Still light at the end of the tunnel for Gary Cahill at Chelsea?

Although Chelsea remain far from a club in crisis under Antonio Conte right in the here and now – with the prospect of achieving a much needed top-four finish still very much in-tact for the determined London outfit – something is seemingly going very wrong at the back for the Blues of late, with much of that negative attention currently focussed upon 30-year-old England international, Gary Cahill.

 

The former Bolton Wonderers and Aston Villa defender has been responsible for several calamitous efforts in defence so far this term, with no obvious signs of improvement currently on the cards for Cahill among the often testing English top-flight. Antonio Conte is used to working with a series of world class centre-backs among the Italian national game after all, so perhaps the former Juventus boss will seek to remedy his current situation as soon as physically possible.

 

Without John Terry in place to steady the ship for Chelsea, some Blues fans have simply questioned Cahill’s overall ability to hold it down for their side…

 

Gary Cahill still needs John Terry to hold his hand to look competent.

— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) 24 September 2016

 

…especially since this isn’t the first season in which the 30-year-old centre-back has made a string of avoidable errors at the heart of Chelsea's defensive backline…

 

Do find it amazing that Gary Cahill can still start for a club like Chelsea. Mistake after mistake.

— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) 24 September 2016

 

After his performance last time out against Arsenal, the world of social media has reacted in largely predictable style…

 

Still a better defender than Gary Cahill. #ArsvChe pic.twitter.com/Zs1zhYRrbP

— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) 24 September 2016

 

…with Antonio Conte also likely experiencing second thoughts over Cahill’s ability to cut it in 2016/17…

 

Conte still working on his do not pass the ball to Gary Cahill

— Craig Burley (@CBurleyESPN) 24 September 2016

 

Whilst David Luiz has also failed to cover himself in all that much glory since making his surprise return to Chelsea…

 

Chelsea have taken a massive step backwards signing David Luiz, he's so poor. Normally known to be solid defensively – he's a clown pic.twitter.com/M81jZVfViz

— Alex Giles (@dougie_avfc) 25 September 2016

 

…major question-marks continue to surround Cahill and his increasingly unreliable antics at the back…

 

Gary Cahill's commitment to not learning from experience is magnificent.

— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) 24 September 2016

 

…which barring any last minute turn around in fortunes for the centre-back, could therefore spell the beginning of the end for this once highly sought after defender down at Stamford Bridge!

 

It's almost 2017 and Gary Cahill still starts for Chelsea. What a time to be alive. ?

— FutbolBible (@FutbolBible) 24 September 2016