Eden Hazard has been eponymous with Chelsea football for the last several seasons, as not only our biggest and brightest star, but our talisman, if you will. We seem to go where he takes us, for better or worse.
The one thing that folks have always wanted from Eden Hazard for the club are statistics. Specifically, Goals and Assists. We get “good” numbers from him year in and year out, but in a world with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the mark’s set pretty darn high. And unfortunately, that mark is somewhere that Eden’s never really been that close to.
Sure, he’s absolutely electric on the pitch, dribbling, and flicking, and beating multiple defenders on his way towards the box like a dancer of old gliding around. And he’s emerged as a player onto the world scene and is considered one of the most dangerous players with the ball at his feet, even if the goal numbers aren’t really backing it up.
We see a player with the kind of talent he has, and we simply know that he’s better. If the numbers don’t show it, then it’s the fault of the numbers. Much like a Ronaldinho, Eden’s the glue, the interlinker, the player that’s creating the assist, or allowing the scorers to do their thing. He’s such a talent, that he makes those around him better, provided they are already really good.
And that’s been the big challenge at Chelsea. We’ve consistently struggled to surround him with really good players. When he’s had talent around him, we’ve won league titles. And when he hasn’t, or when those players weren’t performing well, we simply haven’t.
Two league titles in a seven year span. Possibly two EL trophies. That’s not really something that seems on par with the caliber of player that Eden Hazard is. Sure, we’ve won a couple of cups as well, but we’ve also been knocked out of the CL twice, and possibly a third time this year. Three times in seven years not making the Top 4? That’s a bit ugly.
We unreasonably expect Eden Hazard to be a club leader, when that’s simply not in his DNA. He’s even stated as much. He wants to play football, and go out and do well. He’s not looking to score, he simply wants to have fun. Hard to fault him for that. After all, it’s not his fault we’ve saddled him with the expectations that we have. He’s never really been dishonest with us about his intentions, and desires. Instead, we hear what he says, ignore it, and then place false expectations across his shoulders.
In all likelihood he’s going to be off to Real Madrid this summer, to play for his childhood hero, for the club that he dreamed about in his youth. Galacticos. Champions. Even in a down season, Real Madrid is full of star studded talent and practically guaranteed to make the Champions League. Which they’ve won like a billion times, and Chelsea have yet to even get close to, during Eden’s tenure. Will the expectations be heavy for him there? Possibly. If they buy several new players, and Zidane manages them effectively, probably not.
The original intention of this, before waxing lyrically about Eden’s time with Chelsea football club, was to take a look at his Goals and Assists visually. So below are two charts, showing first, his numbers in league play, and second, his overall numbers.
As you can see, in terms of goals, he’s really not that far off of his previous tallies this season, as he’s slowed down a bit after an early start. Where he’s really started picking things up is in his assist numbers. He’s farther ahead than he’s ever been with us, and it begs the question of why. What’s changed about this year? Well, possibly a few different things:
- The new system that Sarri brought in has encouraged possession, which has encouraged Eden having the ball a lot, and frankly good opportunities then for him to create goal scoring chances
- The quality of his teammates is simply not as good as it’s been historically for him. He’s having to create more, because no one else is really that good at it on the roster.
- He’s feeling the weight of being a club leader on his shoulders possibly, and wanting to do something about it
- Perhaps he’s playing for a more serious look by Real Madrid, encouraging them to bid for him, by showing his abilities
- He’s simply starting to mature, and realizing what he really is capable of if he wants to do it.
Whatever it is, it’s definitely going to be something difficult to replace, if and probably when he does leave this summer. We won’t do it with one new player, that’s for sure, because there are so few of those players out there capable of what he does. It’s likely going to be a combination of 2-3 players, and a change in how we play. We won’t all be spell-bound watching Eden dance dynamically around the pitch, but rather watch several other players pass and link up and hopefully create and score lots of goals.
It’s going to be a different side without him, and frankly, it has to be. Trying to bring one player in to mimic what Eden’s done is fair to no one. We need to first determine how we are going to play, then bring in the right players to effectively play that way, and do our best to not judge the 2019/20 roster on how much or little it resembles a lineup with Eden Hazard in it.
At the end of the day, we’ve been moderately successful with him, and as enthusiastic supporters, we’ve been absolutely entertained when he’s been on the pitch for us, and that’s how we will need to remember him. As an entertainer, first and foremost, even if the trophy case isn’t as full as we wish it were.
