Eden Hazard | "It's time to enjoy life drinking beers"
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Honestly, when I read some of the terrible takes on this thread, it genuinely makes me believe that Inzaghi would be rated above Kaka if they both played today.
This obsession with stats is so boring. It’s obvious how good Hazard was at his peak if you know how to watch football.
This obsession with stats is so boring. It’s obvious how good Hazard was at his peak if you know how to watch football.
Feck if i can remember the dates. Joses meltdown season and Sarri season when he played for himself.
Just go through your strikers scoring history during Hazards stay and youll see when he gave up on the team and played for himself. Even Costa would go through large spells of not scoring simply because the service wasnt coming from wide when Hazard who would rather run down blind alleys to draw fouls and kill a lot of your attacks.
Ths isnt me misremembering, ive a history on here of calling Hazard out for his selfishness.
Cough Benzema cough..
Look at you now. People used to pretend Hazard was such a talent that you would be lost without him. Now you have forwards who have less dribbling ability but actually carry the ball and play the quick pass when closed down and youre in a CL final, dominating big sides along the way.
Hazars did have off seasons but hes like every other playmaker for good sides who have everything go through him. Youll have good stats no matter unless you absolutely flop.
Theres more to being a footballer than dribbles? Who even dribbles at the highest level these days? Its all inside forwards and out to in runs.
Jose meltdown season he was playing through an injury sustained while carrying us over the line the previous year, by all means don't take my word for it there's many easily accessible quotes from Guus Hiddink confirming it.
In what way was he playing for himself under Sarri?
One of the best players in the PL who got a dream move to Madrid and then proceeded to get fat and lazy.
Think you raise some valid points, particularly with respect to directness, but he can hardly be classed as having taken off the Sarri season where he was responsible for half the goals in the team?
But also he was surrounded by dross half the time he was here in attack. Costa was class when focused but his stretches of not scoring weren't down to Hazard not providing service, they were down to him sulking and throwing a strop for one reason or another. If anything Hazard should have been MORE selfish and shot more, given he was passing to the likes of Torres, Morata, Higuain, and Willian (who has been hopelessly exposed as a completely average player now that Hazard isn't on the other flank). Hazard made the second most key passes in the PL over the last decade - behind only David Silva who took set pieces. Calling him a selfish player is just misguided.
Hanging onto the ball for far long. Not getting the pass away because hes playing for the foul time and time again. That year was the worst top 4 race i have ever seen and Hazard was part of that. Honest to God i cant picture a Hazard cross. Does he even have a great cross in his locker?
Hes what? 29 now and we can point to 3 seasons when he has been a non entity. His PL legacy is just lucky Hazard left when he did.
Im not saying he was a bad player or anything like that, i think he took advatage of your club to make himself look good. Pogba was getting criticised for holding onto the ball from all quarters for us and he isnt half as bad as Hazard at it
Perhaps the biggest flop ever in terms of cost vs end product in the whole Real Madrid history. And this is not an easy feature with the ammount of overpriced deadwood they hired over the decades.
Fair. But when i give him the benefit of the doubt i think of the last world cup. Lukaku was bossing it with KDB and Eden quietly keeping play ticking over behind him. Up to the point Hazard decided to do what he does best (after Brazil i think?) and Lukaku lost all service. Eden wouldn't even pass to him in the end up. Lukaku WC died a death and Belguim looked worse for it but Eden was getting praise because he was dribbling down blind alleys and winning fouls. Alll their forward play became set piece based.
If people like that style then fair enough.
you don’t actually believe that do you? I’m all for a bit of hyperbole but come onAnd Pogba is another player who gets far more stick than he deserves, although with some people i get the feeling it's more personal not naming any names Souness.
Think that was down to France being the better side and having Kante in the zones where Hazard wanted to work - instead he was forced wide too often which isn't really his strength. For me France did a great job to prevent Hazard from getting on the ball in the areas where he's most dangerous, especially in the second half of that game. Don't think Hazard was being selfish, I think it was more a case of it being incredibly difficult logistically for him to combine with Lukaku given the opposition.
the top 4 race was Hazard's fault? Took advantage of the club to make himself look good?
