Eden Hazard

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Well he didn't come out and comment on baba's poor defensive abilities, now did he. If that was the reason he dropped Hazard you could maybe understand it and he should have said so instead of singling out an attacking player as the reason for our defensive frailties. Even so if that was the case he could have just played Hazard on the right in front of Azpi as always.

Either way like i said before. Dropping an attacking player for not being defensive enough while at the same time not giving the same treatment to players who are actually intended to do a lot of defensive work is absurd. And when someone gives absurd comments like that it's perfectly normal to be upset about it

Again, he didn't single him out, he was asked about him. Seriously, just watch what he actually said. There is no remotely unbiased interpretation of that which suggests that he was singling him out.

What he said is that the team as a whole is defending badly and conceding a lot of goals. So, to try to give the central midfielders an easier job so they are less likely to make mistakes and leave spaces in the middle, he decided to play Pedro who is obviously more solid defensively.

I honestly can't see what the objection to that possibly is. I think every manager in the world would tell you that in times of crisis, first make sure you don't concede and stay solid defensively. That is always the basis to build on. It's also very clear from what he said that in normal situations where the team is performing normally he would not drop Hazard.

Also no, he could not have played Hazard on the right. That is because we were playing Cesc in a more advanced role. However when we switch to defense, Fabregas does not have the pace to press along side the striker in our 4-4-2 shape which means that the right winger, in this case Willian, has to join Costa in pressing while Ramires covers the right wing and Fabregas steps back into central midfield. Hazard can't do that job.

[Laugh1ngMan 393]

Most managers don't need to drop one of their best attacking players to regain defensive stability.

If you're central defenders have trouble defending, why not switch them out?

With singling him out i mean the fact that he chose to leave exactly one player out because of his supposed poor defensive contribution namely Hazard, who isn't even doing a bad job defensively.

I also find it funny that Mou's comments arent obviously stupid while predro is supposed to obviously be better defending wise. He maybe has a bigger engine to run more but i remember on MNF in their analysis against everton for one of the goals Pedro stayed to far upfield, too concerned with his fullback that he left a huge gap in midfield which resulted in the goal.

All in all, even if Pedro is marginally better in defending I find it a very thin excuse to drop Eden for that reason (like we can't keep a clean sheet with him in the team) while others are not. And yet again, instead of focussing on making our team better in possession (so that we don't have to defend as much). Mou goes down the only road he knows (which is organization when we don't have the ball) and I don't agree with that.

That's the last thing i'll say on the matter.

[MefiX19 1,092]

4-5 goals and hattrick of assissts or should be benched against west ham

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,733]

To be honest I'd rest him today and play him against the hammers(a match I fully expect us to draw TBH).

[iceboy 992]

Time to deliver.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Im not sure about you guys but I realy realy miss the real Hazard

He was so fun to watch with his dribbles and tricks...

[DYC. 7,542]

He looks like his old self physically. I'm excited. Now it's time to perform again.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

Im not sure about you guys but I realy realy miss the real Hazard

He was so fun to watch with his dribbles and tricks...

He's coming back.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Decent first half. Did his best Casper impression in the second. Still clearly lacking confidence and sharpness, although looking physically more fit than at the start of the season.

[Tomo 21,681]

Hazard's the only superstar player we've signed in the last 8-9 years. What makes people think we can get Bale or Reus?

The entire footballing world knows Hazard's will be brilliant in an attacking system and we're holding him back. I'll hate to see him leave but I'm a fan of football it'll be a joy to watch him in Madrid's team.

Because Rafa is well known for superb attacking football.............

[bethos1 802]

Because Rafa is well known for superb attacking football.............

Our attack looked better under him though imo, especially near the end of that season.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Fed up of giving him second chances. He needs to deliver, and he just simply is not. The supposed "player of the year" has been subpar at best this season. Seems disinterested. Mourinho was fully justified in benching him on Saturday and he can have no complaints if the same occurs against the Hammers.

[iceboy 992]

1 blocked shot and one hit the post. Unlucky.

[Tomo 21,681]

Our attack looked better under him though imo, especially near the end of that season.

If your comparing it to current form then yes hard not to be, but if your comparing to best form under Jose (especially first half of last season) then no not even close.

His famous complacent 0-0s vs mid table sides has crept up twice at Real already.

[bethos1 802]

If your comparing it to current form then yes hard not to be, but if your comparing to best form under Jose (especially first half of last season) then no not even close.

His famous complacent 0-0s vs mid table sides has crept up twice at Real already.

You mean only the first half of last season? Sure we had some good games here and there but otherwise our attacking play has been pretty poor, we rely way too much on individual actions.

Imo if Rafa was still our coach I'm pretty sure our attacking play would look better, probably wouldn't have won the league though.

[Reddish-Blue 2,213]

Fed up of giving him second chances. He needs to deliver, and he just simply is not. The supposed "player of the year" has been subpar at best this season. Seems disinterested. Mourinho was fully justified in benching him on Saturday and he can have no complaints if the same occurs against the Hammers.

We gain nothing by benching him. If you want to see the Hazard of last season, give him a run of games and let him play his way into form (just like every other team would do with their star player)

It's not like he'll suddenly gain confidence and sharpness by sitting on the bench and watching his replacement (Pedro) put in average peformances

[herzogian 148]

Fed up of giving him second chances. He needs to deliver, and he just simply is not. The supposed "player of the year" has been subpar at best this season. Seems disinterested. Mourinho was fully justified in benching him on Saturday and he can have no complaints if the same occurs against the Hammers.

Don't know why you're complaining. His performance was not bad at all today.Yes he is not as sharp and fast as last season, no denying about that, but in his last game for Belgium and also this game he seems to be improving.Long way to go but it's just a question of finding a spark, you need games for that. I say give him the time he'll get there. He certainly is no worse than Pedro, on the contrary.

[iseah100 5,612]

He wasn't bad today. Could have had a goal, solid performance. 7/10