Rory Whittaker

[andrew_dundee]

He's a decent player with a good potential, but I don't think he's really ready for first team football yet (too many mistakes etc).

I don't mean that as a criticism as he's obviously young and puts in a shift and him having been playing so much is in part because of a lack of options.

I'm also a bit wary of the demoralising impact on him of playing in drubbing after drubbing.

Now that we have more defenders, would it be worth loaning him out for experience or do you think we should keep him in and around the first team?

[DIXIHIBS]

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He's a decent player with a good potential, but I don't think he's really ready for first time football yet (too many mistakes etc).

I don't mean that as a criticism as he's obviously young and puts in a shift and him having been playing so much is in part because of a lack of options.

I'm also a bit wary of the demoralising impact on him of playing in drubbing after drubbing.

Now that we have more defenders, would it be worth loaning him out for experience or do you think we should keep him in and around the first team?

Some protection from players in front of him might help the laddie. Not ready yet though.

[hfc-1875]

Let’s be serious, he’s not a decent player(yet) is he? Not knocking him he’s a young boy who could go on to have a good career but he should be nowhere near hibs starting 11 if we want to be where we should be.

[JohnM1875]

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Let’s be serious, he’s not a decent player(yet) is he? Not knocking him he’s a young boy who could go on to have a good career but he should be nowhere near hibs starting 11 if we want to be where we should be.

Totally. He's a 16 year old boy so he's never going to be a decent player for this level. Was honestly shocked when I seen him starting today.

Still clapped the laddie when he was subbed off. Won't blame him at all for that today

[VoltaireHibs]

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He's a decent player with a good potential, but I don't think he's really ready for first time football yet (too many mistakes etc).

I don't mean that as a criticism as he's obviously young and puts in a shift and him having been playing so much is in part because of a lack of options.

I'm also a bit wary of the demoralising impact on him of playing in drubbing after drubbing.

Now that we have more defenders, would it be worth loaning him out for experience or do you think we should keep him in and around the first team?

Good young player. The fact he's not disgracing himself out there at his age is testament to that. However, for his own sake he should be away on loan. Tricky going back to youth level after playing first team football. He's also being targeted by opposing teams, naturally enough, and that's doing him no favours. A talented boy being asked to do a mans job.

[GreenNWhiteArmy]

He might be a decent player. He's a boy not ready to play at this level yet though. Which isn't his fault

I'm disappointed in how monty treated Megwa tbh. Brought back, started then punted back to bench.

Get Rory back to development and megwa back to airdrie

[hfc-1875]

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Totally. He's a 16 year old boy so he's never going to be a decent player for this level. Was honestly shocked when I seen him starting today.

Still clapped the laddie when he was subbed off. Won't blame him at all for that today

Absolutely, as I say not knocking the boy always gives his all. But to be relying on a 16 year old at right back is madness

[ScottB]

Asking him to perform in a struggling team that can barely buy a win isn’t fair, or probably of much benefit to him.

[Willis1875]

Not a slight on the lad at all but can anybody that watched or even semi regularly watched the development/youths shed some light on him at that level?
He wasn’t a name I had heard of too often in comparison to Megwa,Aiken,O’Connor,Laidlaw etc so kind of concluded that he wasn’t really too much of a stand out at that level.
Montgomery seems to have taken a shine to him from the off to the point that one of his first acts as manager was to offload Megwa and promote Whittaker into the first team picture.
It could very well be that he showed up well in training early into the managers tenure so was given an opportunity but it also feels a bit forced like he’s trying to live up to having a reputation of moulding young footballers

[HibeeMackenzie]

Montgomery is going to absolutely ruin the laddie playing him when he’s clearly not anywhere near the level, especially keeping him on as long as he did in such a toxic atmosphere today

[VoltaireHibs]

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He might be a decent player. He's a boy not ready to play at this level yet though. Which isn't his fault

I'm disappointed in how monty treated Megwa tbh. Brought back, started then punted back to bench.

Get Rory back to development and megwa back to airdrie

I agree re Whittaker, but not sure about Megwa. We need to make sure Cadden doesn't break down again and that Miller is back to decent form. I feel for the lad, the situation isn't ideal and Airdrie is probably what's best for him now, but the team needs that cover for the moment.

[Bobby's Cinema]

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Asking him to perform in a struggling team that can barely buy a win isn’t fair, or probably of much benefit to him.

Exactly. He had a good cameo coming off the bench for debut when we were 3-0 up stroking the ball about and almost got in with a goal. No doubt he is a promising young player and he has shown he is capable of slotting in when required since then. But it's not going to work in this sort of environment.

We don't give young guys a chance at all and then we bring one in and ask him to do all too much. Can we not get the balance right.

[Smartie]

I feel heart sorry for him.

This can be doing him no good at all.

He needs to disappear for a year or two, develop a bit physically, get experience at a level appropriate for his age and physical development and come back when he’s ready - hopefully at a time when our first team setting is a good bit less toxic.

[davym7062]

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Some protection from players in front of him might help the laddie. Not ready yet though.

yep... another young boy hibs are gonna ruin

[B.H.F.C]

Him playing is absolutely ridiculous. He’s so far off being ready and able. That’s absolutely no criticism of Whittaker but teams just so obviously target him. Not even by doing anything particularly good, just clipping the ball in behind him etc.

