Complete Analysis of David Silva's Manchester City Role

There’s been much talk in the last 12 months among Manchester City supporters about who the greatest player in the club’s history is.

For years, Colin Bell has been the most readily chosen answer to that particular question, with the likes of Billy Meredith, Francis Lee and Mike Summerbee, as well as goalkeepers Frank Swift and Bert Trautmann, also mentioned regularly. However, one of City’s current stars has now entered the conversation: David Silva.

His performances since he arrived at City in the summer of 2010, just days after he had lifted the World Cup in South Africa with Spain, have been of such high quality that many who for so long held up Bell as the club’s finest ever are beginning to reassess their position. Silva, by virtue of his status as City’s most consistently impressive player in a stellar squad, and one who has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup, is quite rightly being talked about as an all-time great.

In an interview with the Mirror’s Simon Mullock last week, Silva said:

"

If fans are suggesting I might be the best City player they have seen then of course I am honoured by that.

I have always felt welcome, wanted, appreciated by the supporters at City and that's why I am still here.

I know this club had great players who are still remembered from the last team that won the title, and we also have great players here today.

But the important thing for me is playing football as well as I can.

I am not one to talk very much about what I can do. All I want to do is what I am doing now.

A lot of people have said I must change off the pitch. That I should do more things and talk more, but I won't because I don't want the attention.

"

Silva is City’s creator-in-chief, a player so comfortable in position, with such an unerring ability to find the right pass regardless of the time and space he has on the ball, that he has become the club’s most important attacking player. Everything going forward goes through him.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

He’s not without limitations, either, but his lack of pace and one-footedness only serve to underline the brilliance of his footballing brain. There’s no one else in the Premier League, or possibly world football, who has quite the same ability to control the tempo of a match and play so selflessly, with such constant assuredness in possession.

He currently flits between two roles for City: Either on the left in a 4-2-2-2 formation or as a playmaker in a 4-2-3-1 system.

On the left, Silva’s powers are somewhat reduced. Playing him there allows Manuel Pellegrini to go with two strikers, the idea being that, despite Silva’s role being slightly minimised, overall the team has more goals in it.

Silva never restricts himself to the left, anyway. He drifts inside, looking to create in more dangerous areas, always wanting the ball and bringing others into play. City’s full-backs offer plenty of width, meaning Silva can move inside, safe in the knowledge either Gael Clichy or Aleksandar Kolarov will be bombing on and trying to provide balls into the box.

BR Team Stream

However, the more he plays in the No. 10 role just off one main striker, the more Pellegrini must be considering switching to 4-2-3-1 more often. It is there Silva can do the most damage. He’s completely free of any restrictions and finds himself in a variety of areas high up the pitch. Opposition defences find it almost impossible to mark him, and his ability to play neat through balls to others—the most potent facet of his game—is maximised.

BR Team Stream

Asked recently where he prefers to play, Silva was in no doubt which role suits him best. “I feel comfortable [in the No. 10 role]," he said. "I also play there for the national team. It’s no secret that I always feel more comfortable playing in that position. It’s up to the manager where I play."

Silva makes the game look effortless. He has a unique ability to float around a football pitch causing damage with his vision and passing ability. Whether he plays on the left or through the middle, he remains City's finest current player and some would say the greatest in the club's history, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that in order to increase his influence in games he has to play centrally.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.