In a day and age where you’ve got loyalty in football disappearing at a rate of nots, you have to be thankful to the players at your club who have remained loyal, remained respectful, and leave it all out on the pitch.
Ben Chilwell has departed the club on a permanent transfer this week, joining Strasbourg. And for me, it’s been a time of mixed emotions. I’ve not believed that he’s been good enough to start for this Chelsea side for a little while now, but I’ve also always rated him as a left back and believe he’s also not as bad a player as some say he is. He’s also been madly disrespected by a certain bunch of Chelsea fans too which has been very unfair.
Ben has been through so much in his career. He’s had bad injuries that’s well and truly stunted his progress and development as a player, and he’s been battling a lot of personal issues as well with the loss of his father in recent years, someone he was very close to. And he’s had to do all of that alongside not really playing much football in the last few seasons and being frozen out and isolated by Chelsea.
He deserves our full respect. Without Ben, we’d not have won the Champions League in 2021. He’s been a big part of some of our most successful times. He’s stayed quiet this whole time when he could have caused issues or bad-mouthed the club or the managers who haven’t been picking him. But he hasn’t, he’s stayed respectful to the badge and stayed as a model pro. He’s been proud to represent this club and I will always hold him in high regard and keep a close eye on how he’s doing in France.
Some posts now off the back of Ben leaving the club to see us out…
Ben Chilwell on IG:
“Chelsea fans, firstly thank you! We won the Champions League together, made a bond like I’d never have imagined and I met brothers for life on and off the pitch here. You helped me through the tough times, injuries, personal life, and gave me the best moments of my life. I’ll never be able to thank you guys enough, looking forward to showing everyone my best!”
“😊see you soon. Chilly ðŸ'™”
Thank you for everything, Chilly! All the best in your future.
Simon Phillips