I think he meant he cost us because he had two easy chances to score but fluffed them both.

No one can argue that he wasnt the best player on the pitch because it was very obvious he was the only player who actually turned up and delivered (maybe Zouma too).

It's just frustrating that he has crazy ability to get into these areas but seems to panic when he's 1 on 1...happened against United too.

If he's to be considered one of the best in the world he needs to score more goals, he's nowhere near the best players who can do that with ease.

If we're looking for players who cost us the win, then it was Drogba all day long for me. Stephen Hawking has more mobility than him nowadays and it has a knock-on effect throughout the team (especially on Cesc who thrives no finding runs through the middle).

 

Hazard actually had one of his better games where he continually drove at the opposition, but had no-one ahead of him making runs either to get the ball or simply drag one defender out of his way.

 

You could also say the linesman cost us the win by disallowing a perfectly good goal or the ref for not giving another penalty for the foul on Oscar. Missing a penalty is never a reason to suggest a player cost us the match and nor is missing that one-on-one.

 

The guy has carried this team in recent weeks when we've missed Costa and Remy. He deserves praise, not blame.

Can't blame Drogba either.

He's what 36-37 and has been played pretty much constant since Remy and Costa got crocked, he must be blowing out his arse now. He has done a good job too scoring against United and Shrews.

It was a collective blame last night on the more senior players and not taking chances.

Jose said himself the players only started playing after they went a goal down and that at a club this size is not good enough.

Harsh to point at one player in particular IMO.

Incredibly harsh to say he cost us the win. Once again he was the best player on the park and just like against QPR it was his initiative that led to the penalty when we were at 1-1. All players miss penalties so why he's getting more stick than most is beyond me.

 

As for his technique, no technique is 100%. I'd actually say that executed properly, his is better than simply picking a corner and trying to hit it.

 

I'm not giving him stick but I do think he deserves some criticism, he's job is primarily to create and score goals and he failed at his job last night.

 

If Cahill doesn't defend properly and concedes us a goal we'd rightly criticize him, Eden missed a penalty and our best chance from open play... For all his creativity and good play he didn't make a telling contribution when he could have and probably should have. 

I'm not giving him stick but I do think he deserves some criticism, he's job is primarily to create and score goals and he failed at his job last night.

 

If Cahill doesn't defend properly and concedes us a goal we'd rightly criticize him, Eden missed a penalty and our best chance from open play... For all his creativity and good play he didn't make a telling contribution when he could have and probably should have. 

 

He also won us the penalty (just like he did against QPR before despatching it) and looked to create something all night, half of it without the benefit of a serviceable striker on the pitch.

 

If Cahill made a mistake then I'd just say he had a bad night and put it in context of a raft of fine performances.

 

If Cahill had made a mistake having spent the last month or so carrying the team in the absence of one of our most important players then I'd probably laugh it off and shrug my shoulders.

I don't know what we would do without him tbh. Even when he misses games we don't have that attacking prowess like we do with him in the side.

He also won us the penalty (just like he did against QPR before despatching it) and looked to create something all night, half of it without the benefit of a serviceable striker on the pitch.

 

If Cahill made a mistake then I'd just say he had a bad night and put it in context of a raft of fine performances.

 

If Cahill had made a mistake having spent the last month or so carrying the team in the absence of one of our most important players then I'd probably laugh it off and shrug my shoulders.

 

Do you honestly think Hazard has been carrying the team in Costa's absence (I assume that's who you're referring to)? I certainly don't. 

 

What good is winning a penalty if you're just going to roll it tamely into the keepers arms? He might have been looking to create something last night but so were all the other outfield players. 

 

He's a wonderful talent, one of the best I've ever seen in a Chelsea shirt, he isn't immune to criticism though and last night I think he deserves to be criticized for missing our two best goal scoring chances that would have won us the game. 

Do you honestly think Hazard has been carrying the team in Costa's absence (I assume that's who you're referring to)? I certainly don't. 

 

What good is winning a penalty if you're just going to roll it tamely into the keepers arms? He might have been looking to create something last night but so were all the other outfield players. 

 

He's a wonderful talent, one of the best I've ever seen in a Chelsea shirt, he isn't immune to criticism though and last night I think he deserves to be criticized for missing our two best goal scoring chances that would have won us the game. 

 

Yes I do think he's been carrying the team. I think Oscar has stepped up in recent weeks too, Cesc has shown the odd flash and....well that's about it. Hazard has been far and away our best player and last night would've been another shining example of that but he missed a penalty (after he won it).

