Uninformed Rio Ferdinand didn’t do Leicester homework on Chilwell

Former Manchester United and England centreback Rio Ferdinand might have done his homework on Leicester City before criticising the Blue Army over Ben Chilwell. But the retired footballer is often off the mark, sycophantic and indistinct for a television pundit.

We all know that Chelsea beat Leicester on Saturday and the east Midlands club are now in real and present Premier League danger. The high profile return of two former players also made headlines. Obviously Chilwell scored a well-taken goal that goalkeeper Danny Ward didn’t expect or deal with well. And Wesley Fofana also made a successful comeback to King Power Stadium; taking fairly abrasive stick well from sections of the home support in the process.

Chilwell, a Leicester Academy graduate, responded to being booed for the second successive fixture on Filbert Way by celebrating in LCFC supporters’ faces with hands cupped behind ears. Naturally the best response to insults from opposition spectators is to put the ball in the back of the net and help your team win. The ex-Fox did both.

Asinine Rio Ferdinand should have done Leicester City homework on Ben Chilwell

After the final whistle, some observers hailed the Blues performance. They also generally seemed to think that Leicester got exactly what they deserved whilst praising Chilwell for his response and celebrations.

But professional pundits must prepare for these incidents by doing research and knowing their subjects. Due diligence. At least reading the notes that assistants have prepared would help: situations between former players and fan bases are nuanced and complex. Yet such intricacies are arguably beyond Rio Ferdinand’s comprehension as he made these comments:

"“He [Chilwell] done [did] a great job there [while at KPS], and they are booing him for going to Chelsea.‘It doesn’t make sense. So good, I’m glad he done [did] that, give them a bit back, they deserved it. They should respect him.”"

What the rather inarticulate Ferdinand should remember is that Foxes supporters were totally unconcerned with Chilwell’s exit. In fact, the overall consensus was that the outfit cleverly obtained a great price for him. However, nearly two years ago Leicester beat Chelsea to lift the FA Cup. The latter featured for the Blues and wildly celebrated a disallowed goal. Though LCFC loyalists were annoyed prior to the game when the 26-year-old said this:

"“To play against them [Leicester] in the FA Cup final, there’s probably not been a game in my career that I want to win more.”"

Some would argue that Chilwell began the war against Foxes fans with that statement. In conclusion, let me inform you of this: as a member of the Blue Army myself, I can honestly tell you that we are not interested in the athlete. We don’t wish him any bad fortune – we are simply unconcerned with his career. As alumnus, he was merely jeered partly because it is a pantomime atmosphere in stadia, as we all know.

Additionally, the faithful wanted the CFC man to know that we were unimpressed with his final half-season displays before departing. Many Leicester fans believe Chilwell protected himself by being less robust and essentially pulling out of 50/50 challenges to ultimately protect a lucrative transfer elsewhere.

If Chelsea think they’ve got a combative and loyal footballer, they should talk to former Millwall striker Steve Morison about the England defender’s mentality. Morison played against the leftback a few years ago when intimidation at The Den appeared to scare Chilwell into even refusing to take throw-ins. None of this impressed Leicester City support at the time, for clarity.