1914–15 Chelsea F.C. season

Chelsea
1914–15 season
ChairmanClaude Kirby
ManagerDavid Calderhead
StadiumStamford Bridge
First Division19th
FA CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague:
Bob Thomson (12)
All:
Bob Thomson (18)
Highest home attendance58,760 vs Newcastle United
(6 March 1915)
Lowest home attendance14,000 vs Newcastle United
(12 September 1914)
Average home league attendance20,237
Biggest win5–2 v Swindon Town
(16 January 1915)
Biggest defeat1–4 v Burnley
(28 December 1914)

The 1914–15 season was Chelsea Football Club's tenth competitive season. It was also the final full season before competitive football was suspended until the end of World War I. The season was one of mixed fortunes for the club: they finished 19th in the First Division, but also reached the FA Cup final for the first time, where they lost to Sheffield United.

Having finished 19th, Chelsea would ordinarily have been relegated, but the First Division expanded to 22 teams when competitive football resumed in 1919, and the club were re-elected into the division. A factor in the decision was the exposure of a match-fixing scandal involving Manchester United and Liverpool players, who had colluded to ensure a 2–0 win for a United in an April 1915 fixture, a result which meant United avoided relegation at Chelsea's expense.[1]

Table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Relegation
1 Everton (C) 38 19 8 11 76 47 1.617 46
2 Oldham Athletic 38 17 11 10 70 56 1.250 45
3 Blackburn Rovers 38 18 7 13 83 61 1.361 43
4 Burnley 38 18 7 13 61 47 1.298 43
5 Manchester City 38 15 13 10 49 39 1.256 43
6 Sheffield United 38 15 13 10 49 41 1.195 43
7 The Wednesday 38 15 13 10 61 54 1.130 43
8 Sunderland 38 18 5 15 81 72 1.125 41
9 Bradford Park Avenue 38 17 7 14 69 65 1.062 41
10 West Bromwich Albion 38 15 10 13 49 43 1.140 40
11 Bradford City 38 13 14 11 55 49 1.122 40
12 Middlesbrough 38 13 12 13 62 74 0.838 38
13 Liverpool 38 14 9 15 65 75 0.867 37
14 Aston Villa 38 13 11 14 62 72 0.861 37
15 Newcastle United 38 11 10 17 46 48 0.958 32
16 Notts County 38 9 13 16 41 57 0.719 31
17 Bolton Wanderers 38 11 8 19 68 84 0.810 30
18 Manchester United 38 9 12 17 46 62 0.742 30
19 Chelsea 38 8 13 17 51 65 0.785 29
20 Tottenham Hotspur (R) 38 8 12 18 57 90 0.633 28 Relegation to the Second Division
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Notes

  1. ^ Spurling, Jon (20 March 2015). "How Man United and Liverpool fixed a match, helping Arsenal and Chelsea – but not Spurs". Four Four Two. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

References

  • Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.
  • Hockings, Ron. 100 Years of The Blues – A Statistical History of Chelsea FC 1905–2006.