Remembering 10 Low Points in Chelsea's Storied History

These are heady days indeed for Chelsea supporters.

The Blues are back at the top of the Premier League and looking strong favorites to be crowned champions once more. Jose Mourinho is at the helm, and the team is packed full of young talent, hinting the future is bright.

It wasn't always so positive, though. Chelsea have known some dark days in their history, including nearly going out of business on several occasions.

The Blues have faced relegations, embarrassing defeats and their players hitting the headlines for behaviour on and off the pitch. 

"If you want a rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain," Dolly Parton once said.

Bleacher Report takes a look at some of the moments when Chelsea have had to take shelter from the storm.

Tommy Docherty Sends Home the Blackpool 8

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Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty

Chelsea were going for the league title in 1965, and with three games to go until the end of the season, they had to face Liverpool, Burnley and Blackpool—all away.

As those games were being played in the north-west, then-manager Tommy Docherty decided the team should remain in the north, taking up camp in Blackpool.

The idea was clear: Less travel and more training and rest would best prepare his young team for its final assault at glory. It needed to win its three games to have any chance at claiming the title.

It backfired spectacularly.

Chelsea lost 2-0 to Liverpool, and with a five-day break between their next game, eight players let their hair down, enjoying a night on the town without their manager's permission.

The guilty culprits were Terry Venables, Eddie McCreadie, Marvin Hinton, Bert Murray, Joe Fascione, George Graham, John Hollins and Barry Bridges.

Of the eight, all except Fascione were key players to Docherty, but the manager was furious and sent them all home on the train to London despite two important fixtures remaining.

It was headline news across the newspapers, with reporters waiting in London as the players' train pulled into Euston station.

With a weakened team as a result, Chelsea were thrashed 6-2 by Burnley, ending their title dream. Some players were reinstated for the trip to Blackpool, but Chelsea lost that game, too, with the Seasiders running out 3-2 winners.

Chelsea Record 7-Match Losing Streak

Every team endures a loss of form and suffers through days when it seems it will never earn another victory.

By hook or by crook, it eventually pulls itself out of the rut and gets back to winning ways.

For Chelsea's teams of the early 1950s and 1960s, their poor form still haunts them to this day, carrying an unwanted record of overseeing the club's biggest losing streak.

In November and December of 1952, Chelsea lost seven matches in a row. At the back end of 1960, the Blues team of the time equaled that feat, losing seven matches from December to January.

Thankfully for Chelsea fans, they have never had to endure such frequent defeats since.

Incidentally, Ted Drake was manager during both of those barren spells.

He can be seen in the Pathe News clip above, talking in more pleasant times after Chelsea had won the league title in 1955.

*Stats via ChelseaFC.com

Blues Nearly Slip into the 3rd Division

Since the club's formation in 1905, Chelsea have never competed lower than the Championship, formerly the Second Division.

They have flirted with the notion, though.

In 1982/83, the Blues finished 18th in the Second Division, just two points clear of the relegation zone.

It was nail-biting stuff, going down to the wire.

Chelsea had endured a nine-game winless run from mid-March to May, and the threat of relegation loomed until they pulled off a massive 1-0 win against Bolton Wanderers in the penultimate game of the campaign, Clive Walker scoring the decisive goal.

Bolton eventually finished bottom of the table, and Chelsea stayed up by the skin of their teeth. Burnley and Rotherham joined the Trotters in the Third Division.

The above YouTube clip is Clive Walker dismantling Bolton in a memorable Chelsea comeback in October 1978. The Blues won 4-3 after trailing 3-0 at half-time.

Liverpool Thrash Chelsea 5-1 at Anfield

Chelsea travel to Anfield to face Liverpool this weekend, and they'll be hoping things don't go the way they did in 1996 when the Reds thrashed Ruud Gullit's Blues 5-1.

It was a day to forget for Chelsea. Robbie Fowler, Patrik Berger (two), John Barnes and a comical Andy Myers own goal gifted the home side a crushing victory.

The defeat is also Chelsea's biggest in the Premier League era.

To watch the goals fly in, fast-forward the above clip to 17 minutes and 23 seconds.

John Terry Slips and Misses His Champions League Final Penalty

In 2008, Chelsea stood on the brink of lifting the one trophy that had so far eluded them in their history—the Champions League.

Facing Manchester United in the final in Moscow, after a 1-1 draw and 120 minutes of play, it all came down to the lottery of penalties.

