How good could Dwight Yorke have been if he'd kept his nose clean?

[B20]

I remember hating playing against him when he was at villa. And he was world class in his first season with united.

Then basically just fell off a cliff after falling out of favour with Ferguson because of his off the pitch activities.

What could he have been if he'd stayed more focused on the football?

 

[FootballHQ]

Lost some motivation after winning the treble and off field stuff but thought his goalscoring record was still pretty good in 99/00. 00/01 onwards he drifted down. Probably would've been sold sooner by Man. United if Van Nistelrooy hadn't done his ACL. Weren't Yorke and Cole actually sold in the same transfer window or am I misremembering that?

One of the best all round strikers in the league from 95-99 period so not a bad few years even if his goalscoring wasn't as strong as likes of Wright, Ferdinand, Shearer, Fowler in those times (England were stacked upfront in those days).

 

[VWW]

I dont know why but the title of the thread made me believe you were implying that he was snorting a line of cocaine during his playing days

 

[Big Andy]

Keeping his nose clean wasn't the problem, keeping his cock clean was however...

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Lost some motivation after winning the treble and off field stuff but thought his goalscoring record was still pretty good in 99/00. 00/01 onwards he drifted down. Probably would've been sold sooner by Man. United if Van Nistelrooy hadn't done his ACL. Weren't Yorke and Cole actually sold in the same transfer window or am I misremembering that?

One of the best all round strikers in the league from 95-99 period so not a bad few years even if his goalscoring wasn't as strong as likes of Wright, Ferdinand, Shearer, Fowler in those times (England were stacked upfront in those days).

cole went first when RVN arrived. Yorke the following year. I had high hopes (stupid now…) that RVN and Yorke would be a great partnership.

both went to Blackburn and both pretty average.

 

[Red_Aaron]

Legendary shagger even before united

The step up in quality options for him must've been enormous, no wonder he was burnt out within a year

He was unbelievable that year though, I remember a performance at Chelsea, where we hardly ever play well, that was absolutely outstanding. He was taking the piss, smiling his little ass off

 

[tenpoless]

Imagine if Firmino didnt crossdress

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Keeping his nose clean wasn't the problem, keeping his cock clean was however...

au contraire - that thing must have been licked clean within an inch of its life.

 

[horsechoker]

Rodri Giggs mentioned that a lot of United players were shagging each other wives and girlfriends and I wouldn't be surprised if Yorkie used to be at it too.

Ryan still the king of scumbaggery though, even though Yorke wanted nothing to do with his son.

 

[Zen86]

One of the best shaggers to ever grace United. He could have been even better had football not got in the way.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

He was very good in 99/00 too. After the treble, that season is rather understated, but I thought we were better in the PL in 99/00 than in the treble year. We scored a shedload and blew teams away. Won the league by a mile.

Definitely fell off after those two seasons, by which point he was 30, the certified age of death for a footballer. Maybe could've defied the odds and had 2 or 3 more good seasons if he was a bit more professional off the pitch.

 

[FootballHQ]

cole went first when RVN arrived. Yorke the following year. I had high hopes (stupid now…) that RVN and Yorke would be a great partnership.

both went to Blackburn and both pretty average.

Yorke barely featured much in 01/02 (00/01 he was drifting out of team but still had stuff like hat trick v Arsenal in that 6-1 win).

01/02 was fitting in all the midfielders so 4-5-1 and Scholes playing as second striker for first few months of the season and Solskjaer coming in for games here and there.

Think he was just hanging on waiting for SAF to retire and knew he was done when that decision was reversed.

 

[Ali Dia]

A world class cocksman

 

[FootballHQ]

Rodri Giggs mentioned that a lot of United players were shagging each other wives and girlfriends and I wouldn't be surprised if Yorkie used to be at it too.

Ryan still the king of scumbaggery though, even though Yorke wanted nothing to do with his son.

Pre season tours aswell:

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/feature...trip-all-nighters-and-dirty-dwight-down-under

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Rodri Giggs mentioned that a lot of United players were shagging each other wives and girlfriends and I wouldn't be surprised if Yorkie used to be at it too.

