Eden Hazard

[Special Juan 27,424]

Been missing in the last 3 games, I would be more worried about losing Kante.

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

9 hours ago, Blue Armour said:

Lets look at it this way.

Regardless of whether you think Hazard is WC or not, he is the least of our problems in this squad.

We have plenty of other positions that need strengthening, and we need to strengthen it to support him, cause he's our best regardless of where he stands next to the elite.

If someone argues that we can sell him for millions and re-invest in good prospects to improve the squad...well you only need to look at our track record and see what will happen.

The likelihood is that you'll end up with a Liverpool/Tottenham squad that hovers around the top 4 spots, but is shite at just about everything else. And then we won't get a sniff of a player close to Eden's quality and will have to pray to the football gods for a Lampard or JT to come along through the youth ranks.  

He needs to compete on the biggest stage, he has never done this to the level he has in the PL, is this an issue? Definitely. If the club wants to be winning or getting to the last 4 or 8 of these competitions at least we need everyone to show up. I keep seeing oh why sub Eden with 10 mins to go at 1-1 or 2-1 or some scoreline because he can produce a moment of magic at any moment... but its never happened in a big game in the last few months or so except maybe that pass for Willian v United. Being a great player and not performing in the bigger games is different to being a great player but performing well against smaller teams. This sort of thing is why I believe Neymar and Dybala will or if they already haven't exceed him. Neymar and Eden isn't even a close competition for me, Messi, Ronaldo are in a tier of their own, then Neymar, then the likes of Eden and Dybala. Also another example of big players showing up in big games: Thomas Muller, he is not an overly exciting footballer or an incredibly gifted one in the same way Eden is but in the big games he is always going to turn up and score a goal or get an assist. 

[Polo7 3,496]

Made a big fuss about not wanting to play down the middle as a false 9, then when given the opportunity to play in his favoured position produces fuck all. Willian outplayed him in both games. Very disappointed as we all know he can do better. 

[zekinjo 449]

12 hours ago, Henrique said:

Hazard is playing for Chelsea since 2012. Thats 6 years. He is yet to produce a single great performance in UCL. I think thats really odd some people still act like he is a world class player who will leave Chelsea because Chelsea don't have ambition. lol

Hope Hazard never leaves because he’s one of those unique players but last night level performance of his against very top clubs in CL are exactly the reason why he is Ballon D’or player number 19. Just not involved or decisive enough for a talent like his.

[Hamilton 2,120]

1st half Moses could easily picked him out inside the box to give him a clear shooting. But off course victor made the wrong decision, no surprise.

Things like this happen to much that our wb’s don’t understand movements of Eden and Willian.

Just saying that little details often have huge impact in games to build some form and confidence.

Eden started well imo but went missing after 2-0. Second half I didn’t see..

[manpe 10,861]

Is it just me or has his dribbling ability gone downhill a bit? Or his pace? I can't put my finger on it, but imo he used to be more active in taking players on and making things happen around and in the box. Now he is more often content with passing sideways and not even attempting to beat his man.

[Fernando 6,453]

Well if Real Madrid don't want him no more then I will still love him to stay. 

Courtois is the one that annoys me with his attitude. 

[Weckerz 3,781]

Lacks balls really, a shame

[oldportblue 547]

I love Hazard and still think he can be great for us in the future if we surround him with more players that want to link-up and play intricate passes together as well as more quality overall all over the pitch. For me, his recent slight dip of form comes at a good time in terms of us keeping him. He loses a bit of leverage in terms of real madrid being less motivated to come in for him this summer based on these performances...

He wasn't great yesterday, but to be honest, I don't see him as a player that will carry the team single handedly. Sure he can do on occasions but he can't do it game-in, game-out as his time at chelsea has shown. He needs a well oiled team of great players working well alongside him and then he is at his best, not when's he's asked to do everything... He was good in 2015, but then so was costa, matic, courtois, JT etc, same in 16-17, costa, kante, luiz were all amazing too. He will never be a Messi and that's fine, we just need to get the best of him by doing what is in the best interest of the team anyways, surround him with top talent.

