They say there are lies, damn lies and statistics.
All the same, I suggest you go look at some stats. The ones I've seen suggest he is head and shoulders the best keeper in this league, never mind at this club, and that's when he's been either half fit or playing in a terribly managed team for most of his games.
It's not just that though, there is enough empirical evidence to suggest Hazard isn't good enough. It's fine to say football is about opinions, but I'm not sure opinions should be at the expense of the actual evidence in front of us. I feel like it warrants a more in-depth summary.
There are a number problems with Hazard from what I've observed. He is extremely timid claiming crosses, rooted to his line and rarely venturing beyond his 6 yard box (although to be fair he did improve as the season went on). He is slow off his line and slow to recognise danger from through balls or to claim high balls over the top. This is something that Cooper absolutely excels at (just watch Saturday again - you only miss that skill when it's gone and he did it multiple times). It has caused all sorts of problems, where defenders are expecting the keeper to be there to claim it, but he hasn't been, or vice versa. His decision making is poor. I believe the uncertainty this creates has led directly to some of our absolute comedy defendng at times this year which has cost us untold points. Would the OG at Cardiff have happened with Cooper in goal? It's highly unlikely, he'd have called for it in no uncertain terms. There would have been none of the will he won't he come uncertainty. In fact we've seen little of that sort of defending with Cooper between sticks.
He is not great with the ball at his feet (not that Cooper has been at his best this year, but at least he's comfortable sweeping which helps massively beating the press). When the ball arrives, Hazard needs an eternity to do anything with it, and is often uncertain, meaning he cannot be relied upon to receive it in pressure situations. He seems to have that unfortunate accelarated clock in his head when he has it (I know, I had it too!) An additional thing, which I have also noticed, is he does not command his defence in the way Cooper does, or indeed in any way at all. We have been shocking defending set plays all season so I don't know how you can view that as a strength of his. The only time we've looked remotely solid from set plays is lately with - well with Cooper in goal. You can see him in the area directing traffic, and as has already been mentioned, he commands his area. Beyond that, I've seen Hazard spend an eternity lining up a wall in almost comedy fashion only for the oppo taker to somehow still find a gap (I seem to remember we conceded exactly like that).
Most importantly, indeed critically for our style of play, is the tempo Hazard sets when he gets the ball. As soon as Cooper has it in his hands (which is more often, because as already mentioned he actually claims crosses) he is looking to get us moving forward. Although it hasn't been at his previous standard by any means, his quick distribution dictates the tempo of our game. We quite literally look a different team with him in goal (as was the case last year). Hazard holds onto it, our CBs gather around the 6 yard box, then he either rolls it out 3 yards or punts it the length of the pitch. Now some mitigation here is that he may have been playing under instruction from Foster - where in a 4-3-3 we seemed to split the CBs to outside the box and get the team up the pitch, with Foster half the squad was in the 6 yard box for every goal kick, which made beating the press impossible. And mitigation for Foster is all teams try and draw the oppo out if there is no quick break on, you saw us do it on Saturday even. But you still have to be flexible and think fast and be able to recognise when a break is on, and have the ability to capitalize, and Hazard does not have this skill. I can scarce remember one occasion.
This all sounds harsh, and in truth it is. He's a decent backup who played his heart out for us and made some great saves, but being a good championship goalie is about a lot more than being a shot stopper. It's a critical role for the entire defence. If we want to progress (or even stay up) we'll need a much better No 1 than him.
We have been so lucky to have Cooper and actually done brilliantly to keep our heads above water without his long absences. Goalkeepers like him are unicorns at this level. Like Azaz and Schumacher I think his true value will become much clearer when we attempt to replace him.
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