Chelsea left out of plan for 'British Super League' with 13 clubs including four non-Premier League sides

Chelsea were left out of a plan for a new 'British Super League' back in 1982 which included four non-Premier League teams.

13 clubs were chosen to form a brand new British league which never materialised. 10 years later, the teams in the old First Division broke away and formed the Premier League.

Nine of the clubs chosen remain in the English top flight today with five of the 'big six' - Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur - included.

The biggest surprise was the sixth team from that group, Chelsea, who were left out of the plan completely.

While it's hard to imagine now, back in 1982 the Blues were without modern investment, were troubled by regular instances of hooliganism and finished 12th in the Second Division.

In the same year they were sold for the nominal sum of £1 and it wasn't until the formation of the Premier League and the £140 million takeover by former owner Roman Abramovich that the club started to achieve regular success.

The list of clubs involved in the proposed new league was revealed by the BBC's Match of the Day account on X (formerly Twitter).

The other current top-flight clubs chosen were fellow Premier League ever-presents Everton, along with Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham United.

Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday were also included, alongside Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.

Despite also being in the Second Division in 1982, the Owls were likely chosen due to the fact that their stadium was regarded as one of the best in the country at the time.

However, just seven years later, the tragic events of the Hillsborough disaster and resultant improvements in safety for visiting fans reduced the stadium's overall capacity.

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The proposed British Super League's primary purpose was for Celtic and Rangers to face off against what were then considered the best teams in England on a regular basis and talk of the Scottish giants joining the Premier League has been suggested again since.

Even this week, St Johnstone boss Craig Levein suggested other Scottish clubs would benefit from the Old Firm duo playing matches south of the border.

"I will come back to my base camp, I would love to see the Old Firm playing in the English Premier League," he said.

“They would be able to afford to pay £50million each per season to the rest of Scottish football and then I would support Celtic and Rangers playing in the English Premier League.

"But will it ever happen? I don’t think so.”