Dwight Yorke

This article is about the association football player. For the Nuwaubian leader, see Dwight York.

Dwight Yorke

Personal information
Full name	Dwight Eversley Yorke
Date of birth	3 November 1971 (1971-11-03) (age 40)
Place of birth	Canaan, Trinidad and Tobago
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Forward Midfielder
Youth career
1988–1989	Signal Hill Comprehensive School
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1998	Aston Villa	232	(73)
1998–2002	Manchester United	95	(47)
2002–2004	Blackburn Rovers	60	(12)
2004–2005	Birmingham City	13	(2)
2005–2006	Sydney FC	21	(7)
2006–2009	Sunderland	58	(6)
Total		479	(147)
National team‡
1989–2009	Trinidad and Tobago	72	(19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:08, 1 January 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:54, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Dwight Eversley Yorke (born 3 November 1971 in Canaan, Tobago) is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland. He was the assistant manager of the Trinidad and Tobago national team until the completion of the qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Along with compatriot Russell Latapy and Pat Jennings, the former Northern Ireland goalkeeper, Yorke holds the record number of participations in different World Cup competitions, including qualifying stages – seven in total (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014).^[1] Yorke was nicknamed The Smiling Assassin^[2][3] because of his goal scoring abilities and his constant smile.

Club career

Aston Villa

Yorke was first discovered by Graham Taylor, at the time the Aston Villa manager, on a tour of the West Indies in 1989. Yorke appeared in a team that played a friendly match against Aston Villa, Taylor was impressed and offered Yorke a trial at Villa. Yorke was subsequently given a permanent contract and he made his First Division debut for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace on 24 March 1990: Crystal Palace won the game 1–0.

During his time with Aston Villa, from 1989 to 1998, Yorke played initially as a right winger until the 1995–96 season, he then switched to centre forward and quickly established himself as one of the Premiership's top strikers. Yorke was an integral member of the Villa team that reached the League Cup Final in 1996. Villa won 3–0 against Leeds United with Yorke getting on the scoresheet. On 30 September 1996 he scored a hat-trick against Newcastle United in a 4–3 defeat. Newcastle were leading 3–1 at half-time and Aston Villa were down to ten men, with Mark Draper being sent off late in the first half. Yorke showed great character in leading his team in a brave fight back by scoring two more goals in the second half to complete his hat-trick, although it was to no avail as Aston Villa still lost the game. Yorke thought he had scored a fourth goal to equalise the game at 4–4, only for it to be ruled offside. It was performances like this that led to interest from Manchester United in August 1998. Yorke appeared for Aston Villa on 231 occasions, scoring 97 times. He also has the distinct honour of being the last ever Villa player to score in front of the old Holte End standing terrace, notching both goals in a 2–1 victory on the final day of the 1993–94 season, 7 May 1994.

The circumstances of his departure from Aston Villa were very controversial; John Gregory, Aston Villa manager at that time, made it known that the club did not want to sell Yorke to Manchester United unless they were prepared to exchange Andy Cole, a striker at Manchester United. Yorke then approached Gregory to state that he wanted to leave the club, to which Gregory was famously attributed to saying that he would shoot Yorke if he had had a gun in his office. Yorke played in a match for Villa at Everton early in the season in August 1998, however it appeared he made no effort during the match as he was unhappy at not being allowed to leave the club. Aston Villa were left with no option but to sell the player and he was transferred to Manchester United for £12.6 million in August 1998. Despite spending 9 years at Villa he is disliked by some of its fans for his behaviour at the time he left the club and also because he later joined Birmingham City, the arch-rivals of Aston Villa, but he is also widely regarded in the hearts of Aston Villa fans as one of the clubs greatest ever goalscorers.

Manchester United

In his first season Yorke was a key player in guiding his club to a unique treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, and forming a legendary partnership with Andy Cole.^[4] Yorke finished the season as the top league goalscorer with 18 goals and contributed goals against Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Internazionale and Juventus in the Champions League. Yorke was also a regular member of United's 1999–2000 title winning team, contributing 22 goals in all competitions. Despite a less successful third season personally, Yorke did hit a hat-trick in the top of the table clash with Arsenal as United went on to win a third successive title.^[5]

Yorke's limited appearances in the 2001–02 season led to rumours that he'd fallen out with United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, following his much publicised relationship with British model Jordan. After a January move to Middlesbrough fell through^[6] Yorke was sold to Blackburn Rovers for £2 million during the close-season. Altogether he scored 64 goals for Manchester United in 188 appearances.

