The 2000–01 season was Chelsea F.C.'s 87th competitive season, ninth consecutive season in the FA Premier League and 95th year as a club.
Season summary
A slow start to the season cost manager Gianluca Vialli his job, despite having won five trophies since his appointment in February 1998.[1] The last of these trophies came at the start of the season when they defeated Manchester United 2–0 in the Charity Shield to win the last-ever club game at the pre-redevelopment Wembley.[2] Vialli's successor was Claudio Ranieri,[3] who guided the club to sixth place in the final table and attained automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup.
The biggest success of the season was the effectiveness of club record signing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who found the net 23 times in 35 Premiership games in a partnership with Chelsea's 34-year-old Italian superstar, Gianfranco Zola, who found the net on 9 occasions.
Team kit
The team kit was produced by Umbro and the shirt sponsor was Autoglass. Chelsea's home kit was all blue with a white trimmed collar. The club's third kit for this season was orange with blue shorts and accents.
Source: Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. Notes:
^Since Liverpool won the League Cup and qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place went to fifth-placed Ipswich Town. Since both FA Cupfinalists, Liverpool and Arsenal, qualified for the Champions League, the berth in the UEFA Cup went to sixth-placed Chelsea. Both Ipswich and Chelsea were the highest-ranked team not already qualified for a European competition.