SOMETIMES, the line between pure genius and sheer bampottery can become so obscure that Bergerac would have more joy finding some beef in his half-time Bovril than telling the difference.

It is this mental edge, in a literal and metaphorical sense, that can often cause many to be confused as to if one is of sound mind and operating at the peak of the intellectual scale, or showing all the pragmatism, logic and sense of a junior footballer who has just discovered the opposing centre-half was spotted down Crystals the night before doing the Slosh with his sister.

In real life, there are several famous figures who many believe were somewhere between insane and genius. Pythagoras, the renowned Greek mathematician who continues to bamboozle school children around the world, also created his own religion when he wasn’t cutting about Samos measuring triangles in which he allegedly claimed people should be forbidden from eating beans. Mrs Mullen would probably agree.

Even Michelangelo, the coolest of all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, displayed signs of being a bit off the top deck while taking a break from painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling or going to get some turps for his brushes. In his personal life, the Italian often wouldn’t wash and was said to have such poor personal hygiene that his skin would come away whenever he removed his worn out pair of plimsolls.

Back in the realm of football, the beautiful game would be far from as bonnie if it weren’t for its own eccentric characters. It is a particularly appropriate time to visit such a topic when one of English football’s most enigmatic, funny and wacky managers is currently having the time of his life ripping up the Barclays Premier League. I am of course talking about the one and only, Claudio Ranieri.

Famous on these shores for being the Chelsea manager from 2000-04, the Italian who was nicknamed ‘The Tinkerman’ for his bizarre tactical decisions and constant footering was also renowned for his obscure metaphors and observations.

For example, when a question was put to him that his time at Stamford Bridge may be coming to an end, he responded by saying: “I must say thank you to the media because you do a great job now. Before you kill me! That crazy man! I give you a good espresso. A small one. I am Scottish man!”

Right, then.

Or what about this nugget of insight? “Football managers are like a parachutist. At times it doesn't open. Here, it is an umbrella. You understand, Mary Poppins.”

I see…

It is little wonder that the arrival of the Butcher’s son from Rome at the King Power Stadium was not heralded as the managerial acquisition of the decade. After all, what did he do at Chelsea?

Well, quite a lot, actually. Despite not winning the title, Ranieri took the Blues to second in the Premier League twice – their highest league position in 49 years – while also reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. He can also lay claim to being the man that brought Frank Lampard, Emmanuel Petit, William Gallas and Claude Makalele to the Bridge before his time was brought to a halt by an unappreciative Roman Abramovich, who only a matter of days later replaced him with Jose Mourinho in as his successor.

It is with this backdrop that one can truly appreciate what must have been going through the mind of Ranieri and the not-so-special one standing with a face like a soor plum 10 yards away from him on Monday night.

Chelsea’s demise in the Premier League has been well documented. The slippery slope they are currently on is so steep Eddie the Eagle Edwards would struggle to handle the speed of the decent into crisis, with the current champions just a point off a relegation place the week before Christmas.

The rise in prominence of Leicester is also big news these days, as it should be. Liz McColgan has been on shorter runs than the Foxes are currently chuntering along on, and Jamie Vardy’s scoring streak is an incredible feat, especially for a player who only a few years ago was playing non-league football.

However, Monday’s meeting between the two sides, which Leicester won 2-1 to go two points clear at the top of the Premier League, was a poignant moment for both men who have both walked similar paths at various points in their careers, but now seem to be going in opposite directions.

Ranieri’s professionalism and reputation should never have been questioned, just ask the thousands of Chelsea fans who still hold him in such high regard. His tinkering has also managed to transform a team anchored with Wes Morgan at the back and Vardy up front that only just stayed above relegation last season by six points.

During that campaign Vardy got five goals. This time around he already has 15.

The fact Mourinho, with all his deflecting arguments, pulled faces and side-stepping tactics, has managed to become this heralded tactical mastermind is anyone’s guess. No post-match interview can deflect from the fact he is failing fast with a monumental budget, and that Monday night’s defeat, compounded by the 64-year-old in the opposite dugout who helped inflict it, may spell the beginning of the end for the Portuguese.

For Ranieri? Well, whether Leicester are serious title contenders or not is still up for debate. But with this man in charge, you’d be a fool to write them off.

"I can't change now. I'm like Frank Sinatra - I always do it my way,” said the Italian during his time at Chelsea. “I told the players everything I did in the Monaco game was wrong. I changed things to win the match - but we lost and I was thinking 'Oh f*** Claudio, why, why? Bad Tinkerman!”

The Tinkerman cometh.