An All-Time Chelsea Best XI | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Seven subs are allowed on the bench in the Premier League, so I'm going to claim my full entitlement for my Greatest Chelsea XI. Here they are:

12. Dan Petrescu (208 appearances, 23 goals, 1995-2000)

An intelligent, technically skilled right-back or right-sided midfielder, "Super Dan" arrived at the Bridge from Sheffield Wednesday and proved to be a key component of the exciting Chelsea side of the late 1990s. He would be a useful option from the bench, especially if Ron “Chopper” Harris looked in danger of picking up a red card!

13. Peter Bonetti (729 appearances, 1960-79)

Signed by Chelsea after his mother wrote in to the club requesting a trial, Peter Bonetti gave the Blues sterling service over two decades. An agile goalkeeper who specialized in making spectacular saves, he was dubbed “The Cat” by his teammates, and no nickname was more appropriate. The first winner of the Chelsea Player of the Year award in 1967, he won three major trophies with the Blues before retiring in 1979.   

14. Claude Makelele (217 appearances, 2 goals, 2003-08)

The French international defensive midfielder was signed from Real Madrid by Claudio Ranieri in 2003, but he really came into his own under “The Tinkerman’s” successor, Jose Mourinho. Makelele’s tackling ability and game-reading skills saw his name become synonymous with the holding midfield role, and some would argue that, even five years after he moved to Paris St Germain, he has never properly been replaced at the Bridge.  

15. Charlie Cooke (373 appearances, 30 goals, 1966-72 and 1974-78)

Signed from Dundee in 1966, Charlie Cooke was a wonderfully talented winger who could bamboozle defenders with his deft ball skills. In two spells at the Bridge, he won the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup before moving to the USA in 1978.

16. Arjen Robben (106 appearances, 19 goals, 2004-07)

A left-winger with a deadly turn of pace, Arjen Robben was a star of the Chelsea team that won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006. A string of niggling injuries restricted his appearances for the Blues, but when he was fully fit and on-form, he could be virtually unplayable. In 2007, he was sold to Real Madrid for a Chelsea club-record £24 million.

17. Kerry Dixon (420 appearances, 193 goals, 1983-92)

Signed from Reading in 1983 for a bargain £175,000, Kerry Dixon was an instant hit at the Bridge, scoring 34 goals in his first season as Chelsea stormed to the old Second Division championship. Fast, strong, powerful in the air and possessing a fearsome shot in both feet, Dixon went on to score 193 goals for the Blues, a figure only surpassed by Bobby Tambling and Frank Lampard. 

18. Jimmy Greaves (169 appearances, 132 goals, 1957-61)

A teenage prodigy, Jimmy Greaves scored an incredible 132 goals for the Blues in just four seasons at the Bridge before he moved on to AC Milan. His impressive tally included an incredible 13 hat-tricks, a club record. In the unlikely event that this Chelsea side desperately needs a goal in the second half, Greavsie would be an ideal “super sub.”