True Blues — Chelsea FC
ΕΛ

Season: 1989–90

Football League First Division

🏅
  • Full Members' Cup

League

Bobby Campbell’s Chelsea came straight back into the First Division and finished fifth of twenty — 16 wins, 12 draws, 10 defeats, 58–50, 60 points (16×3+12).

Division
Football League First Division (Tier 1)
Manager
Bobby Campbell
Top scorer (league)
Kerry Dixon (20)
Top scorer (all comps)
Kerry Dixon (25)
Avg. league attendance
21,802

Cups & Europe

FA Cup
Fourth round
League Cup
Second round
Europe
—
Other
Full Members' Cup: Winners

Notes

Bobby Campbell’s Chelsea came straight back into the First Division and finished fifth of twenty — 16 wins, 12 draws, 10 defeats, 58–50, 60 points (16×3+12). Home form was 8–7–4 (31–24); away matched the wins at 8–5–6 (27–26). Goal difference +8 put them just above Everton (59). Liverpool were champions with 79; Aston Villa 70; Tottenham Hotspur 63; Arsenal 62. Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic and Millwall went down. There was no European football — English clubs were still banned from UEFA after Heysel — even though fifth would otherwise have meant a UEFA Cup place. Kerry Dixon led the line with 20 league goals and 25 in all competitions. Kevin Wilson added 14 and 20; Gordon Durie 5. The Bridge saw a 4–0 of Sheffield Wednesday and of Millwall, a 1–0 of Manchester United, and a late 2–1 of Everton; away, Chelsea beat Tottenham 4–1, Everton 1–0, Arsenal 1–0 and Southampton 3–2. Dixon’s hat-trick sealed a 3–1 at Millwall on the last day. Heavy home nights against Wimbledon (2–5) and Liverpool (2–5) punctured the middle of the campaign. Cups elsewhere were brief. The FA Cup reached the fourth round — Crewe Alexandra were beaten in a replay after a 1–1 at the Bridge, then Bristol City won 3–1 at Ashton Gate. The Littlewoods Cup ended in the second round: Scarborough drew 1–1 at Stamford Bridge and won 3–2 at the McCain Stadium (3–4 on aggregate). The season’s silverware was the Full Members’ Cup — the Zenith Data Systems Cup. Chelsea beat Bournemouth 3–2 after extra time (Alan Dickens’s hat-trick), West Ham United 4–3, Ipswich Town 3–2 and Crystal Palace 4–0 on aggregate in the semi-final. On 25 March at Wembley they met Middlesbrough — the same club that had knocked them out of the top flight in the 1988 play-off final — and Tony Dorigo’s free-kick settled a 1–0 win in front of 76,369. It was Chelsea’s second Full Members’ Cup, after the 1986 final against Manchester City. Crowds averaged 21,802 for home league games — high 31,833 against Arsenal on 30 September, low 14,265 versus Derby County on 31 March. Umbro’s plain royal blue, with last year’s red hoop shirt now the away kit and a white third, and Commodore across the chest, dressed a season that proved the Second Division title had been no flash in the pan.

Kits

Home
Away
Third

Last year's red third became the away kit.

Illustration from hex colours (not official kit photography).

On this day (related years)

All On this day →

History

Eras, trophies, and great matches in the History section.

Explore history →

Sources

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