Thiago Silva is a very emotive person – but there’s nothing fake about it. When he wept upon leaving Chelsea, we bought it. And when he said he’d be back, we believed that too. We just didn’t think it would be so soon…
Presumably taking advantage of the international break, Silva was at Cobham today, even being given someone called DB’s training jacket. Inevitably, Chelsea fans showered the comments with demands for the Brazilian to return to our team this weekend.
You can see Silva in training in the image embedded here:
It's always a pleasure to return to this special place. Thank you for your continuous affection. The feeling is mutual. See you soon! 💙 pic.twitter.com/Q55RfILvR7
— Thiago Silva (@tsilva3) September 10, 2024
Of course we’d all love to have Silva back – but much as with N’Golo Kante, it always felt like relying on players who were getting older and less physically reliable was ultimately a self defeating strategy. Eventually, you’ve got to rip off the plaster and move on.
Still, if he ever wants to come back and be our manager – not many would complain.
Couldn’t agree more—Silva made a lasting mark in just a few years at the club AND it was the right time when he left. I actually think the “ripping off the plaster” remark from SuperFrank applies more broadly to where the club needed to go following the Abramovich era. Besides the bad contracts, the squad had become a hodgepodge of mismatching parts, ill-suited to play any one particular style and lacking standout talent (a Lampard, Drogba or Hazard). As painful as it’s been, I would argue the rebuild (based on youth) embarked upon by the new ownership was needed. We can quibble with how it’s been executed (and certainly whether they’ve gotten the managerial vision piece right), but it’s very hard to argue that an overhaul (i.e., ripping the plaster off) wasn’t needed in light of the yawning hap that had opened between Chelsea SB it’s top competition (namely City and Liverpool).