Football Mysteries: What have Chelsea got against Leicester?

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Date: 13th September 2016 at 8:00pm
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There is nothing we love more here at Shoot! Towers than useless football trivia, those little nuggets of information that, come Quiz night, will put you head and shoulders above the rest.

We have a crack Shoot! team dedicated to finding out such futile facts and clearing up those grey areas of football that everyone knows about, but the reasoning behind is completely unclear, football mysteries.

This week they have been whiling away their days to get to the bottom of a footballing rivalry which goes back decades, but that many fans don’t really understand, the rivalry between two Premier League champions, Chelsea and Leicester.

There has long been a feisty relationship between Foxes fans and the South London supporters, with each side earmarking the other as rivals in their chants.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fans can be heard signing “We all follow the Chelsea, over land and sea, and Leicester!”, a chant often reserved for a sides local rivals, whilst in Leicestershire fans sing; “Hark now hear the Leicester sing, the Chelsea ran away, and we will fight for ever more because of Boxing Day.”

The two clubs have been rivals since the 1970s, when both sides were vying for promotion to the top flight of English football, the then Division One.

The Foxes’ chant, sang to the theme of ‘Hark now hear the angels sing’, points to one of the main catalysts in this rivalry, Boxing Day 1979. Whilst there was animosity between the two sides as they fought out for the Division Two title which, indecently, the Midlands club went on to win, this rivalry was sparked by more than just sporting interest.

Leicester's Allan Clark controls the ball at Chelsea, before the rivalry sparked. Photo: Gerry Cranham / Offside.

Leicester’s Allan Clark controls the ball at Chelsea, before the rivalry sparked.
Photo: Gerry Cranham / Offside.

Regrettably, during the late 1970’s and early 80’s, football was going through it’s darkest period, with hooliganism marring the sport in Britain.

Amidst the race for promotion, both club’s firms, Chelsea’s Head Hunters and the Baby Squad from Leicester, built a rivalry of their own, with Boxing Day 1979 being the biggest clash between the hooligans.

Despite the roots of the rivalry coming from an unsavoury situation, the sporting rivalry has lived long past the fighting, with some lively games over the years, such as the Blues 5-2 FA Cup victory in 2012, in which Fernando Torres bagged a brace.

Furthermore, the rivalry adds an extra something to a game which could have been just another Premier League fixture, giving the players on either side more to play for.

In light of Claudio Ranieri’s recent success with the Foxes, we could see this rivalry take on a higher status than before, with others outside the club begging to sit up and take notice.

 
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