Eden Hazard

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

Barca and Real just have this magical attraction to players. It's the stadiums, the history, the players who came before. Nearly all of the absolute greatest played there once. Their actual quality right now doesn't even matter for them. Back in the 90s I'd say Milan and Juve almost got the same level of respect, and yet even Juve lost Zidane to Madrid.

This said, I think he'll just sign a new contract eventually.

[LukakutoStamford 779]

Hazard is not as good as Bale was in his last season at Spurs so he probably wouldn't be starting ahead of Ronaldo or Bale for Madrid atm. Might not even be in front of James or Isco given how good they are.

Oof ... Guess one can't argue with that reasoning...

No wonder Iniesta was so underrated ...

Guess we need a Hazard fallacies thread.

[Kezza 1,965]

Just bump his release clause up so Roman can get a heftie payday

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Just give him the contract he want. We are depend too much on him alone now on LW. His bargain power is strong.

[Mustafa 885]

Idk french. Help?

[Mustafa 885]

Also, I wanna see this guy playing centrally. I think that's the next step in his career. The next phase in his development. Kind of like Messi did when but not as a ST/CF... as a NUMBER 10.

It's clear that Eden doesn't have that ruthlessness in him. He's not that clinical beast in front of goal. I think he'd score many more goals and create way more goals in a position where he's closer to the goal. If you look at some of his most penetrating runs this season.. for instance, his goal against Spurs (away), his run against Arsenal (home), his run vs Liverpool in the COC a week ago, if you go and watch the Swansea game (A) there were two situations where he smashed the ball from a central position just outside the box and took two fantastic shots with his left foot. Both tested the keeper. I feel like he doesn't get that opportunity as much when he's on the wing.

On top of that, when he's on the left, the defenders know where he's gonna go. They know that he's gonna cut in. If he's on in the middle of the pitch, you don't know where he's gonna go cuz he's got a good left foot (better than Oscar and Willian) and he can shift the ball either way AND, AND, he's a far better creator than the other two also.

To me, he's our best #10 and playing in that position will improve him as a goalscorer and as a player in general. Ballon d'or elects score loads of goals. I don't seen Eden surpassing 25 goals on the left.. play him in the middle, behind Diego!!

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Also, I wanna see this guy playing centrally. I think that's the next step in his career. The next phase in his development. Kind of like Messi did when but not as a ST/CF... as a NUMBER 10.

It's clear that Eden doesn't have that ruthlessness in him. He's not that clinical beast in front of goal. I think he'd score many more goals and create way more goals in a position where he's closer to the goal. If you look at some of his most penetrating runs this season.. for instance, his goal against Spurs (away), his run against Arsenal (home), his run vs Liverpool in the COC a week ago, if you go and watch the Swansea game (A) there were two situations where he smashed the ball from a central position just outside the box and took two fantastic shots with his left foot. Both tested the keeper. I feel like he doesn't get that opportunity as much when he's on the wing.

On top of that, when he's on the left, the defenders know where he's gonna go. They know that he's gonna cut in. If he's on in the middle of the pitch, you don't know where he's gonna go cuz he's got a good left foot (better than Oscar and Willian) and he can shift the ball either way AND, AND, he's a far better creator than the other two also.

To me, he's our best #10 and playing in that position will improve him as a goalscorer and as a player in general. Ballon d'or elects score loads of goals. I don't seen Eden surpassing 25 goals on the left.. play him in the middle, behind Diego!!

I second that. He'll be crowded sometimes but it'll be against much slower centerbacks and Slow midfielders instead of faster fullbacks who can recover after he's turned them. Every one in the middle would be booked because of Hazard mazing runs and it would make them more scared to put in tackles, leaving more space for teammates.

[ILoveLamp 270]

Idk french. Help?

This is pre-world cup, an old interview.

Talks about loads of random stuff, his old school days, etc. Also says he won’t be moving to PSG in the summer (summer 2014).

[lionsden 4,689]

Also, I wanna see this guy playing centrally. I think that's the next step in his career. The next phase in his development. Kind of like Messi did when but not as a ST/CF... as a NUMBER 10.

It's clear that Eden doesn't have that ruthlessness in him. He's not that clinical beast in front of goal. I think he'd score many more goals and create way more goals in a position where he's closer to the goal. If you look at some of his most penetrating runs this season.. for instance, his goal against Spurs (away), his run against Arsenal (home), his run vs Liverpool in the COC a week ago, if you go and watch the Swansea game (A) there were two situations where he smashed the ball from a central position just outside the box and took two fantastic shots with his left foot. Both tested the keeper. I feel like he doesn't get that opportunity as much when he's on the wing.

On top of that, when he's on the left, the defenders know where he's gonna go. They know that he's gonna cut in. If he's on in the middle of the pitch, you don't know where he's gonna go cuz he's got a good left foot (better than Oscar and Willian) and he can shift the ball either way AND, AND, he's a far better creator than the other two also.