 

The guy has the best record in Europe when it comes to penalties in domestic competition so the odd missed one really isn't much cause for concern. Fact is had the linesman done his job we'd have probably won comfortably.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dL7tMoWUkU#t=214

 

If Costa or Remy starts the game then we smash Maribor.

Yes I do think he's been carrying the team. I think Oscar has stepped up in recent weeks too, Cesc has shown the odd flash and....well that's about it. Hazard has been far and away our best player and last night would've been another shining example of that but he missed a penalty (after he won it).

 

The guy has the best record in Europe when it comes to penalties in domestic competition so the odd missed one really isn't much cause for concern. Fact is had the linesman done his job we'd have probably won comfortably.

 

Looks like we'll have to agree to disagree then because I don't think Hazard has carried the team at all. 

 

Fabregas has been very good, scored his first Premier League goal against Palace and got an assist in the games against Maribor, Manchester United and QPR.

 

Should have had an assist last night as well for the goal that was wrongly ruled out as offside. 

 

Oscar's has been superb and contributed more goals and assists than Hazard to date as well. 

 

Point I'm making is, for all his talent I think Hazard is capable of more and I don't think it's healthy to gloss over the fact that he's been missing some very important chances for us in recent weeks. 

 

If anyone in our team is going to turn that around it's him but I personally think there is room for improvement. 

Yes I do think he's been carrying the team. I think Oscar has stepped up in recent weeks too, Cesc has shown the odd flash and....well that's about it. Hazard has been far and away our best player and last night would've been another shining example of that but he missed a penalty (after he won it).

The guy has the best record in Europe when it comes to penalties in domestic competition so the odd missed one really isn't much cause for concern. Fact is had the linesman done his job we'd have probably won comfortably.

Not looking to argue with you, but Fabregas has 9 assists and counting, he's up there as our most influential player(s) by some way. He was very poor last night though..

Edited November 6, 201411 yr by Zola

Looks like we'll have to agree to disagree then because I don't think Hazard has carried the team at all. 

 

Fabregas has been very good, scored his first Premier League goal against Palace and got an assist in the games against Maribor, Manchester United and QPR.

 

Should have had an assist last night as well for the goal that was wrongly ruled out as offside. 

 

Oscar's has been superb and contributed more goals and assists than Hazard to date as well. 

 

Point I'm making is, for all his talent I think Hazard is capable of more and I don't think it's healthy to gloss over the fact that he's been missing some very important chances for us in recent weeks. 

 

If anyone in our team is going to turn that around it's him but I personally think there is room for improvement. 

 

Fabregas has been poor without Costa or Remy in the side and I don't really blame him for that too much. Don't think we should read too much into those stats because even Drogba has looked good on paper.

 

I agree that Hazard could score more but he's been the one providing so much attacking impetus in recent weeks. Last night he had something like 16 completed dribbles against Maribor and was a livewire from the first minute to the last minute.

 

Not looking to argue with you, but Fabregas has 9 assists and counting, he's up there as our most influential player(s) by some way. He was very poor last night though..

 

I was talking about in the last few games where he's looked a little ponderous which isn't surprising when his main outlet pass (the over the top to the striker ball) simply hasn't been on. Without that then he's really far less effective, but now Costa is (hopefully) back I expect him to ramp it up again.

 

I've said it many times but losing Costa and Remy is a far bigger blow than anyone in the media or even in our own support seems to think. It completely changes us as a team and it's why a few players have underperformed. During that time though I really do think Eden has put his hand up and taken on far more responsibility (as has Oscar to his credit). We all know Eden can have matches where he just doesn't fancy it and that's when I do criticise him, but I honestly don't think he's had one of them recently. He's always looked for the ball, been prepared to run at players and just needs to be a bit more clinical and maybe a bit more selfish.

 

That ball goes in and that's two games on the bounce where he's saved us from dropped points by winning and converting a penalty.

I don't think Hazard is to blame for yesterday, i'd say he had far more influence on the match than Drogba, Costa, Oscar, Schurrle, Willian or Fabregas.

I don't think Hazard is to blame for yesterday, i'd say he had far more influence on the match than Drogba, Costa, Oscar, Schurrle, Willian or Fabregas.

 

I'll put it this way if it had been Torres or Mikel who missed both a penalty and a 1 vs 1 in a game would they be absorbed of all blame for us not taking the 3 points? 

I'll put it this way if it had been Torres or Mikel who missed both a penalty and a 1 vs 1 in a game would they be absorbed of all blame for us not taking the 3 points? 