Blackburn Rovers

Yorke spent two years at Blackburn Rovers, where he rejoined his old United strike partner, Andy Cole, he managed 13 goals in his first year at Blackburn helping them finish 6th and qualify for the UEFA cup, the following season he was in and out of the team and fell out with manager Graeme Souness. It was rumoured that Souness accused him of not trying hard enough, and during a six-a-side match the pair once exchanged a few tough tackles. Subsequently he joined Birmingham City in 2004 on a free transfer.

Birmingham City

Yorke started his Birmingham career well with a goal on his home debut against Charlton^[7] which went a long way in winning over skeptical fans owing to his lengthy association in the past with city rivals Aston Villa. He scored again against Newcastle in October.^[8] However, Yorke ended up spending most of the remainder of his time at the club on the bench and was eventually released by Steve Bruce and was snapped up by Australian A-League team Sydney FC.

Sydney FC

Yorke during his time with Sydney F.C.

By signing for Sydney FC, Yorke opted to continue his career in Australia for less money than might have been available in some other leagues, notably those in the Middle East (a common destination for aging stars seeking a lucrative final contract before retirement). Qatar's football league were most interested, but Yorke opted for the Australian club instead. He scored the first goal for Sydney FC in its first A-League regular season match, a diving header against the Melbourne Victory. Yorke came to Sydney FC with the biggest pedigree of all players in the new A-League, having won the treble with Manchester United. He signed for two years. Yorke scored 7 goals in the A-League, with three of them being from penalty kicks. Former Sydney FC coach Pierre Littbarski moved Yorke into a midfield role and went on to give him the team captaincy.

He played a major role in leading Sydney FC to victory in the inaugural A-League Grand Final on 5 March against regional rivals Central Coast Mariners. He set up the only goal, scored by Steve Corica, in front of a sell out crowd of over 41,000 at Aussie Stadium, and was awarded the Joe Marston Medal as best player in the grand final.

Yorke was the marquee player for Sydney FC – meaning that his salary fell outside the salary cap. He was also a star name for the A-League as a whole. Aside from his footballing talents, the drawing power and credibility he brought both locally and internationally proved to be beneficial for the competition in its inaugural season, leading the FFA to use his image and name for the promotion of the A-League's second season.

In June 2006, Yorke trained with Manchester United in a bid to achieve a higher level of fitness prior to the 2006 World Cup, although he was at that time contracted to Sydney FC. This was because the Australian season had already ended and pre-season training had not yet commenced.

He returned to Sydney FC to take part in a friendly against Everton in 2010. The game was considered as his 'farewell game' as he never had the chance to say a proper farewell to the fans at Sydney FC. Everton won the match 1–0, and Yorke was substituted mid-way through the second half.^[9]

Sunderland

On 31 August 2006, Yorke's transfer to Sunderland was announced.^[10] The transfer for a fee of £200,000 (A$ $500,000) re-united Yorke with ex-teammate Roy Keane, then manager of Sunderland. Yorke made his debut in the home match against Leicester City and received a rapturous standing ovation from home fans when he came on as a substitute in the first half. He scored his first goal for Sunderland in the 2–1 loss against Stoke and was generally accepted by the people of Sunderland, switching on the city's Christmas lights in 2006. He was handed the number 19 shirt at Sunderland, the number which he wore at Manchester United and Sydney. On 2 January 2008, during Sunderland's 1–0 defeat to Blackburn, Yorke was given a red card by referee Rob Styles.

Yorke was caught on record several times stating he would like to return to the A-League, preferably Sydney FC. However following Sydney FC's signings at the time, it seemed very unlikely that Sydney would have been able to fit him under the salary cap. For a time it seemed that Yorke would end up playing for rivals Central Coast Mariners, the team bankrolled by the man who brought him to Sydney, Peter Turnbull.^[11]

On 11 March 2008, it was announced that the Mariners were in "advanced negotiations" with Yorke to become the marquee for two years.^[12] However on 1 July 2008 Yorke signed a new one-year contract to stay with Sunderland for the 2008–09 season.^[13] He demonstrated that he can still perform at the highest level with a man of the match performance^[14] against Arsenal on 4 October 2008, a game which Sunderland drew 1–1 at home.

