Thiago Silva will go down as a Chelsea Football Club legend for me, there is no doubt about it.
Thiago Silva, at the age of 39, is STILL a top class player for Chelsea and I am STILL happy for him to be in our starting Xl’s.
Thiago Silva is a footballing legend, has been world class for many years, and is one of the best centre backs to ever play the game.
Thiago Silva’s passport is still a complete lie and I genuinely think he is 29 rather than 39.
But, with all of that said, which I truly mean from the bottom of my heart, his time at Chelsea for me should now be coming to an end. It’s time to start organising his leaving party, and damn that best be a big one and what he fully deserves. But with my full respect and love, it’s time to give a huge thank you to the legend that is Thiago Silva, and bid him farewell to his final move in his footballing career.
This is not reactionary, and people on my personal Substack site ‘Si Phillips Talks Chelsea’ will know I have been saying that I would make this Silva’s last year for some time now. But it’s also evident to see that the time is right, just as it was with Cesar Azpilicueta who was in a more obvious decline.
Photo by Stephanie Meek – CameraSport via Getty Images
Don’t get me wrong, as I said above, I am happy and confident whenever I still see Silva in our lineup, I am happy for that to continue this season. But for no longer than this season and also, not when everyone is fit. For me, I would not be starting Silva in our best Xl anymore, even though I still trust him in our lineups. I just think it’s time to move forward and put the trust in some of these other centre backs we have bought in, alongside Levi Colwill who absolutely needs to be playing centre back and starting games for us, without a doubt.
I just fear that if Silva keeps playing every game for us now he will just get more and more fatigued, more errors will creep in, and we will see another Branislav Ivanovic situation where fans murmurs turn to regular critique and then abuse. Silva only deserves our full respect, and that is why his time has come to an end with us.
I often preach experience on here and the need for it, but there is a fine line. Silva leads by example but not necessarily with his voice. But when a player starts to hit an age decline, I don’t necessarily think that experience is always a positive thing. I hope people understand what I mean by that, and I mean it with total respect.
Silva has openly stated that he wants to finish his career in Brazil, and the time has come for him to do just that in the summer. Let him have his last swansong in his playing career before he moves into coaching, which is what I understand he wants to do.
Fluminense by the way, are still trying to get Silva in January, and I’m not fully ruling that out if Chelsea do sign another centre back like they are potentially looking to do.
But when he does leave, please arrange for him to start his coaching career in the Chelsea academy when he retires, because a footballing brain like that would be hugely beneficial for our club, and you can see how much him and his family love this football club.
Silva now bleeds blue, and he will hold a special place in our hearts with many other legends of the past, club legends of the past.
I think he could stay very important for us for the rest of this season, but not as a regular starter for me anymore. But absolutely as a regular rotation player.
The time is right. Thiago, we love you!
