5 Chelsea Players With Most Appearances

Chelsea has always been one of the most prestigious institutions of football in England and Europe. There have been multiple spells of success at Stamford Bridge which results in Chelsea having 6 UEFA Competition winner titles. These successful spells require character and there have been plenty of them to grace the pitch in West London. Here we’ll see which 5 players have had the honor of representing the Blues, the most number of times.

5 Players with most appearances at Chelsea

#5: John Hollins (592 Appearances)

With 592 appearances for the Blues in two spells spanning over 13 years, John Hollins ranks 5th in this list of all-time Chelsea appearance makers. Hollins was a very talented, hard-running midfielder who was a part of the very successful Chelsea side of the late 60s and early 70s. He made his debut at the tender age of 17 years against Swindon Town.

Due to his perseverance, will power and dedicated attitude, he went on to become a regular in the Chelsea midfield along with becoming the club captain. After establishing himself in 1964, Hollins was very rarely unavailable for a game, be it for injuries or suspensions. He missed only 20 out of the next 420 League games, making 167 of them in succession which remains a club record.

He played a crucial part in all of Chelsea’s successes that decade, the League Cup win against Leicester in 1965, the FA Cup win against close rivals Leeds in 1970, and the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup win over Real Madrid in Athens in 1971. Hollins also won the Chelsea Player of the Year award twice, in 1971 and 1972.

#4: Frank Lampard (648 appearances)

Lampard played 648 games for the club in Chelsea’s most successful period through 2001-2014. Signed from West Ham in 2001, Lampard went on to become Chelsea’s highest ever goal scorer with 211 goals to his name. Lampard was signed as a prospect, but nobody knew that he would go on to do so well. It was his determination and the will to be the best that got Lampard so far in his career. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in one of his recent interviews mentioned how competitive Lampard was in training and how he never gave up.

Lampard was a technically gifted box to box midfielder, and one of his major strengths was his ability to score all kinds of goals. Lampard was the stand-in captain when Chelsea won the Champions League in 11-12 and when Chelsea won the Europa League in 12-13 as Terry was out through suspension or injury. Lampard scored 20 goals a season regularly, and it was a big bonus to every manager who stood in the Stamford Bridge dugout. His 2009-10 season stands out the most when he scored 22 goals and set up further 14 in his 36 League appearances under Carlo Ancelloti.

Lampard is currently leading the Blues as head manager. His legendry status meant Chelsea put faith in his abilities in only his second year as a manager. Chelsea was also going through a tough time, despite trophies coming in every season. Post Sarri’s departure in 2019, Hazard, who was undoubtedly Chelsea’s best player, was also leaving and Chelsea had nobody to replace him with, as the club was serving a transfer ban. Lampard took the job and is currently in a very good position with the Blues, ready to finish in the Champions League spots.

#3: John Terry (717 appearances)

The poster boy for Chelsea’s success in the Abramovich era, John Terry has made 717 appearances for Chelsea in his 19-year spell at the club. Captain, Leader, Legend Terry has made a name for himself as one of the best defenders to ever grace the game of football, with his leadership, ability to read the game, and willingness to put his body on the line making the essentials of what he resembled. The most successful captain in Chelsea’s history led the club to 5 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, 1 Europa League, and 1 Champions League, winning every possible trophy an English club could have. With Petr Cech and Ricardo Carvalho (later Gary Cahill), Terry formed the steel triangle which rarely let in goals, this proved to be the building blocks for Chelsea’s success. Terry’s performances saw him voted as the best defender in Europe for 3 years, along with being in the European Team of the Year 4 times in all.

Terry was a strong center-back who was known for his uncompromising style of play. His ability on the ball was severely underrated, even though being equally effective with both his feet. Terry’s legacy as the best captain in Chelsea’s history will need some undoing if anyone ever wills to overtake him.

#2: Peter Bonetti (729 appearances)

Had Terry stayed another season at Chelsea rather than plying his trade at Aston Villa, for his final season before retirement, he would have overtaken Bonetti in this list ( and added another FA Cup to his name as well). The very recently demised Bonetti, played for Chelsea for 20 years after signing from the Reading youth team. From his very first season at a senior level in 1960, he became Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper, a position that he held for more than 19 years.

He was part of the young Chelsea side that won promotion in 1963, that included fellow youngsters, Terry Venables and Bobby Tambling. As a Chelsea player, he won the League Cup in 1965, beating Leicester, the FA Cup beating rivals Leeds United in 1970, and the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in 1971 beating Real Madrid. Bonetti was also a part of the only English side that won the World Cup in 1966. Even though he remained second choice to Gordon Banks, being a part of that squad is a matter of a lot of pride. He had left in 1975 for the American side St. Louis but returned a year later to prove invaluable experience to Eddie McCreadie’s young Chelsea side that was undergoing a rough time.

ALSO READ – 3 Best Chelsea Goal Keepers

#1: Ron Harris (795 appearances)

Ron “Chopper” Harris was a part of the Chelsea side for 19 seasons between 1961 and 1980, and was considered one of the toughest defenders of his era. After winning the FA Youth Cup in 1960, he made the jump to the senior side where he struggled to find his feet initially but made his mark ultimately. He became one of the first names on the Chelsea teamsheet, which he attained for the next 18 years consistently.

Harris was naturally a talented and an uncompromising defender in the mold of Bobby Moore and Norman Hunter, but was often played out of position as circumstances dictated. Many Chelsea players left in the early 70s due to the financial situation of the club and also due to the falling out between manager Dave Sexton and Peter Osgood, but Harris stuck with Chelsea during this tough phase, filling in wherever he was required. Following McCreadie’s retirement, he was primarily used as a left-back, but also used to act as a cover for the right-back spot.

In 10 of his seasons, Harris averaged 41 out of 42 League games, which showed his quality and his durability. He finally left in 1980 when he was offered the role of manager by Brentford.

ALSO READ –  Chelsea’s best XI