Chelsea F.C. Women

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"Chelsea Women" redirects here. For various subjects titled Chelsea Girls, see Chelsea Girl (disambiguation).

Chelsea FC Women
Chelsea F.C. crest
Full nameChelsea Football Club Women
Nickname(s)The Blues
Founded1992; 29 years ago (1992)
GroundKingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, London
Capacity4,850 (2,265 seated)
Presidents
ChairmanAdrian Jacob[1]
ManagerEmma Hayes
LeagueFA WSL
2020–21FA WSL, 1st of 12 (champions)
WebsiteClub website
Current season
Imperial Fields, Chelsea's home ground in 2011

Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton, England. Since 2004, the club has been affiliated with Chelsea F.C., a men's team in the Premier League. Chelsea Women were a founding member of the FA WSL in 2010, the top level of women's football in England since 2011. From 2005 to 2010, the side competed in the Premier League National Division, the top tier of women's football in England at the time.

History[]

Establishment[]

Chelsea Ladies Football Club was formed in 1992 after supporters of Chelsea F.C. expressed desire for a women's side.[2] In June 2004, Chelsea Ladies voted to be taken over and funded by Chelsea's Football in the Community department.[3] The club then won promotion as champions from the Southern Division in 2004–05 to the Premier League National Division and have participated at the top level ever since.

FA Premier League National Division, 2005–2010[]

After starting 2005–06 with one point from six games, manager George Michealas was fired in September after four years in charge.[4] They finished bottom of the league that season under Shaun Gore, but won a promotion/relegation play-off against Northern Division runners-up Liverpool 4–1 on aggregate to stay in the Premier League National Division.[5] During the season the club had been linked with a transfer bid for North American star players Tiffeny Milbrett and Christine Sinclair.[6]

After an eighth-placed finish in 2006–07, Gore drafted in England players Siobhan Chamberlain, Casey Stoney and Eniola Aluko that summer.[7] American World Cup winner Lorrie Fair, regarded as one of the best midfielders in the women's game, joined in January as Chelsea finished 2007–08 in fifth position.[8]

Chelsea Ladies introduced a new manager for the 2008–09 season, former Arsenal Ladies reserve team coach Steve Jones. On 2 July 2008 Chelsea surprisingly signed Lianne Sanderson and Anita Asante from Arsenal Ladies,[9] in addition to veteran Mary Phillip. Then Arsenal Ladies manager Vic Akers criticised his former players as disrespectful,[9] while pursuing players from other clubs to bolster his own squad.

Chelsea Ladies finished the 2008–09 season third behind Arsenal and Everton. Mary Phillip retired a month into the new season,[10] Eniola Aluko and Anita Asante left for the new WPS in March 2009, while Lorrie Fair missed the whole campaign with a cruciate ligament injury sustained in May 2008.[11] Jones departed as manager in January 2009, leaving Casey Stoney to act as player/manager.[12]

At Casey Stoney's recommendation, Matt Beard became manager for 2009–10.[13] Cuts to the Ladies club's funding were offset by financial assistance from John Terry and other Chelsea FC players.[13] A further blow arrived when Lianne Sanderson left for the 2010 WPS season.[14]

FA Women's Super League (FA WSL), 2011–present[]

The club bid successfully to be one of eight founding teams in the FA Women's Super League in March 2011.[15] On 13 April 2011, The first-ever WSL fixture was played — at Imperial Fields, Chelsea's home ground — between them and Arsenal, which they lost 0–1.[16] Beard led the club to the Women's FA Cup final for the first time in 2012, but Chelsea were eventually beaten by Birmingham City on a penalty shootout after twice taking the lead in a 2–2 draw.[17] In July 2012 Matt Beard resigned as manager after three years in the post.[18]

Former assistant at Arsenal, Emma Hayes was brought in as manager in 2012, who was one of the first female managers in the WSL.[1] In Hayes' first season in-charge, Chelsea, who were still a part-time professional club,[1] finished third bottom of the League.[citation needed] The following season, they fared less better to finish second from the bottom. The club subsequently went full-time.[1] In May 2013, Edda Garðarsdóttir claimed that the Women's team wasn't allowed[by whom?] to chat with their male counterparts, unless they start the conversation.[19]

The 2014 season was successful for Chelsea, as they finished second in the FA Women's Super League behind Liverpool on goal difference, after eight wins, two draws and four losses. A final day win would have clinched them the league title, but they lost 2–1 away to Manchester City. Their second-place finish meant that they qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in the club's history. They also reached the semi finals of both the FA and Continental Cups, where they lost to both eventual winners, Arsenal, and Manchester City respectively.

