Eden Hazard | "It's time to enjoy life drinking beers"

WeePat

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Hobbled off injured again today. I feel really sorry for him tbh, even though it could be argued he is the architect of some of his own downfall.

 

midnightmare

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Hobbled off injured again today. I feel really sorry for him tbh, even though it could be argued he is the architect of some of his own downfall.

I don’t feel sorry for him. Feel sorry for the club and peeved at him. Come to the club fat and unfit twice. When you don’t take fitness seriously, there’s a higher risk of injury, specially with advancing age. Unprofessional twice in two summers.
 

WeePat

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I don’t feel sorry for him. Feel sorry for the club and peeved at him. Come to the club fat and unfit twice. When you don’t take fitness seriously, there’s a higher risk of injury, specially with advancing age. Unprofessional twice in two summers.
I feel sorry for him because, although I don't condone turning up unfit for preseason, he has, to some extent, always done this at Chelsea and he was hardly ever injured for us. These injuries could likely have happened to him, even if he turned up for preseason in tip top shape.
 

Sylar

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Chelsea sold at the perfect time after getting his best years and a superb return to improve the team in other areas
 

Idxomer

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Am I remembering it wrong or was he usually kept out of the Chelsea team the 1st few weeks of the season?

Real Madrid probably didn't take in their account his lack of professionalism when they purchased him.
 

sourdough satellite

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I feel sorry for him because, although I don't condone turning up unfit for preseason, he has, to some extent, always done this at Chelsea and he was hardly ever injured for us. These injuries could likely have happened to him, even if he turned up for preseason in tip top shape.
It sounds to me like he got into a bad habit and now he's suffering the consequences as he grows older and injury resistance decreases.
 

NYAS

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He just never wanted it enough and he showed that with his comments about not necessarily wanting to be the best in the world. I think he’s done.

Should not be keeping Vinicius out of the team, that’s for sure.
 

TheMagicFoolBus

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Am I remembering it wrong or was he usually kept out of the Chelsea team the 1st few weeks of the season?

Real Madrid probably didn't take in their account his lack of professionalism when they purchased him.
Not as a rule generally - he was eased in with sub appearances at the start of 18/19 because we had kind fixtures and because he'd logged so many minutes at the World Cup. Perhaps not a coincidence that this was his most productive season.

In all honesty though the man was fouled at a historic rate during his time in England - it's not shocking that he's breaking down physically. Chelsea were obviously very smart to sell when we did (and to tie the bonuses into team success rather than Hazard's individual success). Still though, it's sad to see - there are few footballers who are more enjoyable to watch when in their pomp.
 

FootballHQ

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Wonder what the crowd reaction would be if fans were in.

I assume he's learnt Spanish and has integrated himself into the group so probably wouldn't get the negativity Bale received in his last two years but very little impact on the pitch when leaders are needed in what could be Real Madrid's worst domestic season for a long while.
 

el3mel

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I can't believe he got injured again.

What a flop this signing has turned out to be. Chelsea got the best years out of him then got rid of him for a big sum of money. Perfect business.
 

TheLord

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Chelsea got the best years out of Hazard (probably the best in the PL for a few years), and sold him for 100m++ (Havertz + Werner) - literally, fleeced Real Madrid.
 

Brwned

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I feel sorry for him because, although I don't condone turning up unfit for preseason, he has, to some extent, always done this at Chelsea and he was hardly ever injured for us. These injuries could likely have happened to him, even if he turned up for preseason in tip top shape.
He has a point though that as you get older you have a higher risk of injuries, and with that a lot of modern players tended to become more disciplined from a health and fitness perspective to count for their ageing bodies. Think Giggs and his yoga to compensate for his hamstrings, or Ronaldo with his personal doctor to look after his knees. Along with his age he's moved to a new training regime and playing a different style of football, all of which will put different pressures on his body. It's plainly immature to just continue what you've always done since you were a kid and hope that it still works out, and unprofessional that when it doesn't work out you continue with an approach that is obviously an additional risk factor in your fitness.
 

Ish

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He has a point though that as you get older you have a higher risk of injuries, and with that a lot of modern players tended to become more disciplined from a health and fitness perspective to count for their ageing bodies. Think Giggs and his yoga to compensate for his hamstrings, or Ronaldo with his personal doctor to look after his knees. Along with his age he's moved to a new training regime and playing a different style of football, all of which will put different pressures on his body. It's plainly immature to just continue what you've always done since you were a kid and hope that it still works out, and unprofessional that when it doesn't work out you continue with an approach that is obviously an additional risk factor in your fitness.
Spot on. My old amateur ass, now 36, can attest to slowing metabolism and more pains in areas I never knew existed :lol:
 

Mb194dc

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I think Hazard didn't look after himself as well as he should have done if wanted to keep playing at the very top in to his mid thirties. Now all catching up with him.

