Chelsea Football Club have become one of the biggest in English football in recent decades.
The arrival of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in June 2003 was the key to the Blues’ successful two decades.
Before he bought the South West London club, Chelsea were not always the high fliers he turned them into. In fact, the club had fallen on hard times both on and off the pitch not too long before he swooped in to revive the club and team.
Have Chelsea been relegated since the start of the Premier League?
Chelsea are one of only six original clubs from the inaugural Premier League campaign in 1992 who have not suffered relegation during the current era of the English top-flight, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton.
In fact, the lowest that Chelsea have ever finished in the Premier League table was in the season 1993-94, when they could only manage a 14th-place finish in the English top-flight.
In truth, in the early seasons of the Premier League, the Blues struggled to make a mark on the league, as the highest they finished in the opening four campaigns of the new era was 11th, a position they sat in for three of those aforementioned four seasons.
However, from season 1996/97, the Blues never finished below sixth place in the table until season 2022/23, when an expensive squad finished 12th after a difficult campaign.
When did Chelsea last suffer relegation from the English top flight?
The Blues have suffered relegation on six occasions since their first demotion from the English top flight in season 1909/10.
Relegations in seasons 1923/24, 1961/62, 1974/75, 1978/79 followed. However, the Blues’ last relegation from the English top flight came in the season 1987/88, which was Chelsea’s 70th campaign in the league.
The south west London team finished 18th place in that particular campaign.
As is sometimes the case in football, there is a fine line between success and failure, and the Blues suffered relegation courtesy of an inferior goal difference to the two teams directly above them, London rivals Charlton Athletic and West Ham.
The Blues had a chance to preserve their top-flight status, though, as they played in the now long-forgotten relegation/promotion play-offs.
They saw off the challenge of Blackburn Rovers 6-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the play-offs. However, they went down to a 2-1 aggregate defeat against Middlesborough in the final.
A 2-0 defeat in the first leg at Ayresome Park was followed by a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in front of 40,550 supporters, which was a game overshadowed by fan violence.
An immediate return to the First Division
The Blues wasted very little time in winning a return to the English top flight, as they finished the following season as Second Division champions, collecting an impressive 99 points, scoring a league-high 96 points, and accruing a stellar goal difference of +46.
As the stats illustrated, Chelsea dominated the second tier that season, finishing a massive 17 points ahead of Manchester City, who were runners-up and earned promotion to the top flight alongside the Blues.
Unfortunately, due to fan unrest at the second leg of the relegation/promotion play-off fans against Middlesbrough in the previous campaign, the Blues had to play their first six league games at Stamford Bridge with no fans.
The banning of fans for those first six home games contributed to the club’s average attendance in the league at Stamford Bridge falling to a low of just 15,957.
Their lowest attendance with fans present was just 5,341 for a November encounter with Bradford City.
On a more positive note, Chelsea legend Kerry Dixon enjoyed a prolific season in front of goal, as the striker topped the scoring charts with 25 goals in the English Second Division and 28 across all competitions.
The forward also scored 20 goals in the English top flight the following season, which was his second most prolific campaign in the First Division.
Relegation unlikely in the near future
While Chelsea finished a disappointing 12th place in the Premier League table in season 2022/23, it seems unlikely that the Blues will suffer relegation from the top flight in the near future.
Since the arrival of the new owners in 2022, a consortium fronted by American billionaire Todd Boehly, the club have invested heavily in the playing squad.
Most new arrivals are highly-rated youngsters whose signings are seen as investments for the club’s future. It seems that Chelsea will continue to aim for the stars, and spending life in the second tier of English football is not in their immediate plans.
Is there any chance of Chelsea suffering relegation from the Premier League in the near future?