Twelve
months on from his PFA Player of the Year win, we look at how Eden Hazard's
form in 2015/16 has taken him completely out of the running for the prize
this time around...
The PFA Player of the Year nominees have been announced but picking a winner
won't be easy. Dimitri Payet, Harry Kane, Mesut Ozil and Leicester City trio
Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez have all had impressive seasons.
However, 12 months ago, the best player in the Premier League wasn't up for
debate.
Chelsea's Eden Hazard was the standout star in the Blues' march to the title
and rightfully won the player of the year prize. With 14 goals and nine
assists helping his cause, the Belgium international secured the highest
statistical rating from WhoScored.com by a distance (7.96).
Fast forward 12 months, though, and the 25-year old could scarcely be
further out of the running to retain his crown.
A season disrupted by injuries, a lack of fitness and a remarkable drop-off
in form - as well as a number of ill-advised comments about his future -
have seen Hazard come in for criticism rather than raise this term.
Having started every single league game for the Blues last season a little
burnout was perhaps to be expected, but, restricted to just 21 Premier
League starts in this campaign, his figures are down across the board.
Hazard has failed to find the net in either the league or Champions League
from 34 appearances across the two competitions. He racked up 11 assists in
the Premier League and Champions League last season but managed just four
this time around.
Hazard's chance creation stats are still commendable, dropping slightly from
2.6 per game last season to 2.2 this campaign, but his dribbling and
shooting figures have halved. A tally of just 26 shots this season is just a
third of his total from the previous campaign, though still enough to rank
sixth of all players that have failed to find the net this season.
He still ranks among the top 10 in the league in terms of successful
dribbles per game (2.5), but for a player whose pace and power with the ball
at his feet is his greatest strength, we've witnessed it so sparingly
compared to last season - and Chelsea have suffered as a result.
Hazard's defensive contribution this term also leaves plenty to be desired.
Hazard made just one tackle across seven league appearances in the first two
months of the season. For a side that were so clearly lacking protection in
the full-back positions, that simply wasn't enough and eventually saw him
dropped by former boss Jose Mourinho - a man Hazard would later feel the
need to apologise to, following the Portuguese's sacking.
In fact, Hazard has failed to directly dispossess an opponent in 15 of his
26 league appearances. That's a remarkable statistic for a player who won
possession more times in the final third last season than any other player
(33).
His diminished desire to harry opponents high up the pitch has been hugely
detrimental to Chelsea's chances of catching their opposition out of
position.
Hazard's statistical rating this season has dropped to a lowly 6.86, placing
him between Eliaquim Mangala and Connor Wickham in 141st in WhoScored.com's
Premier League player rankings.
For whoever picks up the PFA prize in 2016, Hazard's decline should serve as
a warning that, despite the praise, they cannot afford to let their
standards drop next season.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find live
in-game data as well as player and team ratings. You can follow scores,
statistics, live player and team ratings with their free app.
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