Spare a thought for Section 82, the other more boisterous areas of Ashton Gate and the travelling Bristol City support, they are losing not one, but two and possibly three staples from their matchday setlist following confirmation Jay Dasilva will be leaving the club.
Dasilva’s departure will almost certainly be followed by Han-Noah Massengo and his affinity for certain types of alcohol plus the concept of his hair being rather large, while it remains to be seen if the Alex Scott-themed ‘Logical Song’ will be able to be delivered with gusto when 2023/24 kicks off.
The strains of Depeche Mode’s ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ will, however, definitely have to be put back in the songbook for a good few years as when the defender inevitably returns to BS3 with a new Championship club, he may not be so joyously welcomed at first.
That’s nothing to do with the 25-year-old, of course, who of all the free agents to have departed in the Nigel Pearson era, leaves with arguably the strongest positive sentiment. In-part due to the acceptance it’s a financial decision as much as a football one, but because he seemed to hold a certain affinity with sections of the support.
Dasilva all of a sudden became one of the longest-serving members of the dressing room as others departed and for all the ups and downs of his time in the West Country, which ended up spanning a surprising half a decade, there’s a little bit of a comeback story at the heart of it and a player, for all his flash and electricity on the ball, simply got his head down and got on with it.
After a hugely prosperous loan spell in which he job-shared the left-back role with Lloyd Kelly but over the campaign established himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in the division, City’s desire to make him a permanent player was inevitable.
He then arrived for a second time amid a hectic summer of recruitment in and out of the club, the likes of which may not ever be seen - certainly while Pearson remains - again.
But his season season didn’t prove an extension of his first as Dasilva sustained a stress fracture of his tibia which kept him out of action for the first four-and-a-half months of the campaign and by the time he returned and re-established himself in the side, Covid-19 hit and then everything went very wrong for Lee Johnson, while in the background City’s financial model was being very quickly eroded away.
Under Dean Holden, shin issues limited him to just 10 appearances, and as Pearson arrived, with all the clichés around what he demands as manager, the concept of a 5ft 7ins full-back seemed anathema to him.
Although, at first, that appeared accurate as after starting the 2021/22 season, Cam Pring’s emergence coupled with some disastrous performances at Birmingham City and Coventry City meant his days seemed numbered, further exacerbated by Pearson’s claim of certain individuals not being “onside” regarding his methods.
And indeed the club did field loan offers in the following January window, but Dasilva battled his back into the senior set-up - and in the process sent a wider message to his manager - in an unorthodox and surprising way, by impressing at right wing-back.
His experience in the most recent season was arguably the most calm and straightforward of his time at the club as Pring largely became first choice, after his own period of realisation at the start of the season, but Dasilva settled into a supplementary role and as his teammate then had to migrate into the centre of defence, he showed his professionalism once again by finishing the season with a flourish, despite having been close to leaving once again in the January window.
That journey alone bought him credit with fans and the respect and admiration of his manager, added to the fact that when he was “on it”, he truly was a joy to watch.
However, for all the talk of the present it’s relevant to also discuss the past before we consider the future that lies ahead, because the man who Dasilva replaced at left-back five years ago, is now in the process of returning to City to retake the spot in the squad he vacated.
It was August 9, 2018 when City confirmed the loan arrival of Dasilva from Chelsea. That same day, and an aborted trip to Aston Villa later, Joe Bryan was being unveiled in the black and white of Fulham, breaking hearts in his hometown but with an acceptance that it was destined to happen.
At the time, earning £6million for Bryan (which, admittedly, does look a tiny bit on the lean side with hindsight) but gaining a player of the talent of Dasilva - who can still be viewed as a good, albeit not the levels of greatness we once envisaged, signing - was a good piece of business.
Five years on, everything points to the same conclusion being drawn. Because Bryan, at 29, may not possess the same kind of transfer opportunity as Dasilva, nor that sense of exciting uncertainty about the player he may or may not become. What Bryan will be, at base level, is exactly what’s been written on the tin over the last 11 years, in the red of City and then for Fulham.
As previously stated, he brings necessary promotion nous, a calm and intelligent voice in the dressing room and also an aura for those in the academy who have probably been force fed a diet of Joe Bryan-related clips and videos since their early teens, showcasing just what is possible with the right application. He could, as one very obvious example, have a very clear impact on Pring’s own game.
Although Dasilva staying seemed a situation which made a degree of sense, the idea of having him, Pring and Bryan, for all the tactical flexibility of the latter two, did present something of a logjam, and heaven knows how Callum Wood would fit into that equation should he be viewed as a first-team option long-term.
That could have been slightly alleviated by the reduced salary he was offered but, even so, it has just felt like a natural parting of the ways and he’ll no doubt go on to experience a fine career elsewhere. Likewise, although obviously laden with romance and nostalgia, Bryan returning feels right even when you remove all traces of such emotions.
If anything, it’s a homecoming that is quite a bit ahead of schedule because he is only 29 and has played relatively little football over the last two seasons so you can probably bring that age down in true footballing years.
The succession plan of signing Dasilva to mitigate Bryan’s exit was as much about the future, and what City could become, as it was to tackle a present need at the time; albeit as a loan it did have an element of a short-term solution. Making the Chelsea player’s signing permanent 12 months further fed into this concept as he was an exciting individual who could only get better and, potentially, earn the club significant money in the transfer market.
That, of course, hasn’t come to pass - for a number of reasons, both direct and indirect - however his departure, Tomas Kalas aside, does also represent the end of an era. The largesse of 2019 and the contract issues that were created is over. Even when returning to Kalas' situation, like Nahki Wells, should he stay it’ll be on a far more manageable salary.
Having come full circle with Bryan, while remaining mindful of the long-term financial stability of the club, the Robins look to be focusing very much on the here, now and what lies ahead of them over the next 12 months, which could well bring plenty more joyous numbers to Section 82 and the surrounding choirs of south Bristol.
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