I would love for him to stay his whole career with chelsea, pick up a few more PL titles, and other cups and for him to be considered a chelsea legend. He probably won't surpass drogs, lamps, jt in the chelsea legend echelon even if he does remain his whole career at chelsea but he will be in the conversation. and we will have had a very unique, class, talented, entertaining player who played almost all of his career with us to call our own..

tldr: he isn't and will never be messi but he's ours and i still love him and want him to stay

 

[oldportblue 547]

53 minutes ago, manpe said:

Is it just me or has his dribbling ability gone downhill a bit? Or his pace? I can't put my finger on it, but imo he used to be more active in taking players on and making things happen around and in the box. Now he is more often content with passing sideways and not even attempting to beat his man.

i think it's more of a psychological thing... although we put up a great fight over two legs, our 2018 has been pretty shite, conte is always in emo mode, we've had abject performances, shite tactics and the overall atmosphere of the club isn't what it was last year. I think all these factors play into his less electric play this season and especially recently. The mental aspect plays a huge role at this top level

[Polo7 3,496]

2 hours ago, Hamilton said:

1st half Moses could easily picked him out inside the box to give him a clear shooting. But off course victor made the wrong decision, no surprise.

Things like this happen to much that our wb’s don’t understand movements of Eden and Willian.

Just saying that little details often have huge impact in games to build some form and confidence.

Eden started well imo but went missing after 2-0. Second half I didn’t see..

Difference is Willian wasn’t waiting for Moses to find him via a pin point cross. We all know moses can’t do that. Willian took the game by the scruff of the neck. 

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,919]

3 hours ago, Hamilton said:

1st half Moses could easily picked him out inside the box to give him a clear shooting. But off course victor made the wrong decision, no surprise.

Things like this happen to much that our wb’s don’t understand movements of Eden and Willian.

Just saying that little details often have huge impact in games to build some form and confidence.

Eden started well imo but went missing after 2-0. Second half I didn’t see..

Even if Moses picked him out there was a 90-95% chance Hazard would have passed the ball back rather than shooting.

[Jase 43,479]

2 hours ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

Even if Moses picked him out there was a 90-95% chance Hazard would have passed the ball back rather than shooting.

At times, it looks as if Hazard plays just to have fun on the pitch. Once he's satisfied, he'll just switch off and go through the motion in games. He doesn't have that killer instinct, ruthless streak that separates the great from the good. He has done many good things, contributed a lot but it's kinda hard to pick out a period where he played consistently great for 90 minutes week in, week out.

[Blue Armour 4,278]

11 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

He needs to compete on the biggest stage, he has never done this to the level he has in the PL, is this an issue? Definitely. If the club wants to be winning or getting to the last 4 or 8 of these competitions at least we need everyone to show up. I keep seeing oh why sub Eden with 10 mins to go at 1-1 or 2-1 or some scoreline because he can produce a moment of magic at any moment... but its never happened in a big game in the last few months or so except maybe that pass for Willian v United. Being a great player and not performing in the bigger games is different to being a great player but performing well against smaller teams. This sort of thing is why I believe Neymar and Dybala will or if they already haven't exceed him. Neymar and Eden isn't even a close competition for me, Messi, Ronaldo are in a tier of their own, then Neymar, then the likes of Eden and Dybala. Also another example of big players showing up in big games: Thomas Muller, he is not an overly exciting footballer or an incredibly gifted one in the same way Eden is but in the big games he is always going to turn up and score a goal or get an assist. 

 

Yeah, the CL is the biggest stage of them all.

His lack of performance in these kind of games is no doubt due to mentality.

To some players, like Willian and Alonso, they're able to naturally raise their own games to perform at their best.

I think in the case of Hazard the spotlight has got to him a bit. Personally, I feel he is suffering from the lack of a guiding figure like Drogba/Eto'O/Lampard in the squad to ease his nerves. Basically players that have already won the lot.

