First of all, I remember him beeing a very old Libero for Trinidad and Tobago. He wasn't that good in my recollection.
How good was Dwight Yorke?
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We were an incredible team in that 99/00 season, better than the treble side IMO
With an obvious goalkeeper downgrade
I don't remember being incredibly excited by the signing at the time. Felt like we were signing a good solid premiership striker but I didn't expect him to have the impact he did. He hit the ground running right away and was outstanding. You could have played him along with any other type of striker and he'd link up naturally with any of them. His feet were great and he was superb in the air, seemed to convert many of Beckhams crosses
He'd be the best striker in the league bar Haaland if he were playing now
United were playing tiki taka football in 99 before anyone had heard of the word. Yorke and Cole were doing in things inside and on the edge of opposition boxes that City need 4-5 players to do.
Don’t know how Yorke would fit in the modern area, maybe he’d be like a Firmino when he was at Liverpool.
I know the 08 team gets a lot of love and rightly so, but the best football I’ve ever seen any United team play was in 99.
Don’t know how Yorke would fit in the modern area, maybe he’d be like a Firmino when he was at Liverpool.
I know the 08 team gets a lot of love and rightly so, but the best football I’ve ever seen any United team play was in 99.
I wouldnt go that far but he was brilliant for Becks though as he was nearly always in the right position to get on the end of his crosses.
Great for 2 seasons then he lost the hunger
That’s why we signed Van Nistelrooy in 2000 (2001 eventually)
Link up play up there with the best I’ve seen
That’s why we signed Van Nistelrooy in 2000 (2001 eventually)
Link up play up there with the best I’ve seen
He was alright. Players from the late 90s get massively overrated.
So for those that remember, what happened to him in the 2000/2001 season? Why did his performances drop (apart from the obvious comments about his lifestyle). Did the goals dry up, did he suffer injuries. It seems strange that he could peak so high and drop off so quickly.
Ugly players always do well. Yorke, Beardsley, Barton (to a degree), amongst a few.
Was this the time he met ol saline tits, Katie price ? May explain his distracted nature and shit output.
Burned bright for too short a time with us, but his song is still one of the more memorable ones from that time.
Not as good as Andy Cole is my memory of him. Maybe even a little behind a fit Louis Saha too.
Some people might see this I as hyperbole but I see where your coming from. When he ran a game and was on song he could play both creator and goal scorer. Players like him an Collymore would have been more lauded if life’s distractions didn’t surface.
Excellent headers; overhead kicks and acrobatics; volleys; distance shooting; intricate interplay and 1-2’s in and around the box; tap-ins; near and back post finishing; hold up play; creativity; playing off either foot; dropping deep or going point as situations required; elusive, and the list goes on. You rarely see such a vast array of abilities in one player - most are specialists in a few aspects, but few push solid 7’s across the board. Pelé, you’re talking 9’s and 10’s, but to even be 7’s and 8’s is something special, so obviously not on Pelé’s level, but showing the same ridiculous array of attributes. Basically, Yorke was playing at a level that season which meant anything that came his way he could turn into something productive.
Rivaldo won the ballon D’or that year for similar in a team that didn’t win the CL and he’s rightly revered for it, by contrast, Yorke‘s crucial role in that side was always diminished, then and now because his name didn’t carry that gravitas others in our side and across Europe did. If he’d carried on at that level, we’d be having a very different conversation, but as he faded away, it made more sense for him to have cult status rather than any kind of legendary one. He essentially ruined that potential legacy despite showing the kind of trajectory that set him up to really bathe in the plaudits that could have come his way. I wonder if, looking back, he’d trade the undoubtedly amazing time he had off the pitch post-treble with actually dedicating himself to the game and having his game organically peak, plateau and fade. Financially, he fecked himself too, as maintaining that level would have been astronomical for his bank balance as he would have been a hot commodity instead of a tainted one.
