Youan= The Prodigy not Cliff Richard!

[MWHIBBIES]

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he is not a defender and was not signed as defender.

its like slagging off rocky for not scoring enough.. show me a player that is 100% in all facets of the game.

delighted he is in our team.

In modern football, 11 players defend. Watch big teams, their forwards hound opposition players, track back like crazy etc.

I actually don't think Youans biggest problem is his defensive work. Its how often he gives it away, especially vs better teams and players. He just runs down alleys, takes bad touches, puts us under further pressure.

He contributes well in terms of goals and assists though, no doubt.

[Albert Kidd 86’]

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In modern football, 11 players defend. Watch big teams, their forwards hound opposition players, track back like crazy etc.

I actually don't think Youans biggest problem is his defensive work. Its how often he gives it away, especially vs better teams and players. He just runs down alleys, takes bad touches, puts us under further pressure.

He contributes well in terms of goals and assists though, no doubt.

I have no doubt he will be playing for “big” club later in his career, do you think all the man city players etc were straight out the box perfect?

he is 24 at the moment, a rough diamond, yes, but still a gem.

His performance at tynie singlehandedly gave us what could be the most important point of the season.

[Donegal Hibby]

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How many goals does his lacklustre defensive efforts cost us per season?

Pointing out that both the upsides and downsides to the same player are both drastic is a fair point.

It won't be near what he's scored or created for his teammates to score this season I'd imagine.

There is a upside and downside to Youan though to say he isn't a team player is abit harsh . I think the good far outweighs the bad and imo he's one of our most exciting players to watch too .

[Albert Kidd 86’]

See the guy in my avatar? He was criticised back then as being sometimes “lazy” or “inconsistent” by some.

Best player I ever saw in a hibs shirt by a country mile, made the game look easy.

[Northernhibee]

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he is not a defender and was not signed as defender.

its like slagging off rocky for not scoring enough.. show me a player that is 100% in all facets of the game.

delighted he is in our team.

When you play out wide you still need to track runners, provide cover for the full or wing back and at times this season he’s been very poor at it.

He can be brilliant. He can be an utter liability. He’s rarely in between.

[Paulie Walnuts]

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When you play out wide you still need to track runners, provide cover for the full or wing back and at times this season he’s been very poor at it.

He can be brilliant. He can be an utter liability. He’s rarely in between.

Or the team needs to be set up to cater for the fact he isn’t great at that. Thats how a team works. It needs to be set up to amplify players abilities and minimise their frailties. For the first half of this season our set up was miles away from doing that.

If Youan tracked back and provided cover for the full back etc then he wouldn’t be at Hibs in the first place.

[Greensunshine]

He gets my vote.

Opposing sides hate playing against him.

He scores goals and gets plenty assists, what’s not to like?

[Kato]

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what’s not to like?

Really nit picky little things that are hugely exaggerated to paint a false picture of his overall contribution.

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[Northernhibee]

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Or the team needs to be set up to cater for the fact he isn’t great at that. Thats how a team works. It needs to be set up to amplify players abilities and minimise their frailties. For the first half of this season our set up was miles away from doing that.

If Youan tracked back and provided cover for the full back etc then he wouldn’t be at Hibs in the first place.

We had a sixteen year old at right back. He needed to play his part and protect him. It’s a team game and just as you want other players to pick up the slack for one, he needs to pick up the slack for others. He has not always done that.

As I say, he’s either spellbinding or absolutely atrocious. Not seen anyone as Jekyll and Hyde before and to present him as one or the other is just not painting an accurate picture.

[MWHIBBIES]

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I have no doubt he will be playing for “big” club later in his career, do you think all the man city players etc were straight out the box perfect?

he is 24 at the moment, a rough diamond, yes, but still a gem.

His performance at tynie singlehandedly gave us what could be the most important point of the season.

Dunno where to start with this.

He will never play for the type of club I'm speaking about. Not that there is any shame in that.

No, I don't think they were. I'm sure they were justifiably criticized by fans too. 24 is not crazy young. If he was 19/20 sure. But he needs to start improving some of these aspects if he wants to step up, which I think he will. He's certainly better defensively that when he first joined.

Our point at tynie was no more or less important than any other point. He didn't single-handedly do anything. 11 players went 2-0, 11 players got it back to 2-2.

[Hiber-nation]

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Our point at tynie was no more or less important than any other point. He didn't single-handedly do anything. 11 players went 2-0, 11 players got it back to 2-2.

Up till his goals he was our worst player that day, constantly giving the ball away and not tracking back. But he came up with 2 goals and that's Elie for you.

He gave a much more consistent performance on Saturday though so we can only hope.