We’re not benefiting from playing him and he’s not going to benefit from it either. It’ll crush him. Get him back playing with the 18s and development team where he should be at 16.

[Musselbound]

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He might be a decent player. He's a boy not ready to play at this level yet though. Which isn't his fault

I'm disappointed in how monty treated Megwa tbh. Brought back, started then punted back to bench.

Get Rory back to development and megwa back to airdrie

The most baffling selection for me today was dropping Megwa for Whittaker. Fine to bring back Megwa if he is going to play him or even have him as the main backup but I don't know what message this sends out.

[jeffers]

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The most baffling selection for me today was dropping Megwa for Whittaker. Fine to bring back Megwa if he is going to play him or even have him as the main backup but I don't know what message this sends out.

And then bringing Megwa on for Whittaker. Another strange decision like Paul Hanlon coming on for Rocky or vice versa.

[David90+2]

What a lot of rubbish!!

Rory was excellent today, he was woefully exposed by Taveres, then later Yoan in front of him.

Anyone criticising Rory Whittaker, needs to give themselves a serious shake!!!

[JohnM1875]

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And then bringing Megwa on for Whittaker. Another strange decision like Paul Hanlon coming on for Rocky or vice versa.

Guessing your point is Rocky shouldn't start over Hanlon? Cause subbing Whittaker for Megwa was about the only right call of today, the laddie was spent.

[BILLYHIBS]

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And then bringing Megwa on for Whittaker. Another strange decision like Paul Hanlon coming on for Rocky or vice versa.

The Hanlon Rocky thing or viz a viz was usually with 20 minutes to go and always started with the loss of a goal

Never mess with your defence

I like Rocky but also happy with Hanlon

[B.H.F.C]

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What a lot of rubbish!!

Rory was excellent today, he was woefully exposed by Taveres, then later Yoan in front of him.

Anyone criticising Rory Whittaker, needs to give themselves a serious shake!!!

He wasn’t excellent, you can’t really think that surely. But nobody is criticising him for it really. He’s been put out in to mens football at 16 when he’s not ready for it. Any criticism isn’t being aimed at him.

[neil7908]

He's not ready to be playing week in, week out at our level and I'd suggest playing in this current Hibs team is more likely to hinder his development.

That's absolutely no criticism of him - what was Messi doing at 16 after all. It's almost unheard of for 16 year olds to be getting a game at a half decent level.

[AL-Qaholik]

His development is being absolutely torpedoed by being thrust into a truly awful football team bereft of confidence and basic footballing competence.

[easty]

Being flung under a bus in the current set up

Must be an absolute dream to be part of the first team squad, but now he’s starting in a defence that’s absolutely bereft of any consistency, organisation or leadership.

Today is a shambles. Expecting a boy to be able to play at right back at the top level in Scotland with 2 other inexperienced guys inside him.

Give the laddie a fighting chance for ****s sake. He’s not learning a thing being a part of this back 4.

[CB Hibs 68]

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What a lot of rubbish!!

Rory was excellent today, he was woefully exposed by Taveres, then later Yoan in front of him.

Anyone criticising Rory Whittaker, needs to give themselves a serious shake!!!

No sorry but the majority of posts are correct.Not one of them are criticising Rory.We all recognise he is a lad with potential but that is what he is .This is all down to Montgomery and you are right that having Jair on the same wing left him exposed .He needs time out of the first team to develop .

[David90+2]

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He wasn’t excellent, you can’t really think that surely. But nobody is criticising him for it really. He’s been put out in to mens football at 16 when he’s not ready for it. Any criticism isn’t being aimed at him.

I do think he was excellent.

Why can’t I think that???? Of the 16 Hibs players today, Whittaker would be in my top 3. I appreciate that the bar is not particularly high…….but he is as good today.

Tell me your qualifications to disagree….

[andrew70]

He’s being hung out to dry unfortunately. He’s an honest lad and will know. For that reason I am glad he got a decent reaction when he went off because sometimes we are too quick to get on our own backs.

[JohnM1875]

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I do think he was excellent.

Why can’t I think that???? Of the 16 Hibs players today, Whittaker would be in my top 3. I appreciate that the bar is not particularly high…….but he is as good today.

Tell me your qualifications to disagree….

Excellent? We got beat by three goals at home and they targeted him the whole time he was on the pitch. Its admirable backing a homegrown player, but not a single player was remotely close to excellent today.

[B.H.F.C]

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I do think he was excellent.

Why can’t I think that???? Of the 16 Hibs players today, Whittaker would be in my top 3. I appreciate that the bar is not particularly high…….but he is as good today.

Tell me your qualifications to disagree….

There isn’t a single Hibs player on that park who can be described as excellent.

You’re entitled to think whatever you want. They targeted him from the off and he didn’t cope (which is hardly surprising). I think you’ll be the only person who left the stadium today thinking he was excellent.

[Simkin911]

There wasn’t an excellent player wearing a Hibs shirt on show today,
One of the worst first half performances I’ve watched at ER in many years and no player managed to rise above it.