Eden Hazard

[Barbara 15,149]

I think he'll be something in the middle between Costa and Cesc: will have less goals than Costa and less assists than Cesc, but more goals than Cesc and more assists than Costa.

I agree... but that makes him exactly what?

I don't see him being an assist machine just yet.

A guy with his talent and a different mentality would give the very top players in the world a run for their money... maybe not now, as he's still young, but in a couple of years.

Given his personality though I've been less emphatic in my predictions about his career. One can be born as talented as Messi, but they also need to be born with the same mentality and ability to step up and own the team. I come from Brazil, seeing players dribble such as Hazard is like watching flowers growing in my backyard (or used to be as this generation isn't special). They're always there... but many of them never reached the heights of success because they had that, but didn't have the mentality - although their problem more often than not is related to bad behavior (party boys). Denilson, Robinho and even Ronaldinho are good examples of excellent dribblers. While the former two never reached anything impressive despite their great talent, I feel the latter never really reached his full potential - or did it too briefly because he's always been interested in partying and girls.

Hazard is a model when it comes to behavior off the pitch, but he seems to lack that determination, bite, will to win. He wants to win - of course he does - it comes with a big price and huge effort that sometimes I'm not sure he's willing to pay. It's not uncommon for people who are very talented on something to take their talent for granted and not work on everything else they must to make a difference. That's why I said in my post last page that Bale - being infinitely less talented than Hazard - took Spurs to a level above theirs - despite his also common ups and downs. But he took his team's fate in his hands while Hazard seems way too relieved to let someone else deal with it.

At the end of the day, Costa and Cesc will (continue to) win us matches and Hazard will feel less pressured, he'll probably produce more (although I wouldn't be surprised at all if the other two eclipsed him) and Chelsea will benefit from it. Costa will benefit from a few assists (maybe my expectations are too high, but I don't think he scored a lot of goals and provided a lot of assists as he claims, he has the talent to produce much more and didn't), Cesc will find someone else for his through balls. The only one who might not benefit from it is Hazard himself. Being afraid or unwilling to embrace responsibility (of stepping up in a team to carry it as the most talented player in it) and unable to deal with pressure (although to be honest, I see the word pressure in the headline, but there isn't a quote from him saying it clearly) will limit him. He seems happy to be supporting guy, but he has talent to be lead... but being the lead requires a lot of effort, maturity, hard-work, leadership, mental strength and balls. He checks only some of those boxes imo and I'm not sure the others will change in the future.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Basically he is that great player that help us start games well and attack other team, but he is never/unlikely to ever be that spark 'wow' factor that top top players have. He is never gonna do a bicycle kick in 90th mins like Rooney, scoring goals every match like Messi/CR7, dribble the whole pitch or bang in a 40 yards like Bale on regular basic...etc

He is just a 'great' player, but not someone who will stand up to be a leader in difficult times. In facts he is never really the 'difference' but more like the 'addition', making average moments on the pitch great but cannot improve great into world class. Top top players can handle huge pressure, he clearly cannot(yet) but doesn't seem with his personality he will ever be.

10-15 goals/assists per season is decent for a winger/midfielder but top top players like CR7 and Robben are getting 20+ now in those catalogs. He is also not the one that will make that much difference in a big match and clearly show he isn't consistent enough yet for those games. For example he played great against Man City last year away but a week later played terribly in our FA Cup loss. When the team need someone to step up he isn't that man(yet), the team doesn't play well he doesn't play well. He is young though and got time on his side, he can become top 5 players in the world but never gonna reach the very top.

At best imo he would be as good as Robben, but Ronaldo level or Messi or Henry(transfer from a winger into a CF) will never happen.

[sdrcfc 461]

I think he'll be something in the middle between Costa and Cesc: will have less goals than Costa and less assists than Cesc, but more goals than Cesc and more assists than Costa.

The perfect trio, if you will.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I agree... but that makes him exactly what?

I don't see him being an assist machine just yet.

A guy with his talent and a different mentality would give the very top players in the world a run for their money... maybe not now, as he's still young, but in a couple of years.

Given his personality though I've been less emphatic in my predictions about his career. One can be born as talented as Messi, but they also need to be born with the same mentality and ability to step up and own the team. I come from Brazil, seeing players dribble such as Hazard is like watching flowers growing in my backyard (or used to be as this generation isn't special). They're always there... but many of them never reached the heights of success because they had that, but didn't have the mentality - although their problem more often than not is related to bad behavior (party boys). Denilson, Robinho and even Ronaldinho are good examples of excellent dribblers. While the former two never reached anything impressive despite their great talent, I feel the latter never really reached his full potential - or did it too briefly because he's always been interested in partying and girls.

Hazard is a model when it comes to behavior off the pitch, but he seems to lack that determination, bite, will to win. He wants to win - of course he does - it comes with a big price and huge effort that sometimes I'm not sure he's willing to pay. It's not uncommon for people who are very talented on something to take their talent for granted and not work on everything else they must to make a difference. That's why I said in my post last page that Bale - being infinitely less talented than Hazard - took Spurs to a level above theirs - despite his also common ups and downs. But he took his team's fate in his hands while Hazard seems way too relieved to let someone else deal with it.

At the end of the day, Costa and Cesc will (continue to) win us matches and Hazard will feel less pressured, he'll probably produce more (although I wouldn't be surprised at all if the other two eclipsed him) and Chelsea will benefit from it. Costa will benefit from a few assists (maybe my expectations are too high, but I don't think he scored a lot of goals and provided a lot of assists as he claims, he has the talent to produce much more and didn't), Cesc will find someone else for his through balls. The only one who might not benefit from it is Hazard himself. Being afraid or unwilling to embrace responsibility (of stepping up in a team to carry it as the most talented player in it) and unable to deal with pressure (although to be honest, I see the word pressure in the headline, but there isn't a quote from him saying it clearly) will limit him. He seems happy to be supporting guy, but he has talent to be lead... but being the lead requires a lot of effort, maturity, hard-work, leadership, mental strength and balls. He checks only some of those boxes imo and I'm not sure the others will change in the future.

I share similar concerns, tbh. He's our most naturally gifted player, but at times I feel he lacks something that'll take him to the next level. His dribbling and speed are his best assets, but he seems unwilling to use them more directly and run at defenders like Messi does all the time. His vision and passing are good, but nowhere as good and creative as that of true playmakers like Cesc and Silva. His finishing is good, but he doesn't seem to like shooting much. So while he doesn't have obvious weaknesses, he doesn't use his strengths as consistently as he could have.

If he doesn't become the top player, it'll be his own fault, because the talent to be the top player is there. Right now Eden is just a great player. Is it enough for him? I don't know. If it is, fair enough, I guess. We can't force him to become something he doesn't want to be.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

I'm not sure why his words about wanting to assist more is being put under such scrutiny. Almost everything Hazard says to the media is to be taken tongue-in-cheek, the guy is a joker, first and foremost.

(Just to provide the assist stats)

Hazard assist stats in the last 3-4 seasons (ESPN)

Lille 2011/12 : 17 assists.

Chelsea 2012/13 : 19 assists.

Chelsea 2013/14 : 9 assists (a noticeable, not just individually but as a team as well)

So even for a player who isn't primarily a playmaker and offers much more than true playmakers, he tends to assist a LOT with numbers comparable to some of the best playmakers out there.

And as for him not being a "leader" or not wanting to "lead", that's a bit rich considering that he did carry the mantle and lead the attack several times last season. In only his 2nd season at the club, mind. The question is why weren't some of his teammates "leading" as well?

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Basically he is that great player that help us start games well and attack other team, but he is never/unlikely to ever be that spark 'wow' factor that top top players have. He is never gonna do a bicycle kick in 90th mins like Rooney, scoring goals every match like Messi/CR7, dribble the whole pitch or bang in a 40 yards like Bale on regular basic...etc

He is just a 'great' player, but not someone who will stand up to be a leader in difficult times. In facts he is never really the 'difference' but more like the 'addition', making average moments on the pitch great but cannot improve great into world class. Top top players can handle huge pressure, he clearly cannot(yet) but doesn't seem with his personality he will ever be.

10-15 goals/assists per season is decent for a winger/midfielder but top top players like CR7 and Robben are getting 20+ now in those catalogs. He is also not the one that will make that much difference in a big match and clearly show he isn't consistent enough yet for those games. For example he played great against Man City last year away but a week later played terribly in our FA Cup loss. When the team need someone to step up he isn't that man(yet), the team doesn't play well he doesn't play well. He is young though and got time on his side, he can become top 5 players in the world but never gonna reach the very top.

At best imo he would be as good as Robben, but Ronaldo level or Messi or Henry(transfer from a winger into a CF) will never happen.