The guy won Two Leagues and Two Europa leagues and an FA Cup in 7 years and he's somehow took advantage? His PL legacy is cemented forever, Pogba's is non existent!
Hazard isn't a striker or even a great/main goalscorer
It was a dream move for Chelsea really, given the fee and Hazards subsequent injury problems.
He's always been "fat and lazy". If Real fans are surprised then they were not paying attention. It's like buying house next to an airport and then complaining about the noise.
Add Salah to this
Indeed.
I think they assumed Hazard would act more professionally , interms of fitness during the off season, now that he signed for the then best club team in the world.
The world cup I dont think he had a shot on target vs Brazil and France. The 2 most important games. But he scored a brace vs Panama or was it Tunisia
Talk about being clueless.
His world cup is one of the most overrated performances I've ever encountered. His apparent great games against those sides actually have videos on youtube and his best work was winning fouls in his own half or playing terrible passes and losing possession in the final third.
Mind you he played in sides that were mediocre going forward most of the time with tactics from the stone age.
He couldn't dribble past a cone yesterday against a PL side. Surely it's got more to do with him being suddenly injury prone, surely?
I don’t think he was nearly as bad as people made out, his touches were neat and he kept the ball moving. I don’t think it was easy considering Madrid were outclassed and played too passive in general.
Strangely enough some of his best games came against us which doesn't makes all this nonsense pretty much inexplicable. We resorted to man marking him for christs sakes. Then we resorted to our players taking turns to kick him. How quickly the forget.
I think the biggest problem he is facing when not playing in England is that non PL referees don't buy his dives or putting his left leg in front of the ball and pretending he is fouled every time he loses the ball, like he did for years in England and got away with it because PL referees simply don't understand football. It was such a cheating way to dribble for years, defenders couldn't touch him without fouling him, so that's why he was always afforded so much space for dribbling because defenders were scared to touch him, he was master of putting the left leg in front of the ball just before the defender would nick it from him and falling down on the minimal touch.
Posting a stat that had Roberto Firmino in the top 5 to prove a point about not using stats!
I actually agree with you though. Looking at this thread, you would think his 8 years in the PL never happened. It’s pretty insane.
I wouldn’t have him above Rooney either, but he is certainly nailed on top 10 of the last 15 years in the PL. Its up for debate where he falls within that, but there is a clear argument for top 5 too. He was magic on his day and it was more regular than a lot of people remember in this thread.
His downfall has been his lack of dedication and professionalism. You can only come back overweight and take summers off so many times before it takes its toll.
The Ronaldo’s and Messis of the game don’t have days off when it comes to their fitness and looking after their bodies and that’s the difference.
Or maybe Ronaldo and Messi just aren't injury prone?
Posting a stat that had Roberto Firmino in the top 5 to prove a point about not using stats!
I actually agree with you though. Looking at this thread, you would think his 8 years in the PL never happened. It’s pretty insane.
I wouldn’t have him above Rooney either, but he is certainly nailed on top 10 of the last 15 years in the PL. Its up for debate where he falls within that, but there is a clear argument for top 5 too. He was magic on his day and it was more regular than a lot of people remember in this thread.
His downfall has been his lack of dedication and professionalism. You can only come back overweight and take summers off so many times before it takes its toll.
The Ronaldo’s and Messis of the game don’t have days off when it comes to their fitness and looking after their bodies and that’s the difference.
Great addition to the conversation
That was his really on seasons. He made the team tick but he was a solo act at his worst.
Again, its like Pogba that same season. He was rightfully called out for holding onto the ball for too long and slowing down the play, he was too self indulgent but posted his career best numbers. Hazard did that but in a different way, its why he would never be a hit in a side with players who wouldn't constantly look to him for the first pass and expect service in return. He isnt a flop at Madrid just for his injuries and its not a coincidence that all strikers in his side goes on large goal droughts when Hazard is being lauded on the left. Its plainly obvious to me, how can a winger play so well yet every striker they sign, who he should be servicing, ends up as a flop?
Anyway ill leave it there, it looks as if i have a weird hatred towards him at this stage!
This is the type of post i would usually see on Twitter, awful post.
