Season: 1947–48
Football League First Division
League
Billy Birrell’s second peacetime season ended in 18th place of 22 — 37 points from 14 wins, 9 draws and 19 defeats (53–71), three points clear of the drop as Blackburn Rovers and Grimsby Town went down.
- Division
- Football League First Division (Tier 1)
- Manager
- Billy Birrell
- Top scorer (league)
- Ken Armstrong / Bobby Campbell (11)
- Top scorer (all comps)
- Ken Armstrong (13)
- Avg. league attendance
- 47,652
Cups & Europe
- FA Cup
- Fourth round
- League Cup
- —
- Europe
- —
- Other
- London Challenge Cup: Semi-finals (beat Charlton Athletic 3–1, 13 Oct 1947; beat Queens Park Rangers 2–1, 27 Oct 1947; drew Tottenham Hotspur 1–1, 10 Nov 1947; lost replay 1–2, 17 Nov 1947); Ipswich Hospital Cup: lost to Ipswich Town 0–3 (3 May 1948)
Notes
Billy Birrell’s second peacetime season ended in 18th place of 22 — 37 points from 14 wins, 9 draws and 19 defeats (53–71), three points clear of the drop as Blackburn Rovers and Grimsby Town went down. Home form kept them afloat (11–6–4, 38–27); away they managed only three wins. Tommy Lawton, still the club’s star centre-forward, scored four league goals before a £20,000 move to Notts County in mid-November; wing-half Ken Armstrong, in his first full season, and winger Bobby Campbell then shared the league scoring lead with 11 apiece, Armstrong finishing with 13 in all competitions. Roy Bentley arrived from Newcastle United in January for about £11,000 and began to settle at centre-forward. The FA Cup brought a 5–0 third-round thrashing of Third Division North Barrow at the Bridge, then a fourth-round exit at Maine Road: Manchester City won 2–0 after extra time following a goalless ninety minutes. Home league gates averaged 47,652 (high 67,789 vs Aston Villa; low 30,085 vs Sunderland). In the London Challenge Cup Chelsea reached the semi-finals — beating Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers — before going out to Tottenham Hotspur after a 1–1 draw and a 1–2 replay.
Kits
Home stayed on the classic royal-blue rugby-collar look through the mid-1950s (HFK has finer panels including Sept–Oct 1934 hooped-sock experiments, Nov 1934–1944, wartime 1944–46, and 1946–48 / 1948–49 / 1949–55). Away remained red with a white collar from the 1933–34 switch; the 1955 champions wore this era’s home look.
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea.htm
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea-change-kits.html
Illustration from hex colours (not official kit photography).
On this day (related years)
History
Eras, trophies, and great matches in the History section.
Explore history →Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chelsea_F.C._seasons
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947%E2%80%9348_Chelsea_F.C._season
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947%E2%80%9348_Football_League
- https://www.fchd.info/CHELSEA.HTM
- https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Summaries/1947.htm
- https://bounder.friardale.co.uk/Results/1947.htm
- http://free-elements.com/England/Goals/CheL/CheL1947.html
- http://www.mychelseafc.com/chelsea_news/previous_cup_results/1947.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Armstrong_(footballer,_born_1924)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Campbell_(Scottish_footballer)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Lawton
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Bentley
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Birrell
- https://www.englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk/stats/Report/gate/a1947-48.html
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea.htm
- https://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Chelsea/Chelsea-change-kits.html