[Donegal Hibby]

It could be said that Jair is better at helping out the defence than Youan though I know who I'd rather have in my team most weeks .

[hibsbollah]

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It could be said that Jair is better at helping out the defence than Youan though I know who I'd rather have in my team most weeks .

I think when folk criticise Jairs workrate theyre not paying attention, his defensive work and application is actually very good. Its the other stuff, physicality, and also the creative part of his play and ability to beat a man which is holding him back.

[Stairway 2 7]

Turning into an amazing season for him in terms of contributions to goals, 10 goals and 10 assists. He's only started a bit over 100 games in his career so I think he's got quite a bit of development still. Rocky was similar he hadn't started a lot of football so we've seen a large amount of development although they are both 24.

[Smartie]

Interesting that this conversation is on the go at the same time as the latest Joe Newell one.

Joe Newell found an increased level of consistency after a few years with us, it wasn't there from day one.

Youan could probably do with cementing the idea of one position being his best (whether that's left, right or centre), making sure he doesn't give the manager reason to drop him and just cutting out some of the little of moments of daftness that turn his best performances into decent ones and his acceptable ones into poor ones.

He has it in him to be a fantastic player and I think that's why he frustrates. Instead of making excuses for the weaker parts of his game, I don't really feel all that bad about being a bit critical as it comes from a good place - it's a genuine belief in quite how good he can be.

I don't think it was a coincidence that he looked better in our last game with good, experienced players all around him playing well. He's an unpredictable sort of chap at the best of times, when we're having issues with the full back behind him, the striker ahead of him and the centre of midfield too, it's little wonder that he sometimes looks less assured than at other times.

I certainly wouldn't be one of those who are vocal about him in the ground - I find the reaction he gets at times somewhere between excruciating and hilarious. Someone a while back spoke about "the Hibs Da's" being on his case when he starts his fancier flicks, I don't think there's ever been a Hibs player who has elicited a particular response amongst a particular demographic within our support quite like Youan.

[RIP]

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You've got this the wrong way around. Lee Johnson wanted to convert him into a number 9. He admitted that other coaches had always played Youan primarily off the left. Johnson thought he could make him an effective 9. Like a lot of things, he failed miserably at that and gave up, moving him back wide. As all his other coaches did, including his current one.

He's not a number 9.

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/he-...-1659955912000

My mate lived in France and quoted from an interview where Elie said he had played central striker from aged 8 to 18. When he was at youth level with his league club however, his build was considered too slight to play lone striker so he was moved out wide.

In every article when he was signed on loan, he was described by the club as 'attacker' 'striker' 'pacey forward' and 'goal scorer'.
He's scored for all age groups in the French national team and when in the box has scored for Hibs with his left, his right and his head.

Here's an article from 2022. If you ask Elie what sort of player he is, you will only get one answer imo.

Striker!!

https://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/2022/june/25/lie-Youan-Career-So-Far/

That said, I think he's enjoying supplying assists for Myziane. Two top players just loving their football.

[Donegal Hibby]

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I think when folk criticise Jairs workrate theyre not paying attention, his defensive work and application is actually very good. Its the other stuff, physicality, and also the creative part of his play and ability to beat a man which is holding him back.

He does backtrack and covers alot of ground though as you say it's the other stuff , physicality, creativity and the ability to beat a man that's holding him back .

I mentioned this lately that I didn't see him do anything of note in an attacking sense when he came on for another couple of posters to make a good point that he was clattered a few times and two players were booked for it .

This got me wondering maybe the speed and physical side of Scottish football doesn't actually suit Jair though.

[erin go bragh]

10 goals and 10 assists so far this season but some folk don't like him 🤷*♂️

[JohnM1875]

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10 goals and 10 assists so far this season but some folk don't like him 🤷*♂️

It's crazy eh?

Don't think he's lazy either as some fans seem to go on about. I do think he's a confidence player though and as soon as something goes right for him in a match he's unplayable.

He's exactly the kind of player I pay my season ticket money to watch, someone who'll get you off your seat with what they do.

Honestly think fans need to give the guy a break.

[Frazerbob]

A winger who's inconsistent.....who's have thunk it?

[Paulie Walnuts]

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We had a sixteen year old at right back. He needed to play his part and protect him. It’s a team game and just as you want other players to pick up the slack for one, he needs to pick up the slack for others. He has not always done that.

As I say, he’s either spellbinding or absolutely atrocious. Not seen anyone as Jekyll and Hyde before and to present him as one or the other is just not painting an accurate picture.