His last season at Chelsea under Sarri is his best numbers wise which isn't a surprise considering it was the first manager he had at Chelsea who was more about attack and possession. He created the most chances, most BIG chances created, Most Man of the Matches, most assists, most take ones, most dribbles and most goal contributions in the whole league. First player since Thierry Henry to get 14 goals and 14 assists in the same season, doing that while playing with Barkley, Giroud, Higuain, Morata, Willian and Pedro. And Hazard does that and is suppose to be inconsistent and having large chunks of the season off. Costa stopped scoring usually after December because he always wanted to leave and sulked.
Hazard always gets treated differently to other players, David Silva being the prime example.
Well said, its like many on here dont watch full football matches, just highlights. You can play well in a football match without scoring or assisting, Havertz is a good example of that last night.
He was amazing for Chelsea and definitely one of the best players in the PL during his time there. Placing so much emphasis on stats and who scored against who is doing my head in.
Pretty much but then using stats to appear clued up about players one has barely seen play is a caf specialty and this is just expanding the horizons now.
I explained away the stats. That year was also Pogbas best ever stats wise as well but our fans werent sitting in the stands chanting feck Sarri ball because they were so bored. If youre a great player and have the entire attack go through you then you will always have great stats. Its why i rate Foden so highly because he does a lot with less of the ball because KDB is always the go to pass. Bruno gives away the ball a lot for us but hes the player we look to everytime so he has 3x the chances to make the pass than anybody else. Wheres Pogbas stats now when he isnt the centre of every play since that was his best ever season as well? Ill tell you right now he just scored his first goal at OT for 2 years but is playing levels above this season than he was back then while his numbers have fallen drastically. Wheres Hazard for Madrid when he has to share responsibility? Called a flop in Madrid when he does play. Sanchez carried Arsenal yet became useless when he wasnt indulged by better players at Utd.
I don't actually think many do, certainly not with any level of attention. Why watch a full 90 mins when you can spam shite on the Caf/Twitter throughout the game and paste some stats afterwards to reinforce whatever preconceived notions you had.
You raised a really good point there and something someone else has told me in the past. In truth, in football I feel a lot of dribblers are and have been overrated at times due to how aesthetically pleasing their game may seem. In the big games especially, you need a bit of directness, because games do come down to quick well executed decisions, something Messi and Ronaldo have been able to master. In Messi's case, he can dribble into a crowd, because he has the combination of close control, agility, balance and acceleration that noone else in the game can and will ever replicate. It's a bit like Luka Doncic in Basketball, he can slowly break down a defence because he has complete control of his movements even in tight spaces, this allows him to get in the right angle and position to make a key pass or take a shot with the extra one or two seconds another player would not get. Like you mentioned, in order to dominate a game, Hazard has to go deeper, and despite the fact that he is incredible difficult to get the ball off, he's not necessarily intricate in tight spaces. This means he holds on to the ball in an attempt to control the game whilst in actuality he's slowing down his team's play and allowing the opposition to focus directly on him. In addition, his passing isn't good enough to create incisive passes out of that attention like Messi does at times.
That's gotta be Fat Ronaldo with hazards face photoshopped on.
where did it all go wrong eden...
He's been called a flop at Madrid mainly due to injuries not necessarily due to performances. He was playing really well until Muirnier made a bad tackle and he hurt his ankle. Hazard last season with us i dont think ive seen someone top that many individual statistics before, he's a brilliant player, nothing to do with being selfish. Sanchez legs had gone when he went to United though, He's mostly on the bench at Inter. No your fans chant " Attack, Attack, Attack Attack" like your'e the only fan base who wants to see attacking football, The United way what ever the hell that is.
I get your point about being the vocal point of attacks, but they got most of the ball because they have earned that trust from there team mates because of there quality. Why diminish that and takeaway their quality? Hazard has good stats because Chelsea always give him the ball. Of course they do because he's an excellent player, he's a great dribbler of course you would give him the ball alot, it almost becomes automatic to do so. If Hazard kept losing the ball every-time he got it and never scored they would stop. But Hazard earned the right due to performances to get that trust.
The Pogba part is a bit meh, he's been injured most of the season and Ole doesn't even seem to trust him in a big game playing in midfield. He has to shove him out wide.