The score was 4-4 after Cristiano Ronaldo had missed his earlier penalty, and up stepped John Terry, Chelsea's captain, to take the last kick of the game.

Score, and Chelsea were European champions; miss, and it went to sudden death.

Unfortunately for Terry, it was the latter, with him slipping at the vital moment, smashing his penalty against the post.

In sudden death, Nicolas Anelka missed his penalty to gift United victory.

If Chelsea fans can stomach it, the above clip is the penalty shootout in full.

Chelsea Come Close to Going out of Business

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Ken Bates is the proverbial Marmite figure at Chelsea—you either love him or hate him.

It's a shame he has that reputation. It was Bates who saved the club from bankruptcy in 1982, purchasing Chelsea for £1 and inheriting the debts in the process.

The late 1970s and 1980s were an unstable period in the club's history.

Construction of the East Stand had pushed Chelsea's finances to the limit, so much so that the hierarchy was forced to sell the freehold to Stamford Bridge, which left the club's future at risk to property developers.

Bates fought the fight and eventually won, but it was a dark period for Chelsea that impacted their form on the pitch.

Bankruptcy Looms Once More

After saving the club in the 1980s, Ken Bates almost sent Chelsea back to the dark ages when he gambled the club's future on short-term success.

Redeveloping Stamford Bridge and spending big on players had left the club in a financial crisis, and Chelsea's future rested on one game against Liverpool on the final day of 2002/03.

The game was a big deal—whoever won would qualify for the Champions League the next season.

Had Chelsea lost, however, it's difficult to imagine what may have happened, such was the club's debt.

The one conclusion that's certain is financial oblivion would have taken hold.

As it transpired, Chelsea won the game 2-1 thanks to Jesper Gronkjaer's winner, and the rest, as they say, is history, with Roman Abramovich buying the club that summer.

It was a turning point in Chelsea's history, but they found themselves in such a dire situation that it's equally a low point, showing the fine line between success and failure.

John Terry's Love Life Makes the Headlines

John Terry has already made this list, but he made it, in a strange way, for the right reasons.

He may have missed that penalty in the Champions League final, yet his infamy is recognised in that instance for what he is paid to do—play football.

In 2010, that all changed after reports emerged of an alleged extramarital affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend.

Bridge had been a former teammate of Terry's at Chelsea, and when he left to join Manchester City, it is rumoured Terry had pursued a relationship with Vanessa Perroncel, per Daily Mail.

Not only were Bridge and Terry ex-teammates, but they had also been good friends while at Chelsea, and the rumours became big news.

It impacted Terry's reputation, also casting an unwanted spotlight on Chelsea as the club stood by its captain.

And when the pair came face-to-face a few weeks after the revelation, fuel was added to the fire when Bridge refused to shake Terry's hand ahead of Chelsea's clash with Manchester City (above), a game Bridge's team won 4-2.

As a result of the allegations, Terry lost the England captaincy ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

Mark Clattenburg Wrongly Accused of Racism

Sang Tan/Associated Press

When Chelsea lost 3-2 to Manchester United in October 2012, it was a game full of incident.

Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres had been sent off, and Javier Hernandez's winner was allowed to stand despite the Mexican appearing to be in an offside position.

The worst was to come, though, when referee Mark Clattenburg was wrongly accused of racially abusing John Obi Mikel.

At the final whistle, Clattenburg had allegedly said to Mikel to “shut up you monkey,” per The Telegraph.

After an investigation carried out by the FA, Clattenburg was cleared of any wrongdoing, and Mikel was charged for misconduct and using threatening and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour following an incident in the match officials’ changing room.

The whole ordeal cast an ugly shadow over Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho Leaves His Post as Chelsea Manager

ARMANDO FRANCA/Associated Press

After winning back-to-back Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups, Jose Mourinho left Chelsea in September 2007.

Was he sacked, or did he leave before he was pushed? We've never had confirmation of the exact events.

What we do know for sure is that Mourinho left Chelsea too early. His departure was premature.

The club was continuing to progress under him, and leaving when he did allowed for instability to creep in.

What followed was a considerable turnover of managers and a team failing to deliver on its potential.

Chelsea have won three Premier League since Roman Abramovich bought the club, but given the investment and talent, it should be so much more.

It was a dark day for Chelsea when Mourinho left.

Then again, every cloud has a silver lining. Carlo Ancelotti introduced an exciting brand of football when he was manager between 2009 and 2011, and Mourinho is back to steer another generation, making noises that he wants to remain for some time yet.

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Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes