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I don’t. I mean don’t really care about him now that he’s not our player. I know too many footballers in person to be a fan of any of them. it is really interesting that folks really cannot accept that i think hazard is overrated and less effective than other great players within his tier. I’m far from alone btw. I also find interesting that while many here agree that he lacks determination, they don’t link that with reaching one’s full potential. So, in a way I see him a bit like ronaldinho. While ronaldinho chose partying, hazard chose a laid back lifestyle with his family. Fair choices, but you can’t have it both ways. They both lacked grit and athleticism. as a Brazilian, I’ve seen many many amazing dribblers. It’s a very Brazilian thing. In my view dribbling is an important tool, but creating opportunities, the final ball, is really a different skill set: more akin to passing and vision. I’ve seen amazing dribblers who had trouble with that last ball. Hazard is better than them, because he is more effective at that last pass, but he’s also not as effective as others (in his tier) in that.

Sure. I see him more effective as a dribbler than a guy who can find that killer pass tho. That’s KDB. And dribbling IMO is a bit easier to contain. Give him the side, low block, just contain. that goes into personal preferences of course, but at this level we are essentially merely discussing what is slightly more effective and in which conditions. you are in CL semi and you can pick one player to chase a goal, who would that be? In my (fun) list KDB would be well above hazard but that’s just me.

No?! Please use the ignore list so you don’t have to read them? 🙄 Thought that all the hazard police would be gone by now. to the people actually discussing footy here, are you not missing something obvious? Hazard is well behind his peers in terms of shooting, especially from outside of the box. That has little to do with style or formation.

This guy is a true mystery... when you have players like bakayoko and drinkwater, and before pass-sideways mikel, this guy must have done something real bad to not get a shot.

Agree with @OneMoSalah above. Like many here have stated over and over again, except his true fans (who predictably are gone by now), his lack of grit is what holds him back: both during games and at practice. You can see that he’s not the most fit footballer. For all his faults, Neymar also gets injured a lot because he exposes himself a lot. Never though eden did that especially when games turned rough as in physical. Again, the grit part.

Yes!!! He’s a good player who’s very comfortable on the ball. he hasn’t offered enough in attack, but can improve in that especially with Lampard at the helm. Even if you are not a fan of kova, think of him as one more player ahead of bakayoko... see him as a buffer to protect us from a completely inapt footballer.

He wants reassurances over a big fat paycheck, which he expects to be a lot higher than what Bayern will offer. it’s a self-inflicted auction.

Right, but until cho signs a new deal, Bayern interest is always going to remain fresh and valid. every month that goes by diminishes the club leverage in the negotiation. The club lost most of it when he got called up, and is losing steadily as he refuses to sign. in a couple of months, cho will have very little incentive to sign a new deal, unless he’s offered a key player role (which he’s not), with massive wages attached.

Haha yeah I thought bout him when writing. we did a good job limiting his playing time... it’s a hard thing to do esp when a new manager comes along and asks, “what about that guy?” heh sissoko is a poor player and definitely one of the players holding them back. And still a lot better, skill wise, than bakayoko.

The problem with having liabilities in the roster, in my book having a poor first touch qualifies, is that they eventually end up playing.

Yup. What bakayoko did for Milan is irrelevant because we already saw him in the pl and multiple times after plenty of starts (too many?) were given. Different league where players enjoy a lot more time on the ball. Bakayoko has a poor first touch at this level, which becomes a much bigger problem in the pl. that’s why Lucas Leiva moved from pool to Lazio once he lost quickness. He always complained how little time on the ball players have in the PL. compared to bakayoko, Kovacic is a freaking god.

Too many questions about system and formation at this time to assess who or where players will play. take last two seasons from Alonso as a hint. Regardless however one may rate, the difference was incredible. Some say it’s formation, but to me it’s always more the system than formation. ask not where they are at the start of the game, but where and how they move during it.

Yeah hazard did well in the world cup, but think his actual contribution against the tough sides was not there, otherwise perhaps Belgium would’ve made to the final. against Brazil, de bruyne was the key player imo. Hazard has a corner to Fernandinho. yeah it’s going to be interesting to see what hazard will do at real. I personally think his style does not gel that well with better players. He will see more spaces though.

Sure but Neymar is better at shooting from afar. Yeah maybe I’m overrating Neymar key passes. Still think de bruyne is way ahead than both esp in key passes and passing in general. kinda hard to remember a great tough cL match where either one dominated.

Think they do belong in the same tier, and both slightly overrated. Hard to call hazards game complete when he’s that poor at shooting from afar. It’s kinda important skill. Would also give Neymar the edge for off the ball movement and key passes. dribbling is where hazard is way ahead. Id take de bruyne over either one in for a tough match where you need a win. I have learned recently that Neymar is actually very dedicated at practice. I mean he obviously parties a lot, but is usually in amazing form.

Yup. And that’s only back in action. Then the most difficult part after such injury: regain match fitness, confidence... to become competitive again. As in not being afraid on every step. We need to forget about them for next season. Hope for the best but expect the worst.

Feel some people here don’t fully realize how serious cho’s injury is. It’s the worst for an athlete. reading Williams thread, some are expecting him to play a big part in the next season, and that’s very unlikely even in the best-case scenario.

Barcelona is trying to balance their squad with a tactical defensive winger like William. He can’t attack for shit, but can certainly help make a team more robust. think Barca are tired of getting destroyed in second leg CL matches and want to be able to close down shop when needed. I’m far from a fan, but it would be extremely stupid to let him go during a ban. We don’t have many options for the wings, and certainly not with William’s characteristics.

“Louca varrida” (br-pt) which closely translates to batshit crazy! Funnest sayings in both languages too imo. honestly put Alonso there and he’s twice the player bakayoko is. Better first touch, passing, just as tall and slow, but can score too. No, he will not win you over, just pointing out how bad bakayoko is. kepa’s strong end of season is definitely promising. He’s got potential and I’m happy that he’s definitely at least a good goalie. Whether he will eventually become a great goalie, well that’s still to be decided.

Fair enough. I did not say mikel did not play his part. Same with Meireles, but it always baffles me why mikel stayed for so long considering how little playtime he got... always bit parts (consider the time he stayed at the club). Him getting more playtime coincided with our worst moments in that period. we might have developed 3 different younger players in that time. With likely different levels of success. However, the incredible thing is how limited mikel game was. I mean he could do only two very specific things: tackle and pass in very short distances. He had a lot of difficulties with long balls and pretty much every other aspect of the game. i mean we criticize drinkwater here but that guy is a lot more rounded than mikel (no pun :)). He can shoot score, hit a long ball. Mikel never did any of these things. still bakayoko can not even control the football, so it’s silly to go on and talk about other aspects of his game.

This is by far the best Portugal team I’ve seen by far. I still think they are short of challenging for a WC win mostly because of depth and weaknesses in certain areas, but definitely good players all over who need to be scouted. carvalho does look PL made with all that power and good on the ball. guedes what a shot! On the other end, Netherlands looked poor in certain areas, esp the right side. They had spaces on the wings but the balls in had little to no real quality. Perhaps just youth and they still need to improve.

As eden’s biggest critic - the only one - this sums up the situation perfectly: hazard leaves and bakayoko returns. let me make my opinion perfectly clear (for posterity ) drinkwater is twice the player and I still wouldn’t want him/either in the roster. bakayoko is the worst midfielder I’ve seen at chelsea. Worse than mikel and even Meireles. the days of purely physical mids are long gone. Bakayoko has no place in modern football (at least not elite) regardless of manager, style, or formation.

Ridiculous call up. Brazil manager Tite is getting lots of flack for William and Fernandinho. The Latter is a good player for city and awful for Brazil... though imo he’s overrated in England. Actually nobody understands William getting called up. He’s done nothing for Brazil.

That was then. And it’s still trusting an external address, which is hardly evidence. He may say that and then to his agent/parent, “get me out of here!” and once again, is it fair to demand that we become Real Madrid? Would anything less suffice to eden? in other words, isn’t it the same as just saying that he wants out because we are not big enough nor will we ever be big enough for him? sorry I still don’t trust player words at all (all PR). The word professional is the opposite of a fan.

Sorry but you don’t really know that, do you? I mean I hear this argument over and over, but it could just be wishful thinking. Now if the argument is just that we are not as big and powerful as Real Madrid, that’s the case for every other club but Real Madrid. Would acquiring a couple of quality players magically make eden want to stay and not join his dream club? I don’t buy that. It’s not a recent thing either. His stance did not change over the years.