(1) Hazard goals/assists in the last 3 seasons: Robben goals/assists in the last 3 seasons:

2011/12 : 20 goals 17 assists 2011/12 : 18 goals 6 assists

2012/13 : 14 goals 19 assists 2012/13 : 13 goals 10 assists

2013/14 : 17 goals 9 assists 2013/14 : 24 goals 10 assists

Total : 51 goals 45 assists Total : 55 goals 26 assists

Total games : 156 games started Total games : 111 games started

Infact, according to ESPN, Robben has only scored 20+ goals in a season twice in his ENTIRE career. Or do you think every winger is like Ronaldo (the guy is not even a true winger anymore but that's another topic) can score 50+ goals a season? Or even 20+ goals? At least if you're going to bullshit about Hazard and his numbers comparable to other players, get your facts right before misleading other people with nonsense. Hazard's goals/assist ratio is incredible.

(2) Yes, I just shudder at the fact that Hazard is not at the level as three of the best players of all time. Can you just imagine the incredulousness of that? How dare he?

Some of the rubbish that gets posted on this thread (and the threads of some of our other players as well) is incredibly cringeworthy to say the least.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Ribery 2.0. Thats what he will be.

[zolayes 14,489]

it is amazing so atm he isnt up to the level of Messi and Ronaldo ,,,well ,,we may as well give up

completely ,,, trying to remember who won the Spanish League last year ,, Was it Real or Barca?

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Sifting through past pages, it's the same stuff that has plagued this board for majority of its lifespan. Hazard is never going to satisfy some of us if this continues. A verbose one, yes but needs to be added to the discussion.

(1) People expecting far too much too soon from Hazard by looking at him through the lens of Ronaldo and Messi. You....just....can't. Every player is different and every career takes different routes. Ronaldo and Messi have been at big clubs their entire careers. They've been playing Champions league since they were 18, making deep runs into the knock-out phases. Hell, both had even won the thing at 23. Hazard on the other hand has only played 2 seasons of Champions league in his ENTIRE career. He's only been in the knock-out phase one time in his career and that was last season were he also got injured as well. The Champions league is the highest level of football and Hazard has been unlucky (for various reasons, club, injuries etc) not to have played a lot in that competition yet. It's no surprise his development as a player is slower than Ronaldo and Messi. This is an incredibly important point.

There's also the fact that he's spent majority of his career in the French league while Ronaldo and Messi have been in two of the best leagues in the world for all their careers. This again is going to affect development and status as player as the French league doesn't offer the stiffest of opposition, to say the least. Ronaldinho and to a lesser extent, Zidane only showed their full class when they moved to better leagues. Like Jose said, "give him time".

(2) Overrating players from other clubs and underrating our own. This also applies to other players but especially to Hazard. Case in point, Robben has an outstanding World Cup and all of a sudden, he's the player Hazard should aspire to be. Bale scores in the Champions league final (despite doing nothing all game) and Hazard should be more like Bale. I even read someone put Bale in the same category as Ronaldo and Messi when making this comment. James freaking Rodriguez is amazing for Colombia and Hazard should apply himself more. And on and on and on.

(3) Criticizing him for being "inconsistent". The opposite is infact the case and the meaning of the world has become lost in football circles . There is a difference between being an inconsistent player (i.e Nani) and having a bad game/not performing at your normal level for a brief period. You can't be inconsistent and be considered a world class player or even a good one. Hazard, for such a young player has been considered a consistent player all through his career. He was certainly far more consistent at 23 than a certain Arjen Robben was. How quickly we forget. The inconsistent label was unfairly thrown at him in his first season in English football by the media hacks. It was his first season at the club, of course he was going to be shaky in his performances. All his achievements for Lille were simply thrown under the bus. Luckily, his performance level last season shut a lot of mouths in the media and we no longer hear a lot of that. But unfortunately, a small minority of forum members still repeat that nonsense.

(4) Not being a "leader". This apparently is the new one. A 23 year old player in his 3rd season with us is all of a sudden supposed to lead. I wonder why the same isn't demanded from some of his other teammates. And the big games that Hazard did lead in are not spoken of or simply forgotten. Let's forget Man City away and remember Crystal Palace away. Makes sense.

[Myself 793]

Swap him for ronaldo and I'd be happy

[zolayes 14,489]

could EVERYONE please read Excalibur's post and reflect

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

[BlueLyon 9,359]

I dont even care if he wont become zidane or messi or ronaldo...he can just be Hazard and HELPS US WIN TITLES TOGETHER AS A TEAM.

He is quite a joker (on good side, looks relaxed, makes fun alltime and isnt ego ala Ronaldo), he will never score 30 odd goals or sth. He will do his job. He already is better team player than Ronaldo will ever be. I dont even want Ronaldo here to have his own show and think hes the best, then go missing when team needs him most. I like about Hazard that he stays at back, and doesnt think he is more than others. His mentality to score might be off a bit, but he has other qualities that make him amazing player.