In 2015, it was announced that many of Chelsea's players would be becoming full professionals for the first time.[20]

On 1 August 2015, Chelsea won their first ever Women's FA Cup. They beat Notts County Ladies at Wembley Stadium. Ji So-yun scored the only goal at the 39th-minute while Eniola Aluko won the player of the match award.[21] The team then beat Sunderland 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the FA WSL title and a League and Cup "double".[22] Chelsea repeated that feat in the 2017–18 season, winning another FA WSL and Women's FA Cup double; in the same season, the team also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time.[23] On 23 May 2018, the club rebranded as Chelsea Football Club Women.[24]

Chelsea were awarded the 2019–20 WSL title on a points-per-game basis after the season had to be abruptly terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25][26]

Chelsea and manager Emma Hayes won their 4th WSL title, the most by any WSL team, by 2 points on the final day of the 2020–21 season with a 5–0 victory over Reading. Chelsea broke the records for most wins (18) and most points (57) in a season, and became just the third team to defend the League title after Liverpool and Arsenal. Chelsea forward Sam Kerr won the WSL Golden Boot for most goals scored by an individual (21), while her team-mate Fran Kirby was joint top for assists (11) and goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger registered the most clean sheets (12), winning the Golden Glove.[25] Given their remarkable performances over the season and of a team filled with leaders, Suzzane Wrack of The Guardian stated that Chelsea was "best women's teams to ever play in England's top flight".[27] On 16 May 2021, Chelsea, on course for a quadruple, lost 4–0 to Barcelona Femeni[28] in their first-ever Champions League final appearance.[29]

Players[]

Chelsea in November 2019 before a match against Lewes

Current squad[]

As of 3 September 2021.[30]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Sweden SWE Zećira Mušović
3 DF Netherlands NED Aniek Nouwen
4 DF England ENG Millie Bright
5 MF Wales WAL Sophie Ingle
7 DF England ENG Jessica Carter
8 MF Germany GER Melanie Leupolz
9 FW England ENG Bethany England
10 MF South Korea KOR Ji So-yun
11 MF Norway NOR Guro Reiten
14 FW England ENG Fran Kirby
16 DF Sweden SWE Magdalena Eriksson (captain)
17 MF Canada CAN Jessie Fleming
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF Norway NOR Maren Mjelde
19 FW England ENG Lauren James
20 FW Australia AUS Sam Kerr
21 DF England ENG Niamh Charles
22 MF Scotland SCO Erin Cuthbert
23 FW Denmark DEN Pernille Harder
24 MF England ENG Drew Spence
25 DF Sweden SWE Jonna Andersson
28 GK England ENG Carly Telford
29 DF England ENG
30 GK Germany GER Ann-Katrin Berger

Out on loan[]

As of 3 September 2021.[31]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
32 GK England ENG (to Crystal Palace until 30 June 2022)
33 FW England ENG Aggie Beever-Jones (to Bristol City until 30 June 2022)
34 DF England ENG (to Liverpool until 30 June 2022)

Former players[]

For details of former players, see Category:Chelsea F.C. Women players.

Management team[]

As of 3 September 2021[32]
Position Staff
Manager England Emma Hayes
Assistant manager England Paul Green
Head of technical/Goalkeeping coach England Stuart Searle
Assistant coach United States Denise Reddy
Assistant coach Australia Tanya Oxtoby
Opposition analyst & coach England Leanne Champ

Stadium[]

Chelsea Women play at Kingsmeadow in Norbiton, Kingston upon Thames, London. Chelsea F.C. purchased Kingsmeadow for the Women from its former occupant AFC Wimbledon, so that Wimbledon could finance their new ground, Plough Lane.[33] Kingsmeadow has a capacity of 4,850 (2,265 of which is seated).

Until 2017, the team played their home games at Wheatsheaf Park, the home of the Staines Town F.C..[34] The stadium is located in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex and features capacity for 3,002 spectators.[35]

The team previously played at Imperial Fields during the 2011–12 season, the home ground of Isthmian League club Tooting & Mitcham United.[36]

Honours[]

Chelsea players celebrating winning the 2014–15 FA Women's Cup

National competitions[]

League titles[]

Cups[]

European competitions[]

Runners-up: 2020–21

Doubles[]

  • 2015: League and FA Cup
  • 2018: League and FA Cup
  • 2020: League and League Cup
  • 2021: League and League Cup

Season to season since 2011[]