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Great player in 98/99. Started fading a bit the following season. Then just dropped off completely after. The fame and women got the most of him. This is why Fergie used to encourage players to find a wife and settle so they can focus on football. This guy was too horny and distracted by the women (main one being Katie Price) to build a sustained legacy (though didn't stop Giggsy). But in terms of attributes he was a top player. We could say he blew his load in one season.
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He was great in 99. Very good at scoring with, near-post, headers (mainly from Beckham’s crosses). He was the better player in his pairing with Andrew Cole that season, IMO. He had a cooler head in front of goal at big moments.
After the treble, he asked Fergie for the season off -which tells you about his hunger. He was decent in 99-2000, though.
By 2001-2 (assuming reports were correct), he was banking on Fergie retiring so he could have a fresh start.
He was a talented player with a big-game mentality. He played well as a DM against England when he was older (2006 World Cup).
After the treble, he asked Fergie for the season off -which tells you about his hunger. He was decent in 99-2000, though.
By 2001-2 (assuming reports were correct), he was banking on Fergie retiring so he could have a fresh start.
He was a talented player with a big-game mentality. He played well as a DM against England when he was older (2006 World Cup).
Neither does mine
That can't be true surely.
Absolutely no way any professional player has ever asked for an entire season off. I can only assume its a typo, maybe asked for an extended break in the off season or something.
He did exactly that.
The ex-Trinidad and Tobago international asked Fergie for a 12-month leave thinking there was nothing left to conquer - and he wanted to get paid in full during his extended sabbatical.
Yorke told United's official podcast when asked about that strange request: “Yeah, but with pay. Yeah, I mean, what else would you do?
"I went in and I said, ‘Gaffer, what are we doing?’ Obviously, after you win the treble there’s nothing to do.
“[I asked] ‘Can I have a year off from football, with pay, and then I come back the next year and rejoin the team’. Honestly, I don’t know what made me think that. I just thought, ‘What else is there to do?
“‘There’s nothing else to do. What more can we possibly do as a team?’
"Yeah, you can repeat the feat, but if you don’t repeat it you are deemed as a failure."
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/2181...nd Dwight Yorke,in 51 appearances that season.
That's absolutely insane. What a fecking idiot. Surprised he even survived making such a request.
The type of play and actions that you describe are parts of the game that I miss from of land era where you had forward players who mixed there roles. This was mainly possible due to most teams playing two up front but as you say there are players though that had skills across the board and also performed in big games and at vital moments. Above all the individual skill I feel he made us a better team and helped us score some of my favourite goals that I’ve witnessed.
I do think he maybe suffered for being part of a generation that had some great strikers just pre and post his peak but your probably right in that he brought about his own downfall with his outside the pitch behaviour. You do see that with high level talents though that have that creative spirit and some of my favourite players maybe also fell pray to this, Brazilian Anderson, Romario and maybe even Ronaldinho let the party distract at times.
I do think though that you take the rough with the smooth and not all players have that mindset to dedicate themselves to the sport. Maybe the parties inspired the genius moments!
What I was going to say, instant world-class impact but short peak. Just gave up trying really, far too fond of partying and Fergie didn't respond well to that. But when you've won the treble, what else is there to achieve? Trinidad and Tobago couldn't do much internationally (still qualified for the World Cup for them later on). Don't blame him too much.
Was one of my favourite players when I first started watching football. Always had a smile on his face and his partnership with Cole was legendary.
Him heading in those Beckham crosses in key 98/99 matches was peak Man United. The glory days.
Also brought the best out of Andy Cole.
Was quality. At his peak one of the best Strikers in Europe.
His touch, balance, link-up play and finishing was top class. I think he was one of the first players I've seen pull off a flip flap/elastico move in top level football.
I remember he was really good at Villa for a couple of years before joining us, big clubs in Europe like Atletico Madrid and Lazio were constantly linked to him.
When he joined us in 1998 he hit the ground running. Formed a great partnership with Cole, the rest is history.
His performance levels dropped off dramatically around the start of the 2000/2001 season, his lifestyle probably caught up with him in the end.