That’s not ‘his part’ though. It’s not his game. Just because he’s older it doesn’t mean he suddenly needs to be able to do things he’s not good at because he’s got a 16 year old behind him. Thats the managers job to work out how to protect Whittaker, not Youans. Playing Youan infront of him and only playing 2 in the centre of midfield, so not having someone like Jeggo in there to be aware of Whittaker and shuffle over to offer him protection, was never going to provide him with the protection he needs.

Thats not Youan, a very talented attacking players fault, much like it wouldn’t be Rocky’s fault if we insisted on telling him to take all our set pieces and he better start playing his part and racking up goals and assists.

[Northernhibee]

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That’s not ‘his part’ though. It’s not his game. Just because he’s older it doesn’t mean he suddenly needs to be able to do things he’s not good at because he’s got a 16 year old behind him. Thats the managers job to work out how to protect Whittaker, not Youans. Playing Youan infront of him and only playing 2 in the centre of midfield, so not having someone like Jeggo in there to be aware of Whittaker and shuffle over to offer him protection, was never going to provide him with the protection he needs.

Thats not Youan, a very talented attacking players fault, much like it wouldn’t be Rocky’s fault if we insisted on telling him to take all our set pieces and he better start playing his part and racking up goals and assists.

Football is a team game. You can’t say that things should be set up to suit the characteristics of one player, but completely ignore another. You seem to keep putting it back onto the manager, and yet seem to think that the person in the position who will most naturally help out the full back shouldn’t have to because he can’t/won’t.

Modern football doesn’t allow for poachers or goal hangers or defenders who can’t pass or the like. It requires all eleven players to play their part at both ends of the pitch.


Youan has in the last month had more good games than bad, but he needs to make sure he doesn’t regress again. We can’t afford passengers in the team and to deny that at times he’s been as hopeless as sometimes he’s been brilliant is utter, utter bollocks.

[Unseen work]

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We had a sixteen year old at right back. He needed to play his part and protect him. It’s a team game and just as you want other players to pick up the slack for one, he needs to pick up the slack for others. He has not always done that.

As I say, he’s either spellbinding or absolutely atrocious. Not seen anyone as Jekyll and Hyde before and to present him as one or the other is just not painting an accurate picture.

Funnily enough Whittaker done an interview and was fully of praise for Elie and said how he spoke to him constantly during the game

[Northernhibee]

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Funnily enough Whittaker done an interview and was fully of praise for Elie and said how he spoke to him constantly during the game

A sixteen year old isn’t likely to rip into a senior player in front of the press.

Either way, it seems to be that we’re losing track of the point. Some seem to want to paint Elie as a consistently excellent player when we can see from previous threads that there are both very positive and very negative threads about him. Most on here seem to acknowledge that he can be both our best and worst player in the exact same game.


Some are willing to put up with that, some would rather that they had someone more consistent. Those who think he’s very good on a consistent basis are just wrong.

[Paulie Walnuts]

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Football is a team game. You can’t say that things should be set up to suit the characteristics of one player, but completely ignore another. You seem to keep putting it back onto the manager, and yet seem to think that the person in the position who will most naturally help out the full back shouldn’t have to because he can’t/won’t.

Modern football doesn’t allow for poachers or goal hangers or defenders who can’t pass or the like. It requires all eleven players to play their part at both ends of the pitch.


Youan has in the last month had more good games than bad, but he needs to make sure he doesn’t regress again. We can’t afford passengers in the team and to deny that at times he’s been as hopeless as sometimes he’s been brilliant is utter, utter bollocks.

It’s a team game, it doesn’t mean every player needs to be able to do every role. The team, as a whole, needs to be able to do as much as possible.

The person in that position, in that set up, shouldn’t have been Youan if Whittaker needed so much protection, that’s the problem. And if it was going to be Youan playing infront of Whittaker then the manager should have set the team up differently so that we had a holding midfielder who would shuffle over and help Whittaker out. It shouldn’t have been left to Youan to do a job he’s not capable of, much like Rocky should never be told he’ll have to start scoring free kicks, because much like asking Youan to do the defensive stuff well, Rocky would never be able to do that.

You say modern football doesn’t allow for players that can’t play their part at all ends of the pitch but let’s be honest, that’s absolute nonsense. Theres numerous players at all levels who are very limited, either attacking or defensively, even more so at our level. They all have flaws, hence why they’re not playing for the best teams in the world.

There is absolutely nobody that has suggested Youan is consistently excellent as your post above implies. Again, if he was, he wouldn’t be here, much like he wouldn’t be if he could defend.

[Northernhibee]

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It’s a team game, it doesn’t mean every player needs to be able to do every role. The team, as a whole, needs to be able to do as much as possible.

