Obviously I've been thinking a lot about David Silva. Game of opinions etc but for me there is no question he is the best and most important player in Manchester City's history.

Sometimes people say “well was he ever the best player to a title-winning season?” as if that were the only standard. But Silva’s more than that: he’s been the best player in a title-winning era. None of this would have happened without him.

Yes, he’s scored some brilliant goals for City. Blackpool, West Ham, Hull, QPR (literally one of the best moments of my life), all those free-kicks, right up to Bournemouth the other week.

(And there’s been some unbelievable assists - for Aguero v Wigan, for Dzeko v United, Jesus v Bournemouth etc.)

And he’s put in some performances that are as close to perfect as you will ever see. At least four of them at Old Trafford (the 6-1, the 3-0, the 2-1 and the 2-0.) When City lost 3-2 at Anfield in 2014 he was phenomenal.

But I think his contribution is bigger than something you can measure in goals or even performances. The point of his genius is that he transforms those 11 blue shirts into one unified team. That simply is the challenge of football: turning the parts into a whole.

So while Aguero or Yaya Toure might have made more individualistic contributions to City's successes, Silva's importance transcends theirs. He made it all work on the pitch. (Like the Dude's rug, he really tied the room together.)

City wouldn't have created enough under Mancini without him, they wouldn't have been able to pick teams apart under Pellegrini without him, and I don't think the Guardiola project would have worked so well without a player to build around who instinctively understood Pep's plans.

I remember going to his debut, the 0-0 at WHL in 2010. At one point early on Tom Huddlestone flattened him and Silva looked shocked that this could be allowed to happen. You might not have guessed then he'd master English football for 10 years like he has.

OK that's enough David Silva tweets for a while.