Probably the most famous of the Chelsea badges and used for 33 years, this design was inspired by the civic coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea.

The lion was derived from the Arms of Earl Cadogan who was president of the club and also held the title Viscount Chelsea. The staff is that of the Abbot of Westminster whose jurisdiction extended over Chelsea. The roses represent England and the footballs more obviously represent the game.

Chelsea did not start wearing badges on their shirts until 1960 making this the first one used in that way. For the first few seasons the full badge, complete with circle, was sewn onto the shirts.

However due to the complexity of the design several simplified variations were stitched into the shirts during the 60s and 70s, even though the full design complete with circle remained the official club badge. The cup triumphs of the early 70s were marked with the addition of an FA Cup symbol and stars.



Badge 1986-2005In 1986 the club adopted our fourth badge to make the most of the growing merchandising opportunities around football. While the design of the lion and CFC letters was always constant, several colour combinations were used over time and the design was at various times used within circle or shield outlines.

The badge was used for almost 19 years and many fans will have started supporting Chelsea knowing no other form. While it served the club well, fans inundated the new board of directors with demands for a return to the old-style design to take Chelsea into a new era, especially ahead of the centenary year.



Chelsea Logo BadgeLaunched in November 2004, the new badge became effective from May 2005. Additionally, a special centenary version was used during that initial commemorative year.

At the launch, Peter Kenyon said: "We are incredibly proud of Chelsea's heritage. The design of this new badge is based on the one from the 1950s and it was a conscious decision to do this.

"As we approach our centenary year, and the club embarks on a new and very exciting era, it is appropriate that we have a new identity that reflects our tradition and can represent us for the next 100 years."

STADIUM HISTORY


Chelsea's home stadium is called Stamford Bridge and has a history as varied and unique as the team itself.

Stamford Bridge officially opened on 28 April 1877. For the first 28 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively by the London Athletic Club as an arena for athletics meetings and not for football at all.

In 1904 the ownership of the ground changed hands when Mr H A (Gus) Mears and his brother, Mr J T Mears, obtained the deeds, having previously acquired additional land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of establishing a football team there on the now 12.5 acre site.

Stamford Bridge was designed by Archibald Leitch and initially included a 120 yard long stand on the East side which could hold 5000 spectators.

The other sides were all open in a vast bowl with thousands of tons of material excavated from the building of the underground railway provided high terracing on the West side.

The capacity was originally planned to be 100,000 and was the second largest in country behind Crystal Palace - the FA Cup final venue.

Initially the stadium was offered to Fulham FC to play there, they turned down the chance and so instead a new side, Chelsea Football Club, was born in 1905 and moved into the new Stamford Bridge stadium.

Why is it called Stamford Bridge?
The name and place of Stamford Bridge is one with great significance in English history having been the site in Yorkshire of one of the most famous battles of King Harold's reign in 1066 against the Vikings.

However it is believed that this is not connected to the naming of Chelsea's football stadium which came about less because of historical significance and more to do with local landmarks and a fair degree of chance.

The 18th century maps show the Fulham Road and Kings Road area including the current day site of the stadium. It shows a stream called 'Stanford Creek' which runs along the route of the present day railway line behind the East Stand and flows down into the Thames.

Where the stream crosses the Fulham Road it is marked 'Little Chelsea Bridge' which was originally called Sanford Bridge (from sand ford). While a bridge over the stream on the Kings Road was called Stanbridge (from stone bridge). It seems that these two bridge names and that of the stream, 'Stanford Creek', together evolved into the name Stanford Bridge, which again later evolved into Stamford Bridge as the adopted name of the stadium.

Timeline - 1930
From it's creation the stadium remained largely unchanged until 1930 when the "Shed End" terraced area was erected. A vast bank of terracing behind the southern goal it was to become the mecca for Chelsea' most die hard supporters and would forever be associated with Stamford Bridge.

As the stadium developed the Shed End really came into its own in the 60's, 70's and 80's and was the focal point of the hardcore Chelsea fans and the originators of most of the singing and atmosphere. Adorned with a rather unique 'roofed' area (which barely covered 1/5th of the whole terrace) there is debate over how and when it developed the name 'Shed' as it wasn't given a name when it was built.

The Shed was demolished in 1994 following new laws compelling grounds to be all seater and was replaced with the new Shed End seated stand in 1997. The final match with the old Shed was Sheffield United at home on 7th May 1994 although sadly no one knew at the time it would be the last game so the Shed was never given the send off it deserved.