The person in that position, in that set up, shouldn’t have been Youan if Whittaker needed so much protection, that’s the problem. And if it was going to be Youan playing infront of Whittaker then the manager should have set the team up differently so that we had a holding midfielder who would shuffle over and help Whittaker out. It shouldn’t have been left to Youan to do a job he’s not capable of, much like Rocky should never be told he’ll have to start scoring free kicks, because much like asking Youan to do the defensive stuff well, Rocky would never be able to do that.

You say modern football doesn’t allow for players that can’t play their part at all ends of the pitch but let’s be honest, that’s absolute nonsense. Theres numerous players at all levels who are very limited, either attacking or defensively, even more so at our level. They all have flaws, hence why they’re not playing for the best teams in the world.

There is absolutely nobody that has suggested Youan is consistently excellent as your post above implies. Again, if he was, he wouldn’t be here, much like he wouldn’t be if he could defend.

In front of Rory, you had nobody else who could play right wing. Maybe Jair, but he’s not very good and much more of a left winger. For holding midfielders you had Jeggo who couldn’t pass, Levitt who can’t tackle, and no other right backs. He, put simply, didn’t have a squad to do differently.

Now he’s not dealing with managing with half a team, we’re seeing good performances and players realising that if they play badly, someone else is going to take their place. Youan seems to have perked his ideas up a bit but if he was to revert back to normal then that can’t be accepted.

[Albert Kidd 86’]

Looks like Youan is more an argument-starter than a Firestarter!,

[Paulie Walnuts]

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In front of Rory, you had nobody else who could play right wing. Maybe Jair, but he’s not very good and much more of a left winger. For holding midfielders you had Jeggo who couldn’t pass, Levitt who can’t tackle, and no other right backs. He, put simply, didn’t have a squad to do differently.

Now he’s not dealing with managing with half a team, we’re seeing good performances and players realising that if they play badly, someone else is going to take their place. Youan seems to have perked his ideas up a bit but if he was to revert back to normal then that can’t be accepted.

Martin Boyle has appeared in 9 of Whittakers 15 appearances. You’ve also went on and listed Jair and also listed the centre mids as if they don’t count because they’ve got flaws. All of our players have flaws.

You say he couldn’t have done anything differently, imo he could absolutely have done things differently. We’ll have to just leave it at that.

[Northernhibee]

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Martin Boyle has appeared in 9 of Whittakers 15 appearances. You’ve also went on and listed Jair and also listed the centre mids as if they don’t count because they’ve got flaws. All of our players have flaws.

You say he couldn’t have done anything differently, imo he could absolutely have done things differently. We’ll have to just leave it at that.

There’s a big difference between “flawed” and “terrible”, or “sixteen years old”. Rory will be a very good player but he’s still a laddie. You still don’t name him who else could have played at right back during international call ups, right wing, or midfield as you’d have to backtrack and admit that Monty has had both hands tied behind his back for most of his time at the club.

[Paulie Walnuts]

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There’s a big difference between “flawed” and “terrible”, or “sixteen years old”. Rory will be a very good player but he’s still a laddie. You still don’t name him who else could have played at right back during international call ups, right wing, or midfield as you’d have to backtrack and admit that Monty has had both hands tied behind his back for most of his time at the club.

You mean apart from Jair, or playing 3 in the middle to make us more solid and allow a sitting midfielder to support him?

If you ignore the options I did present then yes, you’d be right, I’ve never presented any options. Playing 3 in the middle was an absolute no brainer imo which would have allowed us someone like Jeggo to shuffle over and support Whittaker and also support the other two centre mids, so again, we’ll have to agree to disagree.

Regardless of that fact though, this thread is about Youan. As a poster who has called fans all sorts for being critical of Montgomery, some of the stuff I’ve read you post about Youan has been even more scathing. Funnily enough though, when you don’t rate someone, that seems to be fine and doesn’t appear to fall into the ‘entitled’ category that other fans fall into when they don’t rate someone you like.

At a quick glance, we’ve had you declare him ‘beyond terrible’, ‘incapable of playing in a team’, ‘he’d be good on TikTok’, ‘talentless’, a ‘selfish, ***** player’. And that’s just on one thread. For someone as bad as you describe, I’m stunned he’s got so many goals and assists this season. You’ve quite clearly got it in for him despite him having a hell of a lot to show for his time at Hibs on an individual basis so it’s a bit of a waste of time discussing him with you.

19 goals and 17 assists in less than 2 seasons, but because his talents don’t lie in tracking back he’s selfish? *****? Talentless? Incapable of playing in a team? It’s quite some take. Each to their own though.