Eden Hazard - Remember Him?

[Dave]

Good luck trying to find anyone to take him on in this current market.

[Bluewolf]

Rumour has it he would prefer to come back to us... 

[Cicero]

Direct yourselves to the Chelsea thread on why his career is probably finished. 

[Cicero]

On 24/05/2021 at 14:54, Bluewolf said:

Rumour has it he would prefer to come back to us... 

This rumor again surfacing. Love the man, but he isn’t needed. 
 

Shame what’s happened to him but it was always likely as he approached 30. Doesn’t take football as seriously as he should. Mourinho, Conte, and Sarri criticised his work ethic as to why he never reached the levels he should of.
 

 

[Happy Blue]

On 24/05/2021 at 20:54, Bluewolf said:

Rumour has it he would prefer to come back to us... 

That would be his best move, go back to what he knows

[El Profesor]

Is Hazard the most talented player in Chelsea history? Gotta be him or Zola, right?

[Eco]

4 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

Is Hazard the most talented player in Chelsea history? Gotta be him or Zola, right?

I may be way wrong (I never saw Zola so I can't really rank him), but my first thought was Drogba. Dude was an absolute monster in front of goal. 

[Redcanuck]

8 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

Is Hazard the most talented player in Chelsea history? Gotta be him or Zola, right?

I would take Jimmy Greaves. 

[JoshBRFC+]

Best example in recent years of how money can take the hunger(sshh)and motivation  out of some people.

 

[carefreeluke]

10 hours ago, El Profesor said:

Is Hazard the most talented player in Chelsea history? Gotta be him or Zola, right?

Definitely top three yeah. If you're going by natural ability and speaking in technical terms.

In a way, it would have been interesting if he were older and he had been in the team with Terry, Lampard, Drogba etc. 

It's a shame how his career has gone, one of my all-time Chelsea favourites. There are lots of comments from coaches and players over the years about how lazy or relaxed he is in training, also comes across as very laid-back and carefree in his interviews. At Chelsea, I think most people ended up forgiving him anyway as normally he'd end up performing well when it came to the matches. I imagine this lax behaviour in training has caught up with him more now because he isn't performing for the team and under more pressure at Madrid with the fee paid and nature of the club. When he signed for Madrid, I genuinely thought he'd go on to rip it up and get even closer to winning the Ballon d'Or, after all, it was his dream move and he was working under his idol in Zidane. 

Maybe he'll sort himself out. I hope this doesn't tarnish his reputation too much though, people say he can do or could have done even more in his career, it's probably true but at the same time, he has achieved an awful lot still. He was our best player and one of the best in the Premier League for a significant period and if Messi and Ronaldo weren't around, he probably would have been close to winning the Ballon d'Or. Although the only thing I think his career lacks in terms of performance is more influence at international and European levels. His impact for us in Europe was never as big as it was domestically, don't get me wrong he had his moments but perhaps he could have done more at Champions League level but then again he was part of relatively weaker Chelsea teams in the Roman era. That's why I said it would be interesting if he had been part of previous Chelsea teams. I also only remember him having an impact on only one international tournament for Belgium as well. Whilst this criticism is probably justified, there's no doubting he has had his moments for us in Europe and for Belgium as well. Performances like the man of the match performance in the Europa League final against Arsenal where he got two goals and an assist come to mind for example.

An incredible player. Someone who you pay to watch and one of the most exciting I've had the pleasure of watching. Isn't he only behind Ronaldo and Messi with the most man of the match awards in the last ten years? The thing is he was never really injured for us either, perhaps his injuries have finally caught up with him and the fact that he's also been battered and constantly fouled in England over the years. I hope he sorts himself out (as long as it isn't at Chelsea's expense of course) but I don't know if he has it in him. It must be a lot more difficult adapting your game in your thirties if you're an attacking player like he is, who relies on a low centre of gravity, pace and skill, particularly if injuries have already taken effect.

Anyway, with hindsight, we've done remarkably well, people often forget we bought him for around 30 million, got so much from him (what now looks like his peak years) and then sold him for around 100m. Great business really, even more so given how his Real Madrid career has gone so far. Anyway, hopefully, he can sort himself out.

[Happy Blue]

12 hours ago, El Profesor said:

Is Hazard the most talented player in Chelsea history? Gotta be him or Zola, right?

No, De Bruyne is the best player that clubs ever had

[Spike]

Joe Cole was magic with the ball.

[6666]

13 hours ago, Eco said:

I may be way wrong (I never saw Zola so I can't really rank him), but my first thought was Drogba. Dude was an absolute monster in front of goal. 

That's not true.

Maybe if you're just looking at games against Arsenal...

[Cicero]

If a cup was on the line

[DNA]

3 hours ago, 6666 said:

That's not true.

Maybe if you're just looking at games against Arsenal...

In the grander scheme of things, you can have top strikers with goal stats galore (Aguero, Kane), but I’d say Drogba at Chelsea belongs in another category of equal importance as a forward. He’s synonymous with big moments and (after a quick google) he has a record of 9 goals in 10 cup finals which is actually bonkers when you compare that with his peers of the time and present day, who all seem to fold & flop in the big moments for their clubs.

[6666]

2 hours ago, DNA said:

In the grander scheme of things, you can have top strikers with goal stats galore (Aguero, Kane), but I’d say Drogba at Chelsea belongs in another category of equal importance as a forward. He’s synonymous with big moments and (after a quick google) he has a record of 9 goals in 10 cup finals which is actually bonkers when you compare that with his peers of the time and present day, who all seem to fold & flop in the big moments for their clubs.

He provided big moments but he wasn't a consistent striker. Definitely not a "beast in front of goal". Was a very good striker on his day but I wouldn't go further than that. That goal in the Champions League final helped out his legacy a lot. Lucky for him the big money signing they bought in to replace him really struggled. Wouldn't put him ahead of Diego Costa to be honest and I hate Diego Costa.