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By John Mair |
London, England, February 2002: He is in Soccer Siberia - out of form and out of favour. His career appears to have peaked and on the way down. He has become almost daily tabloid newspaper fodder, one day declaring he is 'fed up 'with his club, the next day his pregnant girlfriend announcing that she is going to give birth to their child live on the internet. Indeed Dwight Yorke from Trinidad and Tobago has become too much of laughing stock for his own professional good.
Yorke has for years been the subject of tabloid exposes about his sexual proclivities-he is a 'three in bed 'man. Now he has settled down with the model Jordan whose chief assets are surgically enhanced breasts and little else. Their child whose birth is imminent, might as well be born in the Manchester night clubs that seem to be the natural habitat of Dwight and Jordan. Yorke has swopped the Manchester United Theatre of Dreams-Old Trafford-for the nether world of The Theatre of the Absurd.
In his day job-serving the club of Manchester United-he is firmly out of favour. They are trying to offload him like so much baggage from a hot air balloon. He is not making it easy. A move to Middlesbrough FC in the North East collapsed when Yorke was said to have demanded £55,000 per week in wages. They demurred leaving Yorke beached at Old Trafford. His place in the team has been taken by new signee Ruud Van Nistleroy from Holland. And his striking partner-Andy Cole has long been sold to Blackburn Rovers. Dwight rarely ever graces the substitutes bench as United drive towards their seventh Premier League Championship in the last decade.
But in the beginning it was all so different.
When Yorke joined Manchester United from Aston Villa in August 1998 for a club record £12.6 million, the doubters amongst the Old Trafford faithful were numerous. The Trinidad and Tobago international had never been recognised as a consistent goalscorer and many wondered what extra qualities he would bring to United. A year late all were silenced as Yorke contributed hugely to United winning the Treble-the English Premiership, the English FA Cup and, on top of that, becoming Champions of Europe. He made his debut in United's second league game of the 1998-99 season at West Ham and had a quiet ninety minutes. A fortnight later however he began the process of repaying his massive transf
er fee, scoring two goals against
Charlton Athletic on his home debut. The goals continued to flow
for Yorke as that season panned out and in Europe he was revealing.
Goals against Bayern Munich, Brondby and Barcelona launched him
to the top of the strikers' chart in the Champions League. It
soon became obvious just why Alex Ferguson, he United Manager,
had remarked that out of all the strikers United had faced in
recent years,Yorke had caused them the most problems. Now that
he was being supplied by players of the quality of Beckham, Giggs
and Scholes, he was flourishing. But it was the partnership he
developed with fellow Caribbean (via London and Newcastle) Andy
Cole that really brought out the best in Yorke. Great friends
off the field, they formed an almost telepathic understanding
on it and combined to score a host of memorable goals. Since Cole's transfer, Yorke's reign at Old Trafford has been an uneven one. Currently he is well out of favour and on the substitutes bench, replaced as first choice by Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistleroy who was bought last summer for a sum in excess of £2o million. In the harsh football and business world that is Manchester United PLC, the world's best known soccer 'brand', there is little room for sentiment or under-performance. Dwight's days at Old Trafford might well be numbered.
1999-2000 didn't produce the fireworks that had been on show in the previous season for Yorke, although he still finished as Manchester United's top goal scorer. A lean first half had some people speculating that Yorke's first United season was just a one off. However, a great second half, which included a hat-trick against Derby County, saw Yorke chalk up 20 Premiership goals.
Last season, 2000-2001,was an even poorer one-he appeared for the Reds in their first team for just 213 minutes-two and half matches. He'd not only lost form but fallen foul of 'Fergie's Fury': United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is a Scottish stickler for routine. Yorke, a close friend of fellow Trini cricketer Brian Lara, is not.
He demonstrated his loyalty to his native Trinidad and Tobago and their football team by turning out for their World Cup campaign matches. But his tardy return trips to Old Trafford did not put him in the Boss's good books. And last year he displeased all of Trinidad & Tobago by deciding that he would no longer represent his native land in international competition.
But that has not brought him in good grace at Manchester United. Hell hath no fury like a Fergie crossed as others have found out. for now, Yorke is in professional cold storage and remains transfer list.
One club that wanted him was Middlesbrough. But the latter pulled out of negotiations saying the player had rejected the personal terms offered to him. Steve McClaren, Sir Alex Ferguson's former deputy at Old Trafford and now manager at the Riverside Stadium, had been hoping to sign the Trinidad and Tobago international to help his club's battle against relegation.
Middlesbrough and Manchester United agreed a fee of about £6.0 million pounds (BDS$16.94 million) for Yorke but the deal fell through when it came to discussing personal terms as Yorke's demands were beyond what the club coud offer.
Now Tottenham Hotspur have expressed an interest in signing Yorke. And Yorke is understood to be ready to lower his £60,000-a-week wage demands to revive his Premiership career, something he had been unwilling to do for Middlesborough. It is left to be seen whether Tottenham's boss Glenn Hoddle can persuade his board to give him the cash to launch a £5million bid.
At this point it would seem that the once toast of Manchester United will have to come down from his pedestal a bit.