The history of Chelsea Football Club is quite an intriguing one. In the modern era, it was the club's purchase by Roman Abramovich that became a turning point for them. He eventually managed to transform The Blues into one of Europe's biggest sides.
This article, though, will be looking at a significant event of a whole different era that takes us a 100 years back. Let us look at the story of John Tait Robertson, the first ever manager to be appointed by Chelsea.
Life before Chelsea
Robertson began his career at Scottish Side Morton, where he spent a year. This was followed by a move to Everton in 1895. His first two seasons at Everton saw him play for the combination team, which was a team that was selected to play for specific occasions. Robertson eventually made it to the first team in 1987, making his debut against Wolves in September that year.
The Scottish Half-back then joined Southampton, with whom he won the 1898–99 Southern League in his only season with the club.
Robertson's next footballing chapter saw him return to Scotland, as he joined Rangers. His time at the club was a huge success, as the Scotsman won three consecutive Scottish Football League championships at Rangers in his first three seasons. A Scottish Cup was added to his illustrious trophy collection in the fourth season. His final Rangers appearance was in a play-off for the 1904–05 Scottish Division One title against Celtic. Robertson managed to score in that match, but Celtic managed to beat Rangers. He left the club in 1905 after 6 years, making a total 178 appearances for the club.
The Chelsea years
April 1905 was a monumental month in football history, as Robertson became the first player to be signed by the newly formed Chelsea Football Club for the role of manager. However, he continued to play as well, and thus took up the hybrid role of player-manager which was new at the time.
The Scotsman made history on 9th September 1905, as he scored Chelsea's first ever competitive goal to help them beat Blackpool 1-0. In his first season with the Blues, he led the club to a third-place finish in the Second Division, which was one place off promotion. Fast forward to his second season, Robertson played a key role in signing future club legend George Hilsdon on a free transfer. Hilsdon is widely remembered for his legendary performance in the opening match of that season, as his brilliant 5 goal haul helped Chelsea beat Glossop North End 9-2.
What occurred soon was a shocker for the club and the fans at the time, as Robertson surprisingly resigned from the club (third in the table at the time) on 27 November 1906.
Caretaker secretary-manager William Lewis took over Chelsea for the remainder of the season, helping them achieve promotion to the top flight of English Football.
Thus Robertson departed Chelsea as one of their most important individuals in club history. Soon afterwards he became player-manager of English side Glossop, where he remained until summer 1909, when he became reserve-team manager at Manchester United.
The last dance
Under the sponsorship of Alfréd Brüll and a London fabric company, Robertson's final footballing chapter took him to Hungary in 1911 for managing MTK Budapest. During his two years stint at MTK, he managed to finish as league runners-up twice (both times behind Ferencvárosi TC) and also win the 1911–12 season Hungarian Cup.
Robertson was considered to be one of the coaches responsible for the development of football in Hungary between the 1910s and 20s, as he introduced physical preparations and technical innovations to the Hungarian game. Thus, he made an important mark in yet another club and country
He left the club after 2 years, and returned to Britain in 1913. The Scotsman finally closed the curtains on a remarkable career, leaving the stage as one of the most influential figures in early football history.
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