Silva is gold... but Poch needs a new gem and a cup for Blues’ revival
ONE of the questions that Thiago Silva’s wife might have been better off asking last week was how come a club that has s pent £1billion on players is still left relying on her old man at centreback?
Isabelle Silva’s social media outburst after a chastening home defeat by Wolves, questioning whether Chelsea should call time on Mauricio Pochettino, may have inadvertently given the Blues boss all the ammunition he needed for the team talk that appears to have galvanised the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
Her criticism prompted Poch to drop the 39-year-old defender for the FA Cup replay at Aston Villa in midweek.
And, with Silva sat on the bench, Chelsea romped into the next round by producing one of their best performances of the season in a 3-1 win.
Blues owner Todd Boehly has spent a huge fortune on new players over the past 12 months.
Surely one of his priorities should have been to put a centre-back or two in place who would form the backbone of Chelsea’s team over the coming years?
Instead, Pochettino has felt compelled to lean on veteran Thiago to provide experience and defensive nous for his young team.
Ten years ago, the Brazilian would have been the perfect fit. I’m not sure a player who will celebrate his 40th birthday in September is physically capable of dealing with the demands of the Premier League every single week. I don’t mean that to sound ageist. It’s a fact of life that English football is unforgiving.
I don’t think a player of Silva’s vintage would cut it at Manchester City, Liverpool or Arsenal.
Silva has been a wonderful professional and servant to the game. His longevity illustrates that. And of course he still has the quality to play a role for Poch.
Chelsea are a young developing team and Silva can provide a guiding hand.
But the fact that he has still been one of the first names on the teamsheet this season says a lot about where the Londoners are at as a unit. Pochettino (right) has not been able to find any sort of consistency in the Premier League with this squad. But the cup competitions can bring some salvation. His Blues will meet Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final in two weeks as underdogs – but Wembley has always been a place where the unlikely can happen. And Chelsea will expect to beat Leeds at home in the FA Cup to clinch a place in the quarter-finals. If Pochettino can just get over the line in one of those cups, that would then bring European football back to the Bridge – and might just be a springboard for another era of glory. There has been talk that the club could find financial fair play problems after spending so heavily in their bid to reach the Champions League at least. But for Chelsea to sack another manager, after less than a season in the job, would only add to the chaos, after Boehly’s failure to give Graham Potter enough time to turn the club around.
Pochettino will surely not have had to experience pressure like this before – so it will be interesting to see if he can get it right over time. The Argentine coach wasn’t expected to win the Premier League with Tottenham, or to reach the Champions League final. Spurs reaped the benefits of giving Pochettino the time and space to build a formidable team.
At Paris Saint-germain, he was blessed with the best squad in France by some distance – and finishing top of Ligue 1 was a formality.
Chelsea have been a major force at home and abroad for many years and after spending so much money the manager will be under the spotlight to deliver the biggest trophies.
The problem is he is up against two of the best teams in the world, in Manchester City and Liverpool.
It might be good, it might be bad, but life will never be dull at Stamford Bridge.