Maybe he needs bit hunger and perform better in big games, but apart from that if he helps us win the games, who cares.

He is doing great, yet people still talk like he failed them because he isnt ballon dor winner already.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

I think most people complaining about the things being throw at Hazard is missing the context here. No one doubts his quality, however if we want to mention him among the best in the world(which people on here and Chelsea fans in general) think he is then it is only fair to put him up there with the best in term of comparison. He is a good player and if he has a season like last one every year most people wont mind him staying here until the near end of his career. However there are expectations as well which most of us believe he Should become one of the best one day, the question is when?

[Daniel1980 1,425]

Sifting through past pages, it's the same stuff that has plagued this board for majority of its lifespan. Hazard is never going to satisfy some of us if this continues. A verbose one, yes but needs to be added to the discussion.

(1) People expecting far too much too soon from Hazard by looking at him through the lens of Ronaldo and Messi. You....just....can't. Every player is different and every career takes different routes. Ronaldo and Messi have been at big clubs their entire careers. They've been playing Champions league since they were 18, making deep runs into the knock-out phases. Hell, both had even won the thing at 23. Hazard on the other hand has only played 2 seasons of Champions league in his ENTIRE career. He's only been in the knock-out phase one time in his career and that was last season were he also got injured as well. The Champions league is the highest level of football and Hazard has been unlucky (for various reasons, club, injuries etc) not to have played a lot in that competition yet. It's no surprise his development as a player is slower than Ronaldo and Messi. This is an incredibly important point.

There's also the fact that he's spent majority of his career in the French league while Ronaldo and Messi have been in two of the best leagues in the world for all their careers. This again is going to affect development and status as player as the French league doesn't offer the stiffest of opposition, to say the least. Ronaldinho and to a lesser extent, Zidane only showed their full class when they moved to better leagues. Like Jose said, "give him time".

(2) Overrating players from other clubs and underrating our own. This also applies to other players but especially to Hazard. Case in point, Robben has an outstanding World Cup and all of a sudden, he's the player Hazard should aspire to be. Bale scores in the Champions league final (despite doing nothing all game) and Hazard should be more like Bale. I even read someone put Bale in the same category as Ronaldo and Messi when making this comment. James freaking Rodriguez is amazing for Colombia and Hazard should apply himself more. And on and on and on.

(3) Criticizing him for being "inconsistent". The opposite is infact the case and the meaning of the world has become lost in football circles . There is a difference between being an inconsistent player (i.e Nani) and having a bad game/not performing at your normal level for a brief period. You can't be inconsistent and be considered a world class player or even a good one. Hazard, for such a young player has been considered a consistent player all through his career. He was certainly far more consistent at 23 than a certain Arjen Robben was. How quickly we forget. The inconsistent label was unfairly thrown at him in his first season in English football by the media hacks. It was his first season at the club, of course he was going to be shaky in his performances. All his achievements for Lille were simply thrown under the bus. Luckily, his performance level last season shut a lot of mouths in the media and we no longer hear a lot of that. But unfortunately, a small minority of forum members still repeat that nonsense.

(4) Not being a "leader". This apparently is the new one. A 23 year old player in his 3rd season with us is all of a sudden supposed to lead. I wonder why the same isn't demanded from some of his other teammates. And the big games that Hazard did lead in are not spoken of or simply forgotten. Let's forget Man City away and remember Crystal Palace away. Makes sense.

I agree with a lot of this, but you can't really compare the expectations people have of Hazard and his other teammates last year. The greater the talent, the bigger the expectations. It's natural. In a way, it is a compliment to him. If people started thinking it was all right for him to perform just okay in many games, then he would have been mediocre.

As I already said, I would like him to become the top player--he has everything for that--but I'd be okay if he never makes that step and remains just a great team player he is now. There will be some disappointment of course, but he's a better player already than most.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

We want hazard to be a ronaldo or messi, those players are in a different level, even Zidane and Ronaldinho never scored the amount of goals they score.

Hazard is still young, maybe his mentality will change to desire to be a leader for club and country like Neymar does for Brazil at his age, but if he maintains his dribbling into the box and gets 20goals and 20assists, that's perfect considering how important dribbling helps the team but are not mentioned in stats.

[Barbara 15,149]

Só there's a headline saying 'Hazard is relieved to have others to take matters in their hands' and 1 people read it as a joke, 2 a younger player shouldn't be challenged and willing to show the world what he's capable of?

