Gary Cahill deserves more respect from Chelsea fans

Look at the comments on any article about Gary Cahill and the inevitable disrespect will show itself. Cahill deserves better from Chelsea fans.

Cahill is probably going to leave in January due to a lack of playing time. Maurizio Sarri simply does not have a spot for a defender of Cahill’s build and the Englishman knows he can walk into most Premier League teams. It simply is what it is.

But to some, it appears to be the greatest thing that ever happened to Chelsea. Cahill, they say, is useless and can give nothing to this team. Look at the comments on any article about Cahill now and his detractors will not be far.

The disrespect of Cahill needs to end. He has been an excellent servant and example for the club during his entire tenure. Is he the best defender to ever wear the Chelsea shirt? No. But he still represents something that many Chelsea players now fail to live up to. In short, Cahill is proper Chels.

Cahill came to the club just in time to win the Champions League. In fact, he played in the final next to David Luiz because John Terry thought it would be a good idea to corndog Alexis Sanchez. But he should not be respected merely for partaking in that night. He should be respected for the attitude he showed since joining Chelsea.

Time and time again, Cahill has been benched (usually to some form of revelry). And time and time again, he has fought his way back into the starting lineup. Whether it be Luiz, Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen or someone else, Cahill has fought back.

He has done this with little complaint. Unlike some (Willian) who will complain about not playing or turn on the manager, Cahill merely put his head down and tried harder. And because he tried harder, he was eventually rewarded.

Chelsea has so few players of this type anymore. The type that will not ask “why am I not playing” but will ask “how can I improve so I deserve to play?”. Cesar Azpilicueta, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, Olivier Giroud, and perhaps N’Golo Kante (it is hard to tell since he has never been dropped) are the only Chelsea players that can really say they have this same mantra.

And that mantra is incredibly important for a club. Young players coming up can either gain this idea of “how can I do better?” or the mantra of “why is the manager not smart enough to play me?”. Ask any fan which they would rather have in a player and they will almost universally say the former.

That is why it is strange that a player like Cahill (or even Fabregas) is being so eagerly pushed out the door. It is entirely true he may not suit the current set up, but that does not mean his worth is gone. Sarri himself surely knows this even if some fans do not.

Antonio Conte made a wise choice in picking Cahill to be captain. He embodies the exact values a manager would want in an older player. And Cahill deserves more respect because he has done the dirty work and fought back time and time again. He is simply proper Chels in a way some players never will be.