Eddie McCreadie was installed as the new manager of Chelsea at the start of the 1975 – 76 season and the Blues could not lift themselves high in their first season in the second division, they finished the campaign off in a disappointing 11th place. The blues suffered defeat against Crewe in the second round of the league cup. Tommy Langley was voted as the ‘Chelsea football player of the year’ at the end of the campaign.
The blues managed to find promotion the following season as they finished it off in second place. The blues were knocked out of the FA cup in the third round of the FA cup, suffering a 3-0 defeat against Southampton. Ray Wilkins was named as the Chelsea football player of the year in two consecutive years, 1976 and 1977.
The 1977 – 78 season saw the arrival of new manager, Ken Shellito in charge at the club. The Blues comfortably escaped relegation as they finished the season off in 16th position. They suffered defeat in the fifth round of the FA Cup against Leyton Orient. Micky Droy was in fine form for the Blues through out the campaign.
The 1978 -79 season proved to be a debacle as the Blues finished it off in 22nd place. Even the fine performances of Tommy Langley and Clive Walker could not inspire the blues as they finished off in bottom place, resulting in relegation.
Geoff Hurst was installed as the new manager of Chelsea at the start of the 1979- 80 campaign and the response was immediate, the Blues narrowly missed out on promotion back into the top flight as they finished off the campaign in fourth place. The suffered defeat against Plymouth Argyle in the second round of the league cup and they suffered embarrassment in the FA cup, losing against Wigan Athletic.