His touch, balance, link-up play and finishing was top class. I think he was one of the first players I've seen pull off a flip flap/elastico move in top level football.
I remember he was really good at Villa for a couple of years before joining us, big clubs in Europe like Atletico Madrid and Lazio were constantly linked to him.
When he joined us in 1998 he hit the ground running. Formed a great partnership with Cole, the rest is history.
His performance levels dropped off dramatically around the start of the 2000/2001 season, his lifestyle probably caught up with him in the end.
I think a lot of fans felt the same way at the time.
After being linked with the likes of Ronaldo, Batistuta, Salas and Kluivert for two summers in a row the signing of Dwight Yorke was an underwhelming name for a lot of United fans.
He was brilliant for a while. But it is almost depressing looking back at some of those games on YouTube when he was brilliant because the rest of our team was so bloody good. A midfield of Keane, Scholes, Beckham and Giggs makes me want to cry when I compare to what we have these days. Hojlund is feeding off scraps compared to what Yorke was getting from that lot.
Such good memories of watching him play. Players like him and RVP may only have had a season or two at the top with us, but the inventiveness they displayed and the fun they seemed like they were having made up for the lack of longevity.
If I was given the choice between having 5 seasons of a Van Nistelrooy or Haaland type at United from this point onwards, or just a season of Yorke, I'd pick the latter every single time.
If I was given the choice between having 5 seasons of a Van Nistelrooy or Haaland type at United from this point onwards, or just a season of Yorke, I'd pick the latter every single time.
I was reading an old article that seemed to give an insight into what was going on. Seems when SAF left, the culture of "you are replaceable, so watch how you conduct yourself" also left.
SAF had him replaced by Forlan in the blink of an eye, regardless of his previous service to the club.
Here at the club, you play a few good games and play a lot of sh*te ones gets you a massive upgrade in salary...
Rarely lost the ball, especially in his first 2 seasons. I think his biggest strength was receiving the ball in tight areas and still coming away with it, excellent technician.
He was both a 9 and a false 9 all in one if that makes sense. Was also comfortable drifting wide as he was an excellent dribbler.
He was both a 9 and a false 9 all in one if that makes sense. Was also comfortable drifting wide as he was an excellent dribbler.
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Trinbagonian Tostao
Loverly smile
Had two things so many players lack nowadays: composure and great decision making. More so than Cole.
Aaah, the Yorkie-Goal King Cole combo literally brings a tear or more to my eyes when I think of those times. Of course they were getting great service from Becks and co which made things easier but their partnership was one of the most enjoyable I`ve ever seen from a United duo. If only we could step back in time....
I know that true story of him asking for a lengthy spell off with pay showed that Yorkie was out of touch with the ethos of United under Sir Alex but I think what he said about peaking with the Treble seems true. Some sports people feel that once the mountain has been climed and the summit achieved, they will never be able to replicate the first experience and can become anxious about trying to do it again.
People tend to underrate Yorkie`s attitude - he was no maintenance on the pitch, looked as if he was enjoying himself but was deadly with the opportunities. He and Andy had a literal telepathic connection in key games, the sight of those two was just as joyous as watching Ryan rip em to shreds on the wing. Yorkie was like Becks in that he never looked pressed but seemed to have all the time in the world.
A fantastic player, thank you so much for the memories. Dwight.
I know that true story of him asking for a lengthy spell off with pay showed that Yorkie was out of touch with the ethos of United under Sir Alex but I think what he said about peaking with the Treble seems true. Some sports people feel that once the mountain has been climed and the summit achieved, they will never be able to replicate the first experience and can become anxious about trying to do it again.
People tend to underrate Yorkie`s attitude - he was no maintenance on the pitch, looked as if he was enjoying himself but was deadly with the opportunities. He and Andy had a literal telepathic connection in key games, the sight of those two was just as joyous as watching Ryan rip em to shreds on the wing. Yorkie was like Becks in that he never looked pressed but seemed to have all the time in the world.
A fantastic player, thank you so much for the memories. Dwight.