So when he should show ambition he's just happy someone else is stepping up. Then you read ir listen another interview of him saying his goal is to win Balon d'or. Am I the only one to catch a discrepancy between both speeches? And his attitude reflects a lot more this interview than previous ones.

When the team needed him the most in the title run in he went MIA scoring literally only from penalties and assisting once or twice.

What I do feel n this forum is a huge bias and a lot of overrating the actual influence he's had. He's amazing, very talented and had amazing streaks of football brilliance. But for some he's already better than Ronaldo or just behind him and Messi when he isn't. I'm not saying he should be now or even ever, but every time someone talk about his weakness, limitations or shows uncertainty about him fulfilling his potential they're labeled as a disgrace.

People should show patience, but others should also be able to show concern about his development and analyze his attitude, concrete contribution, etc. One thing doesn't automatically denies the other.

The awards he so much wants won't come just because he wants them hard or TC members think he should win them. They come as a result of a lot of hard work and hunger to win (matches) and definitely balls that I hope we'll see from him. And if he doesn't win those awards but shows those things, it won't matter as he'll definitely be one of the best. As someone said, it depends entirely on him...

[The Skipper 20,593]

Sifting through past pages, it's the same stuff that has plagued this board for majority of its lifespan. Hazard is never going to satisfy some of us if this continues. A verbose one, yes but needs to be added to the discussion.

(1) People expecting far too much too soon from Hazard by looking at him through the lens of Ronaldo and Messi. You....just....can't. Every player is different and every career takes different routes. Ronaldo and Messi have been at big clubs their entire careers. They've been playing Champions league since they were 18, making deep runs into the knock-out phases. Hell, both had even won the thing at 23. Hazard on the other hand has only played 2 seasons of Champions league in his ENTIRE career. He's only been in the knock-out phase one time in his career and that was last season were he also got injured as well. The Champions league is the highest level of football and Hazard has been unlucky (for various reasons, club, injuries etc) not to have played a lot in that competition yet. It's no surprise his development as a player is slower than Ronaldo and Messi. This is an incredibly important point.

There's also the fact that he's spent majority of his career in the French league while Ronaldo and Messi have been in two of the best leagues in the world for all their careers. This again is going to affect development and status as player as the French league doesn't offer the stiffest of opposition, to say the least. Ronaldinho and to a lesser extent, Zidane only showed their full class when they moved to better leagues. Like Jose said, "give him time".

(2) Overrating players from other clubs and underrating our own. This also applies to other players but especially to Hazard. Case in point, Robben has an outstanding World Cup and all of a sudden, he's the player Hazard should aspire to be. Bale scores in the Champions league final (despite doing nothing all game) and Hazard should be more like Bale. I even read someone put Bale in the same category as Ronaldo and Messi when making this comment. James freaking Rodriguez is amazing for Colombia and Hazard should apply himself more. And on and on and on.

(3) Criticizing him for being "inconsistent". The opposite is infact the case and the meaning of the world has become lost in football circles . There is a difference between being an inconsistent player (i.e Nani) and having a bad game/not performing at your normal level for a brief period. You can't be inconsistent and be considered a world class player or even a good one. Hazard, for such a young player has been considered a consistent player all through his career. He was certainly far more consistent at 23 than a certain Arjen Robben was. How quickly we forget. The inconsistent label was unfairly thrown at him in his first season in English football by the media hacks. It was his first season at the club, of course he was going to be shaky in his performances. All his achievements for Lille were simply thrown under the bus. Luckily, his performance level last season shut a lot of mouths in the media and we no longer hear a lot of that. But unfortunately, a small minority of forum members still repeat that nonsense.

(4) Not being a "leader". This apparently is the new one. A 23 year old player in his 3rd season with us is all of a sudden supposed to lead. I wonder why the same isn't demanded from some of his other teammates. And the big games that Hazard did lead in are not spoken of or simply forgotten. Let's forget Man City away and remember Crystal Palace away. Makes sense.

Good post mate, some very valid points but IMO there's nothing wrong with people expecting an extremely high standard from the most talented player in the squad.

Yeah, he's 23 but regardless, there are a few aspects of his game that aren't perfect and people are simply just commenting on them. Constructive criticism. No one is saying that Hazard is awful or anything - to me it's pretty clear that many just expect a lot from him, and naturally when you're the most talented player in the team that is to be expected.

Is it so wrong that we want Hazard to be one of the best and synonymous with the likes of Ronaldo and Messi? I don't think so. He certainly has the talent to be up there IMO.