Katyusha

We couldn't have done this without Hazard

Honestly & unfortunately Mane & Sterling have been doing what Hazard does, better than Hazard does it, this season.

Looking real world class fellas.

I pity the team that ends up in the Virgin Stadium.

He's just not. Hazard on his best isn't near Suarez on his best, Aguero on his best, Bale, and others. Even Douglas Costa at his best is as good as Hazard's ever been, and Douglas Costa like Hazard is certainly not so good that only Messi & Ronaldo are better than him. This is absurd. It makes me imagine the decent portion of Liverpool's fans saying the same about Coutinho.

Every single season, we expect 5+ 'bad' games from Hazard. Not every single season, has anyone ever expected that, from Messi, Suarez, Aguero, Terry, Scholes, Thiago Silva, Pirlo, Iniesta, Kalou, truly world class players. You are not world class if you're not consistently the best or there about. If inconsistent players with loads of talent could be considered world class then Di Maria, Pogba, Cavani and Reus would be labeled 'world class', which simply isn't true. They're great players, some of the greatest, as is Hazard - but not in that upper echelon. He can still become world class though; he doesn't need to raise his output to become-so, only increase his consistency, which may just happen in the next few years.

I fell to the point of begging we sign Crouch since we were playing that hoof-the-ball game constantly. I remember plenty of people calling for us to just use one of our youth strikers, I think it was the now-terrible Feruz.

Mitroglou, Aspas & Modeste have higher goals per 90 ratio in their respective leagues than Costa. Not to mention the fact they all recieve the ball less than he does... would hardly call Costa great when stats like those are out there... Stats are probably the worst thing you could've brought up. Stats can convince people that the sky is green and that the moon landing didn't happen. The discussion was; who, this season, is outperforming Hazard/at the same level; all of the players I listed are. So let's talk about that, not who's technically on paper according to the stats on WhoScored the better player. If we want to reduce this to a discussion of wingers only, let's start with how Ribery, Robben and Douglas Costa have all been better than Hazard, despite being 3 wingers competing for 2 spots. None of them are 'goal getters', so it's fair.

I didn't write 3 paragraphs about Dybala, so to highlight that opinion of yours as-if that's anything to do with the point i'm making, or what anyone else is talking about, is silly as hell. However, the difference is Dybala does more than he was expected to - Hazard does less. If you want an individual conversation about Dybala vs. Hazard we can have one, but don't reduce my post and invalidate it by homing in on that.

That restricts things when you consider the Premier League has never been weaker in terms of the quality of players spread amongst the top teams. So it won't really prove anything; we don't have any true world class players here, we have players just under that bracket, and out of those, here are some more consistent (this season only) than Hazard - Kante, Luiz, Sanchez, Mata, Ibrahimovic, and Fabregas when he gets on the pitch too. (Consider too, these players have been better despite 2 or even 3 of them already being past their peak.) Outside of the PL in the same bracket of just under WC, but outperforming Hazard, we have the likes of Griezmann, Neymar, Dybala. Bale is also far superior based on just this season, even with less games. He's had huge direct impact consistently, and not consistently faded in and out. But I don't know what this point proves. However, that's a bunch of players who play to at least the same standard that Hazard has this season, yet are far less on-off-on-on-on-off-off-on-off-on-off-on with their form. So yeah, that's *not* including the world class players of the world, which Hazard is certainly not a part of (Messi, Suarez, Kroos, Thiago, Lewandowski, Robben.) We LOVE the guy - but he isn't world class. He is not the player we all thought he had the potential to be, at all. It's like he's fulfilled 65% of that potential we imagined, and yet that may be him at his best. World class? No. The most exciting player we've possibly ever had? Sure.

I agree. Now there must be 2 trolls in here. Ake is fine. He is ok. He is a footballer. But is he transcending the art of defending? No. And if we aspire to be the best, we must acquire those or mould those who show that they're aiming to be the best. Ake is aiming to be a solid footballer and that's fine, great, well done, but we need a bit more than a jack of all trades who doesn't necessarily exceed in any area of his game particularlly. I do consider him one of 'ours' though, because we got him when he was 15/16. A better player than RLC, Chalobah, Solanke, Abraham too I think. But he isn't near the leagues in which Musonda, Dasilva, Christensen could be playing in. I'm happy to keep using him as a squad player, but to say he's shown anything in his career yet that screams starting material for a top side would be a blue-tinted lie.

I'd say I'm moved, but can a deity really be moved? Are we not everywhere?

Don't make me do same with you... In the first post you quote, I don't elaborate on the depths of how his post is wrong, like stated, and yet even If I choose to in the future, I'm not held at ransom to not do-so, so I just ight. Next part you've quoted - I'm referring to a different comment, in a different post, attacking his failure to read my posts thoroughly. I fail to see me discrediting an opinion, like I said he shouldn't do, so, still waiting for the hypocrisy you're highlighting to show up. 3rd - If you can't discern sarcasm, and the difference between thoughtful posts which just spring into 'ARE YOU MOURINHO IN DISGUISE?' out of nowhere, I may have to ask you to add me to ignore. Thanks for the hyperbole though, you're adding a lot to what was supposed to be a discussion about players. Top lad I just hope your next 30 thousand posts are more insightful, or more interesting.