Timeline - 1939
In 1939 the North Stand was built. A curious stand in the north east corner it was an extension to the East stand and stuck out for being a completely different design to the rest of the stadium but it did provide extra seating. It survived until 1975 when it was demolished and the north end was then open terracing until 1993 when it too was demolished at the start of the modern redevelopment of the entire stadium.


Timeline - 1964/65
In 1964/65, during one of Chelsea's best periods on the pitch, saw the vast western terrace replaced by a seated stand. The stand was 3/4 seating and 1/4 concrete slabs affectionately known as the 'Benches'. The West stand existed for 25 years until it was the last of the old stadium to be demolished in 1998 and despite by that stage being a rickety, crumbling stand it too was a sad day for many when the old West Stand with it's wooden seats went, and like the Shed, is a source of nostalgia.

Yet its replacement is quite simply one of the finest stadium stands in the country costing an estimated £30 million to build, and housing 13,500 people in luxury surroundings with superb views.


Timeline - 1973/74
In 1973 the East Stand was built, a marvel of engineering of the time and still one of the most striking stands in the country there's little doubt it was ahead of its time. The only part of the current stadium that survived the mass rebuilding of the 1990's it has though undergone extensive refurbishment and refitting.

The East Stand, for all its magnificence also has a controversial past. When Chelsea were at their peak in the late 60's and early 70's the then owners decided the all star team on the pitch deserved to be playing in the best stadium in the country. Their plan was hugely ambitious to completely redevelop Stamford Bridge into a 50,000 all seater circular stadium. It proved too ambitious and many feel brought the club to it's knees, forced the selling of the star players, relegation and nearly forced the club into complete ruin by the start of the 1980's.

It took another 20 years to rebuild not only the stadium and team but the entire club, yet for all that the East Stand itself remains as impressive today as it always did.


Timeline - When Stamford Bridge nearly became no more!
With the club virtually bankrupt in the late 70's the then owners made the drastic decision to sell the Stamford Bridge site to property developers to pay off some of the debts. It was a decision that very nearly saw Chelsea lose it's ground, be forced to share with Fulham or QPR and the famous stadium converted into houses or a supermarket.

With Chelsea no longer owning their own ground they were unable to do any more rebuilding and lagged behind other clubs in that respect. A bitter, expensive and close run 10 year fight by chairman Ken Bates to fight the property developers and win back ownership of Stamford Bridge was finally successful in 1992. With an ironic twist is was the property developers who were forced into bankruptcy and Chelsea FC got it's ground back.

It was a close run thing at times but Stamford Bridge survived its biggest ever challenge and in 1994 the process of the most extensive redevelopment of any stadium in the country began. Turning a dilapidated and crumbling ground with views miles from the pitch into one of the most impressive in the country.


Timeline - 1994/95
The rebuilding of Stamford Bridge from the ashes began with the redevelopment of the North Stand area. The old banked terrace that in recent times had housed the away fans was demolished and the new stand began to rise. Renamed as the Matthew Harding Stand in memory of the Chelsea director killed in a helicopter accident it has now established itself as the home of the most vocal and die hard Chelsea fans.


Timeline - 1997
Next up in the redevelopment queue was the new Shed End Stand. The old Shed terrace was replaced with temporary seating for a couple of years before work began on the new Shed End. At the same time the Chelsea Village Hotel, which would be the centre piece of the massive Chelsea Village development, was built at the same time.

Like all the new stands as well as being modern, smart and comfortable they were also much closer to the pitch something many feel had hindered Chelsea's atmosphere for some time.

Timeline - 1998
The final piece of the new Stamford Bridge story proved to have one more hurdle to overcome. The lower tier of the new West stand was built on schedule but then problems with the local council over planning permission meant a 2 year delay before the rest of the stand could be built.

Finally that last battle was won and work began on completing the biggest and best part of the stadium, the huge 13,500 seater West Stand. It opened for the first time on 19/08/2001 and marked, at last, the completion of Stamford Bridge which had begun way back in 1973 with the East Stand.


Timeline - The Present
The current capacity stands at 42,055 and the ground has gone from being a huge oval shape to 4 sides close to the pitch. There is almost no part of the current stadium that hasn't markedly changed in the past 10 years with only the old Shed wall remaining of the original stadium. As well as all the work on the stadium itself the whole 12.5 acre site has seen the building of 2 four star hotels, 5 restaurants, conference and banqueting facilities, nightclub, underground car park, health club and business centre. It has come a long long way since the original athletics venue was first built in 1876!
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CLUB INFORMATION

Nickname
The Blues

Formed
1905

Stadium Capacity
41,841

Pitch
103 x 67 metres

Training Ground
The training ground is at Cobham in Surrey but sessions are not open to the general public. Special open days are organised at Stamford Bridge when fans can see the team train.

