# 1990–91 Chelsea F.C. season

During the 1990–91 English football season, Chelsea F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In the 1990–91 season, the league campaign was proven to be a disappointment despite recruiting the club's first million pound players, Dennis Wise and Andy Townsend, as Chelsea finished 11th in the First Division and were knocked out of both cups by lower league opposition. As a result, Campbell was relieved of his duties at the end of the season and was appointed personal assistant to chairman Ken Bates.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 9 | Everton | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 51 | |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 49 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round |
| 11 | Chelsea | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 58 | 69 | −11 | 49 | |
| 12 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 46 | |
| 13 | Sheffield United | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 36 | 55 | −19 | 46 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Statto

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | L | W | L | D | D | D | D | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | D | D | W | L | L | L | L | D | D | W | L | W | D |
| Position | 7 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |

## Results

Chelsea's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 25 August 1990 | Derby County | H | 2–1 | 25,835 | Lee, Nicholas |
| 28 August 1990 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | 27,101 | Dorigo |
| 1 September 1990 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | 19,813 | |
| 8 September 1990 | Sunderland | H | 3–2 | 19,424 | Wise (pen), Dixon, Wilson |
| 15 September 1990 | Arsenal | A | 1–4 | 41,516 | Wilson |
| 22 September 1990 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 20,924 | Wilson |
| 29 September 1990 | Sheffield United | H | 2–2 | 19,873 | Wilson (2) |
| 6 October 1990 | Southampton | A | 3–3 | 16,911 | Clarke, Wise (pen), Wilson |
| 20 October 1990 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | 22,403 | |
| 27 October 1990 | Liverpool | A | 0–2 | 38,463 | |
| 3 November 1990 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | 23,555 | Le Saux |
| 10 November 1990 | Norwich City | H | 1–1 | 16,925 | Wise (pen) |
| 17 November 1990 | Wimbledon | A | 1–2 | 10,773 | Durie |
| 25 November 1990 | Manchester United | A | 3–2 | 37,836 | Pallister (own goal), Townsend, Wise (pen) |
| 1 December 1990 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–2 | 33,478 | Bumstead, Dixon, Durie |
| 8 December 1990 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–1 | 21,558 | Stuart, Durie |
| 15 December 1990 | Derby County | A | 6–4 | 15,057 | Le Saux, Dixon (2), Durie (2), Wise |
| 22 December 1990 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | 16,317 | Townsend, Wise |
| 26 December 1990 | Leeds United | A | 1–4 | 30,893 | Dixon |
| 29 December 1990 | Luton Town | A | 0–2 | 11,050 | |
| 1 January 1991 | Everton | H | 1–2 | 18,351 | Wilson |
| 12 January 1991 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | 19,255 | Durie (2) |
| 19 January 1991 | Sunderland | A | 0–1 | 20,038 | |
| 2 February 1991 | Arsenal | H | 2–1 | 29,094 | Stuart, Dixon |
| 9 February 1991 | Manchester City | A | 1–2 | 25,116 | Wise |
| 16 February 1991 | Wimbledon | H | 0–0 | 13,378 | |
| 2 March 1991 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | 26,168 | Durie |
| 9 March 1991 | Manchester United | H | 3–2 | 22,818 | Dorigo, Monkou, Durie |
| 16 March 1991 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 20,581 | |
| 23 March 1991 | Southampton | H | 0–2 | 13,391 | |
| 30 March 1991 | Leeds United | H | 1–2 | 17,585 | Le Saux |
| 1 April 1991 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 14,272 | |
| 6 April 1991 | Luton Town | H | 3–3 | 12,603 | Le Saux, Stuart, Wise |
| 13 April 1991 | Everton | A | 2–2 | 19,526 | Dixon (2) |
| 17 April 1991 | Norwich City | A | 3–1 | 12,301 | Durie (2), Wise |
| 20 April 1991 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–7 | 20,305 | |
| 4 May 1991 | Liverpool | H | 4–2 | 32,266 | Dixon (2), Wise (pen), Durie |
| 11 May 1991 | Aston Villa | A | 2–2 | 27,866 | Cundy, Stuart |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 1991 | Oxford United | H | 1–3 | 14,586 | Dixon |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 26 September 1990 | Walsall | A | 5–0 | 5,666 | Townsend (2), McAllister, Dixon, Wilson |
| R2 2nd Leg | 10 October 1990 | Walsall | H | 4–1 (won 9–1 on agg) | 10,037 | Dixon (2), Durie, Le Saux |
| R3 | 31 October 1990 | Portsmouth | H | 0–0 | 16,699 | |
| R3R | 6 November 1990 | Portsmouth | A | 3–2 | 16,085 | Lee, Wise (pen), Wilson |
| R4 | 28 November 1990 | Oxford United | A | 2–1 | 9,789 | Durie (2) |
| QF | 16 January 1991 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | 34,178 | |
| QFR | 23 January 1991 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 3–0 | 33,861 | Townsend, Dixon, Wise (pen) |
| SF 1st Leg | 24 February 1991 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–2 | 34,074 | |
| SF 2nd Leg | 27 February 1991 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–3 (lost 1–5 on agg) | 34,669 | Stuart |

### Full Members Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SR2 | 12 December 1990 | Swindon Town | H | 1–0 | 5,888 | Wise (pen) |
| SQF | 18 February 1991 | Luton Town | H | 1–1 (lost 1–4 on pens) | 3,849 | Stuart |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Dave Beasant |
| — | GK | WAL | Roger Freestone |
| — | GK | ENG | Kevin Hitchcock |
| — | DF | WAL | Darren Barnard |
| — | DF | SCO | Steve Clarke |
| — | DF | ENG | Jason Cundy |
| — | DF | ENG | Tony Dorigo |
| — | DF | WAL | Gareth Hall |
| — | DF | NOR | Erland Johnsen |
| — | DF | ENG | David Lee |
| — | DF | NED | Ken Monkou |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Myers |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce |
| — | DF | JAM | Frank Sinclair |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Graeme Le Saux |
| — | MF | ENG | John Bumstead |
| — | MF | SCO | Craig Burley |
| — | MF | ENG | Alan Dickens |
| — | MF | ENG | Damian Matthew |
| — | MF | SCO | Kevin McAllister |
| — | MF | ENG | Eddie Newton |
| — | MF | WAL | Peter Nicholas (captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | Graham Stuart |
| — | MF | IRL | Andy Townsend (vice-captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | Dennis Wise |
| — | FW | ENG | Kerry Dixon |
| — | FW | SCO | Gordon Durie |
| — | FW | AUS | Dave Mitchell |
| — | FW | NIR | Kevin Wilson |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | from | Fee |
| 3 July 1990 | MF | Dennis Wise | Wimbledon | £1,600,000 |
| 5 July 1990 | MF | Andy Townsend | Norwich City | £1,200,000 |
| 25 July 1990 | MF | Darren Barnard | Wokingham Town | £100,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 4 July 1990 | MF | Clive Wilson | Queens Park Rangers | £450,000 |
| 20 August 1990 | FW | Nathan Blake | Cardiff City | Free transfer |
    Transfers in: £2,900,000
    Transfers out: £450,000
    Total spending: £2,450,000