Season FA Women's Super League Women's FA Cup FA Women's League Cup UWCL Women's FA Community Shield Top scorer[37]
Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Name(s) Goal
14 4 3 7 14 19 15 7th DNQ Not held England Ashlee Hincks 2
14 5 2 7 20 23 17 6th DNQ Wales Helen Lander 7
14 4 3 7 14 19 15 7th DNQ England Eniola Aluko &
Sweden Sofia Jakobsson		 6
14 8 2 7 23 16 26 2nd DNQ England Eniola Aluko &
Japan Yūki Ōgimi		 5
14 10 2 2 30 10 32 Champions Champions Quarter-finals R16 England Eniola Aluko &
England Gemma Davison		 6
16 12 1 3 42 17 37 2nd Semi-finals First round SF England Eniola Aluko 9
18 13 5 0 44 13 44 Champions Champions Semi-finals SF England Fran Kirby 8
2018–19 20 12 6 2 46 14 42 3rd Semi-finals Semi-finals SF England Bethany England 12
2019–20 15 12 3 0 47 11 39 Champions Quarter-finals Champions DNQ England Bethany England 14
2020–21 22 18 3 1 69 10 57 Champions ongoing Champions RU Champions Australia Sam Kerr 21

Record in UEFA Women's Champions League[]

Main article: English women's football clubs in international competitions § Chelsea

All results (home, away and aggregate) list Chelsea's goal tally first.

Season Round Opponents Home Away Aggregate
2015–16 Round of 32 Scotland Glasgow City 1–0[f] 3–0 4–0
Round of 16 Germany Wolfsburg 1–2[f] 0–2 1–4
2016–17 Round of 32 Germany Wolfsburg 0–3[f] 1–1 1–4
2017–18 Round of 32 Germany Bayern Munich 1–0[f] 1–2 2–2 (a)
Round of 16 Sweden Rosengård 3–0[f] 1–0 4–0
Quarter-final France Montpellier 3–1 2–0[f] 5–1
Semi-final Germany Wolfsburg 1–3[f] 0–2 1–5
2018–19 Round of 32 Bosnia and Herzegovina SFK 2000 6–0 5–0[f] 11–0
Round of 16 Italy Fiorentina 1–0[f] 6–0 7–0
Quarter-final France Paris Saint-Germain 2–0[f] 1���2 3–2
Semi-final France Lyon 1–1 1–2[f] 2–3
2020–21 Round of 32 Portugal Benfica 3–0 5–0[f] 8–0
Round of 16 Spain Atlético Madrid 2–0[f] 1–1 3–1
Quarter-final Germany Wolfsburg 2–1[f] 3–0 5–1
Semi-final Germany FC Bayern Munich 4–1 1–2[f] 5–3
Final Spain Barcelona 0–4[38]
  • f First leg.

References[]

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  5. ^ "Sunderland & Chelsea Survive Play-Offs". Fair Game. Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
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  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Chelsea Ladies sign Arsenal pair". BBC. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
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  11. ^ "Chelsea F.C. likes the Carolina way". The Chapel Hill News. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
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  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Leighton, Tony (18 October 2009). "John Terry digs deep to rescue Chelsea Ladies after funding cuts". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  14. ^ Leighton, Tony (24 January 2010). "Lianne Sanderson cites Super League delay as reason for US move". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
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  17. ^ Nisbet, John (27 May 2012). "Shoot-out has unhappy ending for Chelsea Ladies". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
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  19. ^ Ólafsson, Guðjón (31 May 2013). "Atvinnumaðurinn Edda Garðarsdóttir: "Ekki leyfilegt að tala við karlalið Chelsea nema þeir eigi frumkvæðið"". Pressan.is. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013. Er kvennalið Chelsea að hanga svolítið með karlaliðinu? Ekki leyfilegt að spjalla við þá nema þeir eigi frumkvæðið.
  20. ^ "Chapman targets Wembley double". Sporting Life. 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Chelsea Ladies turned full-time at the beginning of this season and are based alongside the men at the club’s Cobham training complex.
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  28. ^ Wrack, Suzzane (16 May 2021). "Barcelona stun Chelsea with early blitz to win Women's Champions League". The Guardian. Gothenburg. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021.
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  33. ^ "Welcome to Chelsea Ladies".
  34. ^ "Getting to the ground". Chelsea L.F.C. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
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  36. ^ Lomas, Mark (14 April 2011). "A new day for women's football". ESPN. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  37. ^ All goals scored in FA Women's Super League, including playoff games
  38. ^ Law, James. "Women's Champions League final: Chelsea 0-4 Barcelona". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 May 2021.

External links[]

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