I watched every single game he played alongside the Musonda's/Abraham's/Boga's/Christensen's for 2 seasons I think, at least the games CFC broadcasted. When he didn't score a goal, he wasn't doing anything special, just making the average runs expected of any decent striker. When he did score a goal, it was more often than not just a regular old goal, after regular old play, after given a regular old chance. He showed nothing special like those around him did (even Kiwomya looked the better talent.) Abraham had strength & determination, Musonda & Boga had the skill and next-level awareness, Izzy Brown had eyes which never left the bottom corner of the goal, but Solanke had 0 qualities of note. There was only hype because he was part of an otherwise great team being one of the few English players. (there's no coincidence RLC gets the same praise, yet wouldn't be touched with a 10ft pole if he was Romanian or Mexican.) The only English players we've had in our youth in the past 5 years worthy of our first team (Abraham remains to be seen) are John Swift (that's where we're criminal, in wanting more English blood, in wanting a replacement for Fabregas when we need it, yet ignoring a guy who plays like Xavi) and Jay DaSilva, the 1 other supreme talent in our youth who's also English, and easily good enough to start 10 games a season for us in the local cup matches. And I base that on him 2+ years ago, nevermind 2 years of development in the future. *edit - Just seen we let John Swift go. Holy sh*t. Our best ever generation of youth are all going down the drain, just as we refused to admit it would while they were dominating the likes of Barcelona's youth. Sickening. He's seemingly one of the Championship's best players this season, for Reading who're pushing for promotion. Idiotic from Emenalo, the number 1 guy in regards to authority over our youth.

I think the compensation will more realistically be 5m, then his 50k a week will take the deal up to 8m for the first year in terms of what Liverpool shell out on him. L'Pool surely only want him because he's English. They're thinking, if this guy was a decent English striker for one of the best youth teams in the past decade, he must be worth taking a punt on especially since we could rub it in the face of our rivals and keep our 'identity'. They can't have been convinced by any of his senior performances, so the way they're potentially judging whether or not to sign him is hilarious. It's even more hilarious if they ARE judging it on his senior performances.

ARE YOU MOURINHO IN DISGUISE? (no, because he could muster some class. this final comment alone shows you aren't anywhere near the best at judging players, so shouldn't be the one to call out others for their own views. might have to call you blindleyblue from this day on.)

I didn't see this post, now things are borderline hilarious. I did not say KDB was twice the player as Hazard, nor did I say he should've replaced him; that's just 2 of the 10+ things in this & your previous post coming at things I didn't even say lol. I said he's twice the playmaker, which he was, and which he still is. Does that discount that Hazard is twice the winger, twice the goal-getter, twice the special piece of magic? I don't think so. When did I say he's 10x better than Oscar? Again, I highlighted him being 10x the better playmaker, not the better player. You're not very sharp, and you're in an argument with yourself fighting points nobody made. Now don't *try* to insult people again or more than just myself will highlight how damn stupid you are.

Reading your post, I think you're the one embarrassing yourself. Stop coming for someone & their opinions in this manner when they're talking good of a player. We can disagree, but don't discredit the opinion I & many others hold. I'm not going to begin to point out how much of your post is 'wrong', because it's a waste of time, others would agree too.

He was instantly the best crosser of the ball we had and he had the best vision. He showed those during his bad form with us. We already knew if we paid attention to him prior to his sh*t games, that he was also clearly 10x the playmaker Oscar was, and twice the playmaker Hazard was, and so he should have been kept, deployed in the middle, and simply told to play the Ozil role, yet to greater effect than Ozil actually plays it. With Hazard on the left and any striker in the world up top, given genuine patience, he would've stayed and become our joined-best player.

I'm here to discuss perspectives on players, not to spread opinions on fellow supporters and their knowledge or lack of, of football. Did I join the wrong forum?

Agree to disagree. Costa is the worst target man I've ever seen for someone with his height & strength. The parallels between Torres & Costa are also valid; but I'm not Costa is anywhere near the same degraded level Torres performed at. I didn't say that, but you're suggesting so. So drop it before going further. I highlight that they share the same weaknesses, and there are plenty of people complaining about Diego - why? - because he lacks certain qualities, the same qualities Torres lacked. Who WOULDN'T compare their current striker to their past main striker? I'm not comparing him to Heskey or Dzeko.

You're adding a lot to the conversation. Your quality cannot be understated.

Mane & Sanchez do, the latter even has more goals than Diego, but we aren't discussing goals. Don't disregard the fact that the Premier League has never had worse strikers. Pretty much every top team is playing an over-the-hill forward. Aguero, Ibra, Diego, Giroud, these are players who've already played their best seasons, so to use them as a measure of 'well, who IS playing consistently?' is not a good perspective. Now let's consider the other leagues too because I want to avoid hyperbole here; Aspas, Suarez, Ben Yedder & more are all among the top scorers in Spain this season, and all of them have great games even when they don't score. In Italy? Mertens, Icardi, Immobile. In Germany? Modeste, Lewandowski, Werner. In France? Lacazette, Gomis, Plea. All players, this season, amongst if not the top scorers, who are consistently good regardless of goals, bringing lots to the team even when their form is drying up, still collecting MOTM awards. I know you asked for Premier League, but I see no reason to restrict our vision to just our own backyard when we generally buy overseas players. But, i did account for them too. :)

Because when you take away his goals, which has now happened, he offers the movement, build-up-play ability, hustle & drive that Torres had here. A reliable player has other qualities they can offer when they aren't banging in goals or performing to their usual standard, yet Diego doesn't even offer a target-man presence which he should, like Drogba could do on a goal-drought, often leading to him still being the best player on the pitch.

Right, it's China's fault that Diego can't focus and dedicate himself to the team.