He's now one of the longest serving players right now, and has all the responsibility of carrying /inspiring the his team to the next stage. I feel if he was paired with another quality player, (who is also an experienced winner), he could do much more in these types of games.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

1 hour ago, Blue Armour said:

 

Yeah, the CL is the biggest stage of them all.

His lack of performance in these kind of games is no doubt due to mentality.

To some players, like Willian and Alonso, they're able to naturally raise their own games to perform at their best.

I think in the case of Hazard the spotlight has got to him a bit. Personally, I feel he is suffering from the lack of a guiding figure like Drogba/Eto'O/Lampard in the squad to ease his nerves. Basically players that have already won the lot.

He's now one of the longest serving players right now, and has all the responsibility of carrying /inspiring the his team to the next stage. I feel if he was paired with another quality player, (who is also an experienced winner), he could do much more in these types of games.

i completely agree, but on another note yesteday he was very good IMO.

Yeah he isnt leader or he isnt the one to be the most calm and make shit happen on his own, ie score goal etc. but when it comes to simply playing and helping the team, he is amazing. He is pulling the passes and dribbles, playmakes whole game. But for next step, he will simply need something better than Alonso or Cesc or Giroud.

Hazard is someone who needs one-twos with others and he needs the teammates around to get involved. He isnt direct player who will march on goal every time and pull something alone.

I hope he stays at Chelsea for long time, but if I drop the selfish act, I think the best for him would be to go to Barca. He and Messi plus all the other barca players, Im willing to bet he would leave the likes of Neymar and De Bruyne two levels below. Guidance of serial winners like Iniesta or Messi would help him improve infront of goal and quality of teammates in general would expand his play even further. His selfless play is absolutely perfect to feed the balls to Messi, Suarez and players like that would help himself feel less pressure and become more decisive infront of goal.

Compare Alonso, Cesc, Willian and Morata/Giroud with Alba, Iniesta, Suarez and Messi.

But the biggest problem is that people dont see what kind of Eden actualy is. Everyone wants goals and him being the main guy and make all the shit happen. Yeah its expected because he is the best player on the team, but thats not his style at all. Ribery or even Modric come to mind. Both are outstanding and arguably most important players for their teams at their peak. Sure Ronaldo is Ronaldo, but Modric was absolutely crucial in every single buildup of Real. Ask any fan, they will often tell you Modric was the motor and brain of that team. CR was scoring goals, and while goals are ''everything'', you still have to win midfield and create those goals, where Modric was unplayable. Ribery was similar, but he played from the wing. Both however had other, more direct players who then decided games and scored, like Ronaldo or Robben.

Eden is literaly the same. He makes everything tick, he goes deep to collect the ball, he passes around, dribbles, creates space. But we dont have the player that will actualy finish the chance off. Eden is the kind of player that picks the ball, goes toward the goal and then loves to release it. But we just dont have anyone near his quality. He makes a pass, then Willian fucks up a counter, Alonso isnt fast enough, Giroud misses the goal. The gulf between Eden and rest of the team in sheer quality is too big. Last year, Costa was on same level till january and we played outstanding football. Thats the difference if you have at least one more world class player in attack beside hazard.

[robsblubot 3,502]

20 hours ago, BlueLyon said:

Eden is literaly the same. He makes everything tick, he goes deep to collect the ball, he passes around, dribbles, creates space. But we dont have the player that will actualy finish the chance off. Eden is the kind of player that picks the ball, goes toward the goal and then loves to release it. But we just dont have anyone near his quality. He makes a pass, then Willian fucks up a counter, Alonso isnt fast enough, Giroud misses the goal. The gulf between Eden and rest of the team in sheer quality is too big. Last year, Costa was on same level till january and we played outstanding football. Thats the difference if you have at least one more world class player in attack beside hazard.

That is literally what I wish he did do, but he does not - at least not nearly consistently enough in tough (CL or not) games.

It's esp interesting that you compare him with players who are VERY consistent in their performances, which is the main complaint Eden gets (here and esp elsewhere).