Ryan still the king of scumbaggery though, even though Yorke wanted nothing to do with his son.

So weird.

 

[horsechoker]

So weird.

Could've been doing it together too, maybe that was the secret of our success.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Pre season tours aswell:

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/feature...trip-all-nighters-and-dirty-dwight-down-under

Poor Steve McClaren

 

[Fortitude]

Yorke had the potential to be one of his generation's greatest players if the levels he got up to in the treble season could've been maintained, and the way he performed was so effortless and natural, there's no reason why it couldn't have been... except, of course, his off the field activities, which were far more important to him than his United career (or football) once he had that season.

I bet he doesn't even have regrets about failing to optimise his talent, as he did it in another way instead.

 

[DWelbz19]

As per @Mrs Smoker 's brilliant thread - his first season stats were mental! I'm guessing he went back to his shagsman ways after the first two seasons?

 

[Based Adnan]

Pre season tours aswell:

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/feature...trip-all-nighters-and-dirty-dwight-down-under

“There can't be anywhere on the planet with as many beautiful women as Australia,” adds Yorke, who unsurprisingly joined Sydney FC in 2005.

 

[OleBoiii]

As per @Mrs Smoker 's brilliant thread - his first season stats were mental! I'm guessing he went back to his shagsman ways after the first two seasons?

Damn, that first season! 51 goals/assists in 51 games!

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Damn, that first season! 51 goals/assists in 51 games!

assists weren’t a thing 20+ Years ago. But yes, it was brilliant.

we paid a big fee for him at the time, circa £12.4m - but no one expected him to have anywhere near the season and the impact he did. Phenomenal.

 

[Ali Dia]

The lady mentioned in that article is seriously hot. Never heard of her before today. Good work raising awareness Yorkie!

Imagine the stuff those lads got up to. That’s the PG version. The giggs stuff points towards there definitely being a darker side to it. I’d say it was absolute madness. I don’t know when it happened but I feel like sports people became the new rock stars at some point. The sheer amount of stuff that has been covered up by every club must be staggering….

 

[The Urban Goose]

Could've been doing it together too, maybe that was the secret of our success.

There were rumours around Manchester at the time that Yorke & Cole were strike partners off the pitch too, they just replaced the ball with a blonde.

 

[horsechoker]

There were rumours around Manchester at the time that Yorke & Cole were strike partners off the pitch too, they just replaced the ball with a blonde.

Maybe that's why Sheringham didn't like Cole, he was jealous.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

There were rumours around Manchester at the time that Yorke & Cole were strike partners off the pitch too, they just replaced the ball with a blonde.

Yorke and Bosnich for sure. there were pictures in the papers of them putting the balls in the back of the net.

 

[Devil81]

The lady mentioned in that article is seriously hot. Never heard of her before today. Good work raising awareness Yorkie!

Imagine the stuff those lads got up to. That’s the PG version. The giggs stuff points towards there definitely being a darker side to it. I’d say it was absolute madness. I don’t know when it happened but I feel like sports people became the new rock stars at some point. The sheer amount of stuff that has been covered up by every club must be staggering….

Even better I've just done some research on her and it seems Eric The King was giving it her in 2001!!

 

[united_99]

Pre season tours aswell:

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/feature...trip-all-nighters-and-dirty-dwight-down-under

Can‘t blame them. I would ignore Steve McClaren as well. Thanks for sharing. Can’t believe I read it all!

 

[Withnail]

I dont know why but the title of the thread made me believe you were implying that he was snorting a line of cocaine during his playing days

That was my first thought too

The lady mentioned in that article is seriously hot. Never heard of her before today. Good work raising awareness Yorkie!

Imagine the stuff those lads got up to. That’s the PG version. The giggs stuff points towards there definitely being a darker side to it. I’d say it was absolute madness. I don’t know when it happened but I feel like sports people became the new rock stars at some point. The sheer amount of stuff that has been covered up by every club must be staggering….