On a side note, if Real Madrid want a better ball playing goal keeper, after Courtois howler yesterday, think we have one they might want to try :angel::).
 

MayosNoun

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It’s sad to someone so talented and continuously ripped this league apart, move abroad, and suffer badly. If he had CR7’s dedication to fitness and football he would have destroyed that league.
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

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He was never, at any stage, the best player in the league.

This is a hill I am willing to die on. At no point was he better than other players in the League, even the years Chelsea won the PL.

Joined 2013 season? Left 2019?

Was he better than Bale, Suarez, Aguero, Yaya, Costa, Kante, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Mane, Van Dijk, Salah, Kane, Son etc.

I just never saw it.
 
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Mb194dc

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Maybe another Bale, under contract till 2024 by the look of it.

Hazard and Bale costing RM 800k ish a week combined? Though they're getting some back from Spurs this season at least.
 

GifLord

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He was never, at any stage, the best player in the league.

This is a hill I am willing to die on. At no point was he better than other players in the League, even the years Chelsea won the PL.

Joined 2013 season? Left 2019?

Was he better than Bale, Suarez, Aguero, Yaya, Costa, Kante, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Mane, Van Dijk, Salah, Kane, Son etc.

I just never saw it.
He was easily better than most of them it just that he didn't have the consistency to go full season in top form. He was good for like 2-3months then fell of a cliff and was average/decent for most of the season.
If Chelsea didn't have him i doubt they'd have won some of the title's they have.
His 2014-15 season was world class
Not to mention he was amazing when playing against top english clubs
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

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He was easily better than most of them it just that he didn't have the consistency to go full season in top form. He was good for like 2-3months then fell of a cliff and was average/decent for most of the season.
If Chelsea didn't have him i doubt they'd have won some of the title's they have.
His 2014-15 season was world class
Not to mention he was amazing when playing against top english clubs
How many appearances did he have against each?!
 

Pep's Suit

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He was never, at any stage, the best player in the league.

This is a hill I am willing to die on. At no point was he better than other players in the League, even the years Chelsea won the PL.

Joined 2013 season? Left 2019?

Was he better than Bale, Suarez, Aguero, Yaya, Costa, Kante, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Mane, Van Dijk, Salah, Kane, Son etc.

I just never saw it.
I agree. He just never made me say "wow", maybe also because he lacks charisma, personality or simply something unique. At least in my eyes.
 

VorZakone

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I remember feeling that Alexis Sanchez had as good a season as Hazard in 2014/15 and 2016/17.
 

DWelbz19

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:lol: Some of those names. The revisionism is a bit mad.

In a single season he never had a number peak like Bale, Suarez, or Salah. But he was comfortably top 3 for at least a season or two during his time in the league. Chelsea won 2 PL titles, 2 Europas, and 2 domestic cups in his time there. He played a major part in nearly all of them.

2014-15 Chelsea won the league and Hazard won POTY. 2018-19 Hazard got 16 goals and 15 assists — which made him the 4th player in PL history to get 15+ goals and assists in a single season (Cantona; Le Tissier; Henry).

Problem with Hazard is (2018-19 aside), he’s always been more of an eye test guy than a numbers guy. He’s had good numbers, but never great. Can make it hard to gauge his influence in hindsight, but he was a gigantic part of Chelsea’s successes of the 2010s.
——
Funnily enough, the *must have* player who everyone is going gaga over in Jack Grealish is basically Eden Hazard at about 80% of his best during his Chelsea time.
 

Luke1995

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Maybe it's time for him to change his game. Try to become more of a midfield playmaker rather than running down the wings.
 

kaiser1

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He was never, at any stage, the best player in the league.

This is a hill I am willing to die on. At no point was he better than other players in the League, even the years Chelsea won the PL.

Joined 2013 season? Left 2019?

Was he better than Bale, Suarez, Aguero, Yaya, Costa, Kante, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Mane, Van Dijk, Salah, Kane, Son etc.

I just never saw it.
I agree with some of these, He was an attacking number who barely had the numbers to back him up. His goals and assists stats were not elite
 

kaiser1

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Who was more "elite" in the prem during Hazard's time?
Hazard scored more than 15 league goals just twice in his Chelsea career despite being the main penalty taker for the team

If we are to compare other wing forwards in the league like Sterling Salah Mane

In the CL, for example, All his career to date, Hazard had 9 goals (5 of them penalties)
 

duffer

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Hazard scored more than 15 league goals just twice in his Chelsea career despite being the main penalty taker for the team

If we are to compare other wing forwards in the league like Sterling Salah Mane

In the CL, for example, All his career to date, Hazard had 9 goals (5 of them penalties)
We'll have to agree to disagree if you think they were all better than Hazard during his time at Chelsea.