 

Probably not as they generally have a negative influence on our overall performance, meanwhile Hazard won the penalty himself and was at the centre of nearly all our good attacking play in the last 20 minutes or so. His 1 on 1 that he missed came from a fantastic run that no-one else in the team is capable of doing and if not for both Costa and Drogba having poor first touches he easily could have picked up a few assists.

 

One thing I will say is that the last few games when he's missed a few 1 on 1's he's always tried to slot it in the near post and hope the keeper is too off balance to stop it, either they have worked out thats where he aims for or they are positioning themselves too well, either way he should start going for the more predictable curl inside the far post.

Edited November 6, 201411 yr by Jonty

I think some middle ground is needed here. On the one hand I agree with Blue Daze - I think at times Hazard has carried the team. He often looks the one player who is going to cause damage and scare the opposition and I'd hate to be in a position where we didn't have him  - for me he has become that important a player for us. Oscar and Fabregas have been good / great this season but they still don't have that ability to go past 3 / 4 defenders and totally take a game by the scruff of the neck. All three of them play some beautiful football and are building up an understanding and when the little one two's and triangles come off it is a joy to watch but take Hazard out of the equation and it would all fall down. That said, he isn't beyond criticism and can drift in and out of games and frustrate. If he can improve his finishing or just get a bit more consistent with it he will be one hell of a player.

 

Last night Hazard was the only one one song. Towards the end, Fabregas looked totally f**ked, letting balls run past him and into touch and he was dawdling and getting caught in possession as well. 

Hazard was by far the best player on that park last night.

He should have scored but he created the two oppening for himself.

Can't say that about anyone else. Without him we would have been murder to watch

Every player misses penalties and Hazard misses far less than most. I think he's only missed two for us and he's taken loads. He has a better % record than Lampard. It doesn't matter how he takes them, he almost always scores.

 

I would love to see Hazard score more this season but he's still our best player and was our best player last night.

Edited November 6, 201411 yr by RichardCFC

His finishing needs to get a lot better, that's for sure, but i see no reason to blame him for missing a penalty. It's not like he misses a lot of them. His record in the league is 17 out of 17, best penalty taker in Europe. If there was anything wrong about his technique, he wouldn't have that record.

Once again Eden shows all the danger in the world...but just lacking of the composure to finish the moves off....

 

It's the only major issue holding him back from the top echelon.

Eden Hazard is 8/8 in Premier League and 2/4 in Champions League. Missed penalties - vs Nordsjaelland  and Maribor. Enough for his penalties, i think.

Let him take future penalties as well. He is our biggest star and scorer. Like I said in the match thread I rather he misses against Maribor than in a more important game. CL is very important but we are on our way to finish top of our group...

His penalties are fine, missed two for us ever. I can't see how people are complaining. I'd like to see him score those one on ones with the keeper though. MIssed against De Gea and now against the Maribor keeper.

Hazard is f**king immense player we all know that no one can deny that. But the fact is he's wouldn't but considered as good as the likes of Reus, Neymar or Bale. Unless he starts to shoot more or finish the chances he creates for himself. And the thing is he just doesn't(well so far).

 

He's scored as many goals as Callum Chambers or Branislav Ivanovic this season from open play. While look at the players of his likes like Neymar, Reus, Alexis they score almost every game from open play and kill the games for their respective teams.

 

Although Hazard has much more flair than both Sanchez and Neymar, but he just doesn't kill it.

 

I hope he improves his finishing and add that killer instinct to finish of those chances and probably win us those matches.

Edited November 6, 201411 yr by CFCBlue12

Hazard is f**king immense player we all know that no one can deny that. But the fact is he's wouldn't but considered as good as the likes of Reus, Neymar or Bale. Unless he starts to shoot more or finish the chances he creates for himself. And the thing is he just doesn't(well so far).

He's scored as many goals as Callum Chambers or Branislav Ivanovic this season from open play. While look at the players of his likes like Neymar, Reus, Alexis they score almost every game from open play and kill the games for their respective teams.

Although Hazard has much more flair than both Sanchez and Neymar, but he just doesn't kill it.

I hope he improves his finishing and add that killer instinct to finish of those chances and probably win us those matches.

This is true!

In some ways him not being a raging success so soon is maybe good for us, it might keep the hands of barca and madrid away for a year or two.

They will come eventually, and he will go...

Maybe my moaning about him is partly because I don't want to get attached to the bloke, cause he will bugger off one day!!!!

Edited November 6, 201411 yr by Zola