Chelsea 2004-2015: How the Blues took control of London

Roman Abramovich enjoyed his first year as Chelsea owner. The Blues climbed up to second in the Premier League table, but watched on as a certain set of Invincibles led Arsenal to the ultimate glory.

A spend of well over £100m had forced Chelsea into the debate for London's superior side, but there was still a bridge left to cross, and so Abramovich bankrolled another seismic spending spree and put the team under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho.

In came Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Arjen Robben, Paulo Ferreira...and the keys to London as well.

Chelsea had just watched Arsenal go an entire campaign without losing a single game. The Gunners had earned immortality and, to this day, are widely heralded as one of the strongest teams in the history of the Premier League.

Abramovich was not content with winning. Instead, he wanted to lead Chelsea to their own spot on the Pantheon. He threw money at his Blues with reckless abandon, overthrowing the squad and giving the beloved Claudio Ranieri his marching orders too.

In came the new superstar in management. Jose Mourinho had just stunned the world by leading Porto to European glory, and if he could do that with limited resources available to him, imagine what Mourinho could do with the riches of Chelsea under his feet.

«Beautiful blue chair, the UEFA Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me,» Mourinho declared in his first press conference. «Please do not call me arrogant because what I'm saying is true: I'm European champion, so I'm not one out of the bottle; I think I'm a special one.»

Many laughed, but they wouldn't be laughing for long. Chelsea won the Premier League title in Mourinho's first season in charge, breaking records for the fewest goals conceded