With the departure of club legends Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, this summer will mark the end of a glorious era of success at Stamford Bridge.
For the past decade, we have relied on the spine of Cech, Terry, Lampard and Drogba to inspire the team to domestic and European glory, and while Petr and John remain at the heart of the club, it will not be long before the curtain falls on their illustrious careers also.
As a Chelsea fan myself, I grew up watching the heroic oldguard so it is difficult to comprehend the thought of some of them not playing in a blue shirt next season, however it is certainly not a sad time as we all knew that one day these club stalwarts would have to depart; plus I am also comforted by the thought that one day JT, Lamps and Didier will inevitably return to Chelsea, as managers, directors or coaches.
This leads me to onto the new era, and most importantly, to whom do we turn to as the next set of players to inspire future glory. One man in particular that I see as the perfect candidate to replicate the leadership of John Terry and Frank Lampard, is Mr Gary Cahill.
Cahill is now 28  which may be viewed as too old to be considered as the “future”, however he is the perfect position to become Chelsea’s captain for at least another 5 years after Terry steps down.
He arrived at the perfect time, midway through the unforgettable season of 2011/12 where he was immediately a key member of the team that turned a doomed campaign into Champions League and FA Cup glory;Â impressing many with the way he went about his business as a powerful centre half, learning from the ideal footballing role-model, Terry himself.
Along with with that crucial experience of playing a part in the final chapter of the oldguard era, Gary Cahill is also a superb football player. He has traits of the old-fashioned English centre half that takes no nonsense, similar to the likes of JT, Terry Butcher and Chopper Harris, the type that some may say, is a dying breed.
But in addition to that, he has incredible technical ability and is not afraid to put his body on the line or pop up with a crucial goal from time to time.
Therefore, Gary Cahill is the man that Jose Mourinho must single out to captain this transition and inspire the array of young talent to future success.
