Should Chelsea Stick or Twist with John Terry?
Guus Hiddink has been speaking in glowing terms about Didier Drogba this week.
Ahead of Chelsea's Boxing Day clash with Watford, the interim boss was asked on Wednesday whether Drogba will be joining him on his coaching team between now and May.
It wasn't a total admission that Hiddink is pushing for the appointment, but the Dutchman made his feelings clear.
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"I worked with him six years ago and I was delighted to have such a professional in the squad. He's a legend already in this club, but also outside this club in the world," he explained.
"It's nice that these guys with a big heart are connected somehow with the club [...] I think all the big clubs, but also the smaller clubs, they have these specific guys, figures who can go into whatever they like, being ambassadors, coaches or managers.
"But they must be given the opportunity to do it. I think it's important that they give the brand of Chelsea a big image."
Swap Drogba's name for John Terry and it's no different.
Because he's the sole homegrown player in this Chelsea side and has been for well over a decade, the club captain is perhaps seen more as an ambassador in that sense than Drogba.
Whereas Drogba was a sign of the new Chelsea—a player among the few who has embodied everything that has been great about Roman Abramovich's ownership—Terry is the connection to the past.
Terry is the symbol of what Chelsea was, is and hopes to be.
Regardless of how tired his legs may be at the end of this season, it's for that reason alone that he cannot be allowed to depart Stamford Bridge.
Terry may well have to face the reality of no longer playing every week and being a first choice, but at 35 years old, his role is changing.
Now that Jose Mourinho has left Chelsea, the club is struggling to hold on to the identity that has made it what it is since that Premier League success in 2005.
Slowly but surely, the Chelsea we knew has been dismantled—and Terry is the last remaining symbol of that Chelsea team.
By attempting to bring Drogba back on his coaching staff, Hiddink knows it himself.
The Dutchman understands how things have changed since he was last in west London in 2009. This is a team and a club that have reached a crossroads, and now is the time to ensure a wrong turn isn't made.
Hiddink is attempting to rediscover that Chelsea spirit.
In the past two years, Chelsea fans have endured the departures of legends that not only rival Terry and Drogba, but stand alongside them as their equals.
Petr Cech and Frank Lampard have been significant figures in the new dawn the club witnessed under Abramovich.
Right now, though, there isn't any one player who looks ready to take on the mantle and carry the club. Chelsea have tried to build a team for the next generation around the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Diego Costa, but as this season has shown, the strategy is failing.
The leap of faith was taken too soon and, without those strong characters to hold things together, Chelsea have slumped.
Mourinho has been the biggest victim of that. He couldn't lean on his squad like he had done in the past and paid the ultimate price.
He was a massive symbol of Chelsea, and now he's gone. This time it looks like forever, too. In the here and now, it's difficult to imagine there being a third coming for Mourinho.
Heroes are difficult to come by—especially in the modern era when players come and go, changing clubs as regularly as the seasons.
It means those with an affinity on the pitch must be nurtured and maintained. Those like Terry can't be allowed to leave because age dictates they must.
Indeed, the defender is a special case—he's unique. In a team that lacks leadership, his character and presence alone is one of the biggest assets that Chelsea have.
"There must be a great desire to play and if you don't have that desire, please knock on my door and we'll talk. But we'll talk briefly," Hiddink said on Wednesday.
He was being asked about whether or not Chelsea players had the stomach to fight for the club in the way we should expect from elite players.
Hiddink's words were to the point, but they're useless without dressing room allies to help implement them. Hence Drogba's proposed return; hence keeping Terry as a Chelsea player next season.
We know the Dutch coach's second spell in west London will be as temporary as the first, but a man of his means understands the value of what the likes of Terry can bring. Some players are much more than the number on the back of the shirt.
Whoever replaces Hiddink permanently this summer must acknowledge that he will be required to adopt the culture of the club and become fully indoctrinated with Chelsea's traditions.
In many ways, that's where success begins and ends. It's why Mourinho is adored for much more than delivering trophies. He got it, and whoever is the next permanent manager must, too.
When the next manager looks to his dressing room, who will be the biggest asset to ensure that happens?
Like Hiddink explained, every club—big or small—has its statesmen. At Manchester United, it's Ryan Giggs sitting on the bench alongside Louis van Gaal every week; at Swansea City it's been club legend Alan Curtis guiding them through their recent spell without a manager.
The past, future and present: every club needs it. Without that connection, they lose their soul.
Terry is the figure to make sure it doesn't happen at Chelsea. Whether he plays every week or not, he can't be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of this season.
Chelsea need their captain, leader, legend more than ever.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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