In the light of recent successes, it is easy to forget Chelsea FC's time in the early years of the Premier League were not that memorable.

After surviving a series of financial scares in the 1980s and 1990s, some measure of Cup success, both domestically and in Europe, was reward for Chelsea FC's exciting, if inconsistent, football under a string of ex-players; first Glenn Hoddle, then Ruud Gullit and finally Gianluca Vialli in the late 1990s.

The Blues' fortunes changed in spectacular fashion when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea Football Club from Ken Bates in 2003 for a reported £60m and wrote off debts of another £80m.

After spending millions of pounds, a runners-up for Chelsea FC spot in the Premier League and a Champions League semi-final appearance were not enough to save boss Claudio Ranieri and he was replaced by the mercurial Jose Mourinho.

His flamboyant character and pragmatic style brought instant success and in 2005 the Blues won the Premiership, the League Cup and again earned a Champions League semi-final place.

Mourinho's Chelsea FC became only the second football club to win back-to-back Premier League titles when they finished first again in 2006.

That was the Blues' last championship, though, as they were runners-up in both 2007 and 2008, the latter under Avram Grant, who had replaced Mourinho.

Grant also led the Blues to the final of the Champions League, but they missed out to Man U in that competition as well, failing in a penalty shoot-out.

Nevertheless, it was a far cry from their early years following their formation in 1905, when Chelsea FC were elected into the Second Division of the Football League.

Chelsea Football Club always featured strongly in the Cups, but it wasn't until 1955 that they won their first League Championship.

Chelsea FC scooped the first of their four League Cup wins in 1965 and the first of four FA Cups in 1970.

That led to qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup, which Chelsea FC won the following year and lifted again in 1998.