There is no gulf when William is the one delivering in big games; when Alonso steps up and normally plays well in those games; when Kante consistently plays better than Eden. While I agree the squad could be better, Hazard/key player could also be better. The obvious difference in quality you state IS priced in in their cost to the club: Hazard costs a lot more than the other players therefore the bar is/should be a lot higher for him.

BTW, the conclusion from your post - if one agrees with your points - is that Hazard has to leave ASAP right? Because we are not Barcelona nor will we become barcelona anytime soon. 

[Blue Armour 4,278]

22 hours ago, BlueLyon said:

i completely agree, but on another note yesteday he was very good IMO.

Yeah he isnt leader or he isnt the one to be the most calm and make shit happen on his own, ie score goal etc. but when it comes to simply playing and helping the team, he is amazing. He is pulling the passes and dribbles, playmakes whole game. But for next step, he will simply need something better than Alonso or Cesc or Giroud.

Hazard is someone who needs one-twos with others and he needs the teammates around to get involved. He isnt direct player who will march on goal every time and pull something alone.

I hope he stays at Chelsea for long time, but if I drop the selfish act, I think the best for him would be to go to Barca. He and Messi plus all the other barca players, Im willing to bet he would leave the likes of Neymar and De Bruyne two levels below. Guidance of serial winners like Iniesta or Messi would help him improve infront of goal and quality of teammates in general would expand his play even further. His selfless play is absolutely perfect to feed the balls to Messi, Suarez and players like that would help himself feel less pressure and become more decisive infront of goal.

Compare Alonso, Cesc, Willian and Morata/Giroud with Alba, Iniesta, Suarez and Messi.

But the biggest problem is that people dont see what kind of Eden actualy is. Everyone wants goals and him being the main guy and make all the shit happen. Yeah its expected because he is the best player on the team, but thats not his style at all. Ribery or even Modric come to mind. Both are outstanding and arguably most important players for their teams at their peak. Sure Ronaldo is Ronaldo, but Modric was absolutely crucial in every single buildup of Real. Ask any fan, they will often tell you Modric was the motor and brain of that team. CR was scoring goals, and while goals are ''everything'', you still have to win midfield and create those goals, where Modric was unplayable. Ribery was similar, but he played from the wing. Both however had other, more direct players who then decided games and scored, like Ronaldo or Robben.

Eden is literaly the same. He makes everything tick, he goes deep to collect the ball, he passes around, dribbles, creates space. But we dont have the player that will actualy finish the chance off. Eden is the kind of player that picks the ball, goes toward the goal and then loves to release it. But we just dont have anyone near his quality. He makes a pass, then Willian fucks up a counter, Alonso isnt fast enough, Giroud misses the goal. The gulf between Eden and rest of the team in sheer quality is too big. Last year, Costa was on same level till january and we played outstanding football. Thats the difference if you have at least one more world class player in attack beside hazard.

 

Yep, Eden is the single most important player in this squad right now. You can always spend millions on 'potential' but you can never guarantee that you'll get quality like the stuff he produces for the team. People are always quick to blame everything on the first thing that comes to mind. The fact that Messi scored a couple of goals on counters is enough to mask all of Eden's contributions over the two legs.

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

Is it only me or has Eden tried to first-time back heel layoff at least once every game for weeks now?

 

Anyway this squad has many problems and Eden is not one of them. I think we should all accept by now that he is not gonna become a ballon d'or candidate or score 40 games per season. He just does not have this ambition or killer instinct and he does not want to have it. That is why I can see him staying over the summer. At Real the pressure would be much bigger to succeed Ronaldo and I can totally see him shying away from that.

 

However i think instead of demanding from Hazard to be that stand-out superstar he will never be the club should support him by signing quality players with technical ability to play around him. Like a striker who can actually score goals AND has good linkup play. or at least hast the potential to become that. Or more importantly a midfielder who can paly between the lines so hazard oes not need to pick up the ball deep every time himself. We do not need a superstar we need a well-balanced, technically and mentally strong squad no matter if hazard leaves or stays.