To me, he's our best #10 and playing in that position will improve him as a goalscorer and as a player in general. Ballon d'or elects score loads of goals. I don't seen Eden surpassing 25 goals on the left.. play him in the middle, behind Diego!!

He doesn't have the speed of thought,vision and instinct to play in that position successfully. He's a runner like robben whose skillsets are better utilised on the wings and not a playmaker with natural playmaking instincts

[Hamilton 2,120]

Sources (HLN) over here say they allready agreed a new contract in december for €250.000/w but it still has to be announced officialy by the club.

Would surprise me that he would have signed but nobody saying something about it..

[nyikolajevics 2,690]

Sources (HLN) over here say they allready agreed a new contract in december for €250.000/w but it still has to be announced officialy by the club.

Would surprise me that he would have signed but nobody saying something about it..

We would announce it if the deal was done. Why would we keep it in secret?

[dee25 1,044]

He doesn't have the speed of thought,vision and instinct to play in that position successfully. He's a runner like robben whose skillsets are better utilised on the wings and not a playmaker with natural playmaking instincts

I choked on my coffee after reading this. The question of whether Hazard should be played in the middle is dependant on a whole host of factors, but to say that he doesn't have the speed of thought and vision to play that role is quite frankly an inaccurate assessment of the player. Hazard's natural inclination is to create goals. He demonstrates this in every game.

[Rapkun 668]

I was thinking he should be played centrally for a good long time but as of late, he seems to be allowed to play wherever he wants. He moved to the center quite often in the past few games and during big games he plays almost as a second striker in a 442 where everyone is postionned very deep except him and Costa.

He also said in an interview that he likes playing on the wing because he gets much freedom, that's very true. He can't be easily marked when he plays on the wing and keeps changing positions not to mention he will have a lot less defensive work to do.

[lionsden 4,689]

I choked on my coffee after reading this. The question of whether Hazard should be played in the middle is dependant on a whole host of factors, but to say that he doesn't have the speed of thought and vision to play that role is quite frankly an inaccurate assessment of the player. Hazard's natural inclination is to create goals. He demonstrates this in every game.

No it's not. Hazard lacks the natural instinct of an attacking midfielder (the good/great ones anyway and not the crappy ones) i.e the natural instinct to play the game exclusively with their head up, analysing and assessing situation around them very quickly, spotting the gaps and making the right decision from a creative standpoint most often than not. this is why quality AM's are able to spot the movements around and ahead of them before anyone else.

Fabregas gave an interview during his Arsenal days regarding creativity, He said he's always analysing plays before he even gets the ball and that helps him make better decisions. This type of players are natural thinkers first and foremost and it's something that can't be taught.

Hazard quite often miss these movements and makes the wrong decision at times as he has the tendency to slow the game down, hold on to the ball too long and in the process either end up drawing fouls or releasing the pass when it's too late. In situations where space in the box is at a premium and the opposition is defending very deep, timing,decision making and execution i,e a perfectly weighted accurate pass delivered just at the right time is very crucial. Aside from the issue of vision is also doubts over his passing ability. The ability to slot a perfectly weighted through ball consistently is limited to only a select few. That's why there are so many under hit and over hit passes in football. it's not easy.

This isn't a criticism of hazard either as that's just not his game, only very few players can shine in that position and he's not one of them, the same can be said of other world class players such as Robben,Neymar, Ribery, Bale and so on.

and why are we discussing this anyway as it's a case of if it's not broke, why fix it?

[Rapkun 668]

No it's not. Hazard lacks the natural instinct of an attacking midfielder (the good/great ones anyway and not the crappy ones) i.e the natural instinct to play the game exclusively with their head up, analysing and assessing situation around them very quickly, spotting the gaps and making the right decision from a creative standpoint most often than not. this is why quality AM's are able to spot the movements around and ahead of them before anyone else.

Fabregas gave an interview during his Arsenal days regarding creativity, He said he's always analysing plays before he even gets the ball and that helps him make better decisions. This type of players are natural thinkers first and foremost and it's something that can't be taught.

Hazard quite often miss these movements and makes the wrong decision at times as he has the tendency to slow the game down, hold on to the ball too long and in the process either end up drawing fouls or releasing the pass when it's too late. In situations where space in the box is at a premium and the opposition is defending very deep, timing,decision making and execution i,e a perfectly weighted accurate pass delivered just at the right time is very crucial. Aside from the issue of vision is also doubts over his passing ability. The ability to slot a perfectly weighted through ball consistently is limited to only a select few. That's why there are so many under hit and over hit passes in football. it's not easy.

This isn't a criticism of hazard either as that's just not his game, only very few players can shine in that position and he's not one of them, the same can be said of other world class players such as Robben,Neymar, Ribery, Bale and so on.

and why are we discussing this anyway as it's a case of if it's not broke, why fix it?

I don't know why you feel the need to mention playing with the head up because he doesn't play with his head down nor does he need to. Other than that, I agree he certainly he isn't on par with the best creative players in the game. He does have excellent vision though and quick decison making.