I remember her from lads mags and stuff back then. Stunning and she has a filthy look about her too.

 

[thepolice123]

Players like Yorke aren't build for longevity at the top. You make him a real professional, you take away what made he good in the first place.

For example, that ridiculous skill to beat two Juventus defenders in the dying minutes. Nobody in the world maybe except Ronaldo at that time would have tried it. And he still had the composure to round the keeper after going through.

 

[Fortitude]

Players like Yorke aren't build for longevity at the top. You make him a real professional, you take away what made he good in the first place.

For example, that ridiculous skill to beat two Juventus defenders in the dying minutes. Nobody in the world maybe except Ronaldo at that time would have tried it. And he still had the composure to round the keeper after going through.

More the problem the growth of the off-pitch antics is exponential and tied to the talent and success that got him, and players like him to the top in the first place. It's a common trope that befalls many a talented player, both Best and Ronaldinho being quick, off the cuff cases.

The problem with all of them, imo, is that they wouldn't trade - and you can't make them anything, which is why they are so maverick in the first place.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Can‘t blame them. I would ignore Steve McClaren as well. Thanks for sharing. Can’t believe I read it all!

Quite an enlightening article!

 

[Ali Dia]

Even better I've just done some research on her and it seems Eric The King was giving it her in 2001!!

I read she’s disappeared from public life. The last lad she was with was an actor in criminal minds. Very striking looking woman.

 

[united_99]

I read she’s disappeared from public life. The last lad she was with was an actor in criminal minds. Very striking looking woman.

Which one?

 

[pastyfool]

A quote from Yorke (after the 99 season)

"I was on such a high. It was ridiculous. Concorde was flying back then and I remember we went to New York. Back in the days they used to put you up with the pilot. I got to New York and I thought 'what else is there to achieve after this?' because everything else will be a failure or deemed as a failure.

"I went into the gaffer's office and said 'what are we doing? After winning the treble there's nothing to do. Can I have a year off from football with pay? Then I'll come back the next year and rejoin the team'.

"I honestly don't know what made me think that. What more could we possibly do as a team? Yeah we could repeat it but if you don't then the team is a failure. If there was a time you were going to ask the gaffer for anything, that was it. I didn't have anything to lose.

"He could only tell me to f*** off, which he did. He said 'f*** off and get lost'. It was jokingly but if he had said to take a year off then I would have done. But I knew that wasn't going to happen so I thought it was worth a try."

 

[Gary_Walsh_Nou_Camp_Hell]

Natural talent, but unprofessional. It's a story as old as football.

In other Yorke relate stories - he was also shagging giggs' brothers wife...

 

[Spoony]

I always wondered did he try shagging Phil Neville??

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

A quote from Yorke (after the 99 season)

"I went into the gaffer's office and said 'what are we doing? After winning the treble there's nothing to do. Can I have a year off from football with pay? Then I'll come back the next year and rejoin the team'.

feck me, he is unreal Not happy enough with a dream job and huge salary, he wants the huge salary for NOT working so he can shag his way round the world

 

[Oranges038]

"I was on such a high. It was ridiculous. Concorde was flying back then and I remember we went to New York. Back in the days they used to put you up with the pilot. I got to New York and I thought 'what else is there to achieve after this?' because everything

Pretty much the same as what George Best said or was said about him after winning the European Cup. Except he realised it in the showers right after the game.

 

[united_99]

He was very good in 99/00 too. After the treble, that season is rather understated, but I thought we were better in the PL in 99/00 than in the treble year. We scored a shedload and blew teams away. Won the league by a mile.

Definitely fell off after those two seasons, by which point he was 30, the certified age of death for a footballer. Maybe could've defied the odds and had 2 or 3 more good seasons if he was a bit more professional off the pitch.

Yep. For all the talk about Chelsea/Liverpool/City reaching 90+ points, we actually already did it in 1999/2000 more or less in 2nd gear while being in treble hangover mode.