Creche
Chelsea operates a creche during the match on home weekend matchdays and caters for children from one to five-years-old. The service is free but donations for equipment are appreciated. Bookings are taken on 08719 841905.

Chelsea Matchday Programme
If you wish to advertise in the Matchday Programme call Profile Sports Media on 020 7332 2000.

Hooligan Hotline
Chelsea Football Club works in partnership with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Metropolitan Police Service in our endeavours to create a safe enviroment for supporters and the local community.

If you have any information concerning football hooliganism, please forward your concerns to the National Hooligan Hotline on 0800 515495. This is a confidential line which will not appear on your phone bill.

Should you have any information concerning ANY crime, this may be confidentially reported to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you wish to receive information about a career within the Metropolitan Police Service as a Police Officer; member of the Civil Support Staff or voluntary service within the Special Constabulary then further information may be found on the Metropolitian Police website (www.met.police.uk) and the Crimestoppers website (www.crimestoppers-uk.org).


Chelsea Customer Charter
If you would like a copy of the charter you can download it by clicking here or write to Customer Charter, Call Centre, Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, London, SW6 1HS.


Ground Regulations
Chelsea Football Club's ground regulations apply to anyone entering the stadium. A copy can be requested from the club.


Fighting Racism
Chelsea Football Club practices a zero tolerance policy towards racism at Stamford Bridge and takes a leading role in all the major anti-racist campaigns such as Kick Racism Out of Football, Show Racism the Red Card and all Uefa backed Europe-wide campaigns.


Payments to Agents - 2008/09
Total Amount paid to Agents in the period 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009: £9,562,222.56

Explanatory Note:
The amount shown is the aggregate of all payments made to agents during the reporting period for agency activity, including payments made by the club on behalf of players.


CLUB PERSONNEL

Chelsea FC plc is the company which owns Chelsea Football Club.

The ultimate parent company of Chelsea FC plc is Chelsea Limited and the ultimate controlling party of Chelsea Limited is Roman Abramovich.

CHELSEA FC plc BOARD :
Chairman: Bruce Buck.
Directors: Bruce Buck, Eugene Tenenbaum, Ron Gourlay (chief executive), Peter Kenyon.


CHELSEA FC plc BOARD BIOGRAPHIES:

Bruce Buck, Chairman:
Born in New York, he has been a Chelsea supporter since coming to London in 1983 and has been a season ticket holder since 1991. He is a shareholder in Chelsea Limited, the ultimate owner of the club, and the company used by Roman Abramovich for the takeover in 2003 and is managing partner in Europe for the US law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

Ron Gourlay, Chief Executive:
Previously chief operating officer, he had been with Chelsea for five years in a variety of director-level roles before becoming chief executive in November 2009. He has more than 25 years experience in football having previously undertaken senior roles at Manchester United and Umbro.

Peter Kenyon, Non-Executive Director:
Joined as chief executive in February 2004 after previously working in the same role at Manchester United. Oversaw Chelsea's most successful period until stepping down from a full-time capacity in October 2009. He continues as a non-executive director and represents Chelsea on various Uefa and the European Clubs' Association committees.

Eugene Tenenbaum, Director:
Born in the Ukraine but moved to Canada at an early age, Eugene is one of Roman Abramovich's closest associates and was formerly chief financial officer at Sibneft, the oil company sold by Mr Abramovich in 2006. Eugene is now director of Millhouse Capital UK, Mr Abramovich's investment vehicle.

The day-to-day running of Chelsea is undertaken by the football club's Executive Board headed by chief executive Ron Gourlay:

EXECUTIVE BOARD BIOGRAPHIES:
(in alphabetical order)

Chris Alexander, Finance and Operations Director:
Trained as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse and has 20 years financial experience in different industries. Prior to joining Chelsea in March 2003 he worked in France as the FD of a construction related business where he completed an MBA at one of Europe's leading business schools.

David Barnard, Director / Club Secretary:
Joined Chelsea in July 2002. Has overall responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the Football Department. Has just completed 30 seasons in football. Previous clubs are Fulham, Colchester and Wimbledon. Also a member of the Football Club board which oversees football policy for the club.

Company Secretary, Alan Shaw:
Joined Chelsea in 1993. Has a wide range of business knowledge, having run legal, construction, HR, customer services and planning teams through a variety of projects in differing organisations from retail to engineering , merchant banking and professional football. Interests include tennis, horse racing and cinema.

FOOTBALL CLUB BOARD:
Bruce Buck, Eugene Tenenbaum, Ron Gourlay, Peter Kenyon, David Barnard, Mike Forde, Frank Arnesen.

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