Thiago Silva | Chelsea Player (leaving)
- Thread starter horsechoker
- Start date
It is normal. For every Odegaard there will be a Pepe(overpriced, not saying he is a flop). I won't write both off though. Chelsea assembled a competitive squad using less money than Arsenal.
You’re overstating their recruitment in my opinion. You could even question the £76m on Havertz and £50m on Chilwell.
They simply throw money about. Liverpool, as much as I hate the twats, are the better example.
Havertz il agree but before his injury Chilwell was outstanding. Oh and I hate Chelsea.
Havertz is fantastic and you're being very very harsh on Chilwell.
He's current level is, dare I say, as good as Terry was for us in his prime. I watch him in awe every game trying to grasp that this man is doing this at the age of 37.
Liverpool are no better, probably worse in fact. Look at their recruitment before Klopp, he's the real game changer over there.
I think I was simply showing how much you spend. I don’t think you have as good recruitment as he was making out. There’s plenty of big money flops
They are good at selling players too. It is the work of the recruitment department and how effective they spend money to improve their squad. They spent less money than Arsenal and have Lukaku and Werner on the bench as striker. We don't even have a back up striker and we spent more!
There are examples of good and bad signings at every club. That's obvious. Havertz and Chilwell aren't bad signings. They're good signings that we paid a lot of money for. Not necessarily a sign of great scouting.
But the fact that our entire defence, for example, including Chilwell and Kepa cost about £197m. That's 11 players, 5 of which cost nothing and 3 of which cost less than £30m. That's a sign of good scouting and good squad building.
But yeah, we have hits and misses same as every other club and we usually swing and miss on huge signings.
You could also be losing Rudiger and Christensen for free..
As I say I’m not having a go but I don’t think your recruitment is anything special and if anything has been quite underwhelming recently to say the least.
Liverpool get it right and for good money, City don’t miss as often with Pep.
That was just down to circumstances. There was upheaval at the club during the period we usually renew players and once that window passed, the players knew the ball was in their court.
But yeah I'd say our recruitment is very normal. Hits and misses like every other club.
As much as I hate it Pool are the best. They managed to assemble a squad just as competitive as City with half the money and a lower wage bill.
Regarding T Silva I’ve always rated him highly. He was insanely good at Milan, it was a shock to me when he chose Paris over Barça, and it kind of did hurt his reputation spending most of his career in a less competitive league.
He’s been one of the very best nonetheless. Silva is up there with Ramos, Boateng, Chiellini… The top 5 CBs of the 2010s decade.
Whoever signed him (Lampard or Marina) did a great job.
He’s been one of the very best nonetheless. Silva is up there with Ramos, Boateng, Chiellini… The top 5 CBs of the 2010s decade.
Whoever signed him (Lampard or Marina) did a great job.
He’s definitely regarded as one of the better defenders in the 2010s, but when you move to a league with little visibility it does harm your reputation.
I'll resist individual quoting but some of the comments after his debut vs West Brom 
He’s easily better than Ramos and Chiellini, Boateng at his prime is closer but he’s better than him too.
Take Ramos out of that list and put Pepe in.
Ramos isn't as good defensively as those players (on his day he is but his brainfarts dropped him down), but the sheer impact he had on his team can't be overlooked.
Didn't he say at the the time that he didn't want to move but was forced by Milan?
The exact same thing happened in the Van Dijk thread during his first few games playing for us. Hilarious reading now.I'll resist individual quoting but some of the comments after his debut vs West Brom
I believe so. He signed a new contract weeks prior and cried his eyes out when he was leaving.
I'll resist individual quoting but some of the comments after his debut vs West Brom
And predictably enough some of the loudest voices back then haven't shown their face in this thread ever since.Have to agree. The sheer amount of dismissals for someone with world Class ability is simply absurd. He can win you games but he is also a huge liability at the same time.
Looked good again yesterday. Defies all logic regarding older players. Got done for pace a few times yesterday (Against two rapid players in Gordon/Gray) but his maturity and experience as a defender won out. All this talk about VVD being the best in the league or world but I think Silva is now in my conversation for one of the best defenders of all time when you consider his peak and longevity.
He was so good last night he got taken aside for doping testing, which in turn made him miss the team bus and having to take a 3hr 30min ride home.
I think defenders will play well into older age ala Thiago Silva in the modern game simply due to not having a physical presence or pacy strikers to fight off anymore. It’s all dropping deep and false 9s which means experience out weighs losing it in the legs which was a killer not that long ago
I don't know about that because while some strikers for top teams may drop deep, most teams have traditional players and pacy-physical strikers. Also teams that use false nines tend to use wide forwards that run from the outside behind defenders, the angle is different but the issue is similar. And only a few CBs manage to play at high level beyond 35, the scenario followed by the likes of Chiellini, Godin, Piqué, Miranda and others is way more likely than what we have witnessed with Thiago Silva.
The guy is phenomenal. As with a lot of players who have never played in the Premier League, hugely underrated by people in our country, including myself. Bit of ignorance outwith the Premier League but what a signing he has been.
Brilliant defender, would love had we signed him a few years ago,
Wide forwards have the FBs following in though, they’re not really getting behind the CB but getting in behind the FBs and cutting in. Even then moves are forming further away which gives CBs the chance to analyse situations a bit more rather being up against the coal face and relying more on instinct and physical attributes. When I think of Salah chances and goals he isn’t getting in behind CBs, his 1v1s are from angles because he’s getting in from wide. When he does get in the box he’s cutting in and using space in front of the centre backs to curl shots to the far post.
The only time modern CBs get caught for pace is if they play high lines, other than that modern defensive structures are broadly better than they’ve ever been. Especially in a back five. Nobody is allowed to be isolated anymore and if they do it’s from bad mistakes.
He showed slight signs of age towards the end of last season but he was back to being immaculate against Everton.
I think we need to limit his appearances to 30-35 to get the best out of him. He played almost 50 games last season.
Silva in his full Rolls-Royciness, maybe his most enjoyable highlight comp I've seen. Especially nice that it covers all these last ditch/goal line clearances (another one yesterday) and the through ball assist vs South Korea, which went under the radar too much.
Last edited:
One of the world class defenders of his generation, such poor choice of clubs during his prime years.
He is imperious. If there is a defender that is flawless in today’s game. It’s him. It’s mad how he’s still doing it in the premier league almost at the age of 40. Shows his class, honestly.
Was thinking watching him yesterday, is he the best CB in the PL?
He's always world class when I see him.
He's always world class when I see him.
He sure is, but past the prime, class is permanent though.
I understand the saying 'past his prime' is technically correct but it also implies quite a big decline, which is far from the truth. He's been flawless since he arrived at Chelsea. Never once being outdone by pacier attackers, and I've even seen him handle a few 2v1s insanely well. He's currently as good as any defender I've seen at the club in THEIR prime. But surely he can't keep it going for much longer.
Given that he's lost that yard of pace, he isn't better than Varane. Still brilliant though, and it makes you realise how good he was when he could leave attackers for dead in a foot race.
Debatable I think - considering Silva is probably the best CB in the world still in possession and that's always been a weakness of Varane's.