Look after your body carefully in retirement Yann. You put it on the line and through the mill every time your wore a football shirt and are rightly adored for it. Thank you for giving us the pleasure of your goals, work rate and attitude. First class and if we could ever again afford a striker coach to teach the up and coming how to become an all round top player, we should look no further.
Our greatest player since the Prem days - skilful, subtle, tough, talismanic.
The sublime arcs of those free-kicks just outside the box: up and over the wall, and nestling in the net before the keeper could blink. Best of all, fittingly: promotion party against Hartlepool - that acute-angled volley of ball dropping over his shoulder. Better than Van Basten's much celebrated strike from similar position.
Extraordinary player - have never seen a player quite like him for or against. Someone who would win EVERY header, yet have such a good first touch and finishing ability (free kicks included!)
Best target man I've ever seen in a Charlton shirt.
Remember a couple on here in the past tried to suggest that he isn't worthy of 'legend' status. Not having that. He was the best player in an exceptional, record-breaking side.
100% a Charlton legend.
says it all for me......the worst decision of the Roland era to let him go (even worse than sacking CP)
The quality and variety of his goals from the Charlton, Bourney and Reading vids is staggering. Considering he did this between the ages of 29-36 was it? Ridiculous. Most strikers have a trademark type goal you'd associate them with - Yann did it all.
You wont see many compilation vids with goals of a comparable standard from the top, top well respected strikers and that's no exaggeration. Loved this bloke and it genuinely hurt when he left
I think he's my favourite ever Charlton player. You always felt that as long as Yann was on the pitch something interesting was going to happen. He was going to bang in a header and no-one could stop him, he was going to dip a free kick into the far corner or hit an outrageous volley in despite us not being in the game, or failing that he was just going to annoy a defender so much he tried to murder him, or be such an annoying shit that it was at least funny. All of that sounds a lot like Lyle, but what Yann had that Lyle doesn't is a ridiculous silky ability to play perfect through balls that just aren't on. He was like a combination of Cantona and Shearer playing, though obviously at a lower level than both. He was a bastard, but he was our lovely bastard.
My favourite memories of him outside of his goals were all tomfoolery related. Him coming back from a broken ankle outrageously early and warming up in front of Powell because he was so desperate to get on, him angering MacKenzie to the point he tried to kill Yann, evening up Russell's red card against Sheff Utd by winding up Beattie until he tried to strangle him before play had even restarted, and watching him casually throw the ball one-handed over arm back to Ben Hamer from the halfway line without even trying. The bloke was terrifyingly strong. It will always be a real shame that we let him go when we did, but he had such a huge impact in a short space of time
The quality and variety of his goals from the Charlton, Bourney and Reading vids is staggering. Considering he did this between the ages of 29-36 was it? Ridiculous. Most strikers have a trademark type goal you'd associate them with - Yann did it all.
You wont see many compilation vids with goals of a comparable standard from the top, top well respected strikers and that's no exaggeration. Loved this bloke and it genuinely hurt when he left
Agreed. And another goal - for Charlton away at Bournemouth, first game of season. While running, stretched backwards to volley the cross: both feet off ground. Stunning talent.
The way that Bournemouth used him - playing deeper, balls in to feet creating for the strikers ahead of him - was genius. Would love to see peak Yann play this way for us under Bow with Taylor.
I don't do Twitter or Facebook but my son said there was a poll going as to who was rated better Yann or Lyle. Have a lot of man love for both of them but no contest for me I'm afraid, sorry Lyle.
Great player, scored some marvellous goals, why on earth didn't we keep him for the rest of his career? Sure that he would have been happy to stay here. Start and possibly worst of Roland's many mistakes!
Having watched both the CAFC vid and the Bournemouth vid, he has to be one of the best headers of the ball and one of the best free kick takers I have ever seen.
Sadly, it also reminded me of better times at Charlton, where I would be desperate for matchday to come around.
I would do anything to go back and watch a game with him in our starting XI again.
It's very rare you find a player with such all round ability. Yann was THE complete player. One of my favourites of all time. Talisman of a fantastic record breaking team and an absolute legend. What a terrible mistake it was letting him go. Almost brings tears to my eyes...
Still baffled why Roland and co didn't give him a big fat pay rise. He'd earned it big time and everyone except them could see he was irreplaceable.
Also find it weird Eddie Howe didn't give him more game time in the prem.
Because Roland and Co were clueless wankers?
There were people on here who called out Yann at the time for being greedy, when the reality was he had properly earned a pay rise.
What perplexed me is why none of Roland's crew could see that Yann would have made them plenty of money and that Charlton could not afford to replace someone as good as him. Indeed, there has not been anyone as good as him at the club since he left.
They blindly followed the model of buy them young and sell them on. Yann didn't fit, but anyone with half a brain cell could see he was huge value for money and that is why I'm still baffled they let him go. Surely someone within the Roland regime must have been able to see it and said to him or Meire or that funny bloke who plays fifa soccer all day that it was suicide to get rid of Yann??
Considering he never got a chance in the Prem and they've since signed some really decent players it's great to see that Bournemouth fans love him as much as we do
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Still miss you! Bonnet de Douche 😉
The sublime arcs of those free-kicks just outside the box: up and over the wall, and nestling in the net before the keeper could blink. Best of all, fittingly: promotion party against Hartlepool - that acute-angled volley of ball dropping over his shoulder. Better than Van Basten's much celebrated strike from similar position.
Kermorgant is the king.
You wont see many compilation vids with goals of a comparable standard from the top, top well respected strikers and that's no exaggeration. Loved this bloke and it genuinely hurt when he left
My favourite Charlton player along with CP.
Sure that he would have been happy to stay here. Start and possibly worst of Roland's many mistakes!
Sadly, it also reminded me of better times at Charlton, where I would be desperate for matchday to come around.
I would do anything to go back and watch a game with him in our starting XI again.
Thank you so much for the memories.
Still baffled why Roland and co didn't give him a big fat pay rise. He'd earned it big time and everyone except them could see he was irreplaceable.
Also find it weird Eddie Howe didn't give him more game time in the prem.
What perplexed me is why none of Roland's crew could see that Yann would have made them plenty of money and that Charlton could not afford to replace someone as good as him. Indeed, there has not been anyone as good as him at the club since he left.
They blindly followed the model of buy them young and sell them on. Yann didn't fit, but anyone with half a brain cell could see he was huge value for money and that is why I'm still baffled they let him go. Surely someone within the Roland regime must have been able to see it and said to him or Meire or that funny bloke who plays fifa soccer all day that it was suicide to get rid of Yann??