Following Roy Keane's departure from the post of Sunderland manager in December 2008, Yorke and Neil Bailey were named as assistants to Ricky Sbragia.^[15] Yorke was released at the end of the 2008–09 season.^[16]

Post-retirement

Yorke has completed his Level B coaching badge and is interested in pursuing a career in coaching. On 17 April 2011 he completed the London Marathon in a time of 3 hours and 32 minutes.^[17]

International career

To date Yorke has been capped 72 official times for the Trinidad and Tobago national team, scoring 26 goals, but has played over 100 matches for T&T that were not recognised as international friendlies. Along with his friend Russell Latapy, Yorke was a member of the 1989 'Strike Squad', the national team which narrowly failed to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He retired from international football in 2001 after a disagreement with the side's coach; however he returned to the team for the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, in which the team qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in their history after a 2–1 aggregate qualifying victory over Bahrain.

Yorke was captain for all of Trinidad and Tobago's games at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was Man of the Match in the 0–0 draw against Sweden, pipping his close friend Shaka Hislop to the honour despite the then West Ham goalkeeper making several world-class saves. He was one of six players in the Trinidad squad (the others being Brent Sancho, Dennis Lawrence, Chris Birchall, Carlos Edwards and Stern John) to have played every minute of the campaign.

Yorke announced his retirement from international football in March 2007, choosing to focus on his club career at Sunderland.^[18] He captained the side in Germany, and up until his retirement. However, he made a guest return appearance for a friendly against England in June 2008 after being invited by FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.^[19]

On 10 July 2008, the TTFF announced Yorke's return to the national team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.^[20]

On 15 October 2008, he scored his first international goal after returning from retirement against the United States in a 2010 World Cup Qualification match. The game ended 2–1 for Trinidad and Tobago. His goal was a crucial tie-breaker scored in the 79th minute, which put Trinidad and Tobago in a great situation to advance to the next qualifying stage, needing only a tie against Cuba in their final game. On 11 February 2009, Yorke scored a 26th minute penalty for his country, but was sent off in the dying seconds of Trinidad and Tobago's opening match of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round against El Salvador (2:2) after exchanging heated remarks with Mexican referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez (the Trini star had voiced his disapproval of the disruptions caused by the home crowd) and was consequently banned for 4 games due to his use of abusive language. However, the suspension was later reduced to 2 matches.^[21]

After being released from Sunderland and being unable to find a club before the end of the current transfer window, Yorke retired from football altogether in September 2009, and took up the post of assistant manager with the Trinidad and Tobago national team.^[22]

Personal life

Yorke has a acquired a notorious reputation in the British press for being a serial womanizer.^[23][24] While at Manchester United he secretly videoed a drink-fuelled sex romp involving himself, the then Villa keeper Mark Bosnich and four girls at Bosnich's luxury house in Sutton Coldfield.^[24] Yorke has dated many glamour models and was once in a brief relationship with the British Page Three model Jordan, and has a son with her named Harvey who is blind and has autism.^[25] Yorke disputed paternity until Jordan's claims were proven by a DNA test.^[26] He also reportedly dated David Hasselhoff's current girlfriend Hayley for four months prior to her meeting Hasselhoff in 2011.^[27]

The Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago, constructed for the 2001 U-17 World Cup, was named in Yorke's honour. Yorke is a cricket fan. One of Yorke's closest friends is fellow countryman Brian Lara. During the 1999 Cricket World Cup, Yorke made regular appearances bringing on drinks for the West Indies cricket team. Yorke's older brother, Clint Yorke, is a former first class cricketer who has represented Trinidad and Tobago as an opening batsman.^[28]

Yorke featured extensively in an episode of Australia's The Biggest Loser TV show, which aired 28 February 2006. The episode involved Yorke coaching the "red team" of contestants while they competed against the "blue team" in a game of football. Mark Rudan, Yorke's Sydney FC team-mate, was the manager of the "blue team".

For his contribution to the national team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup he was made a Sports Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago.

He released his autobiography in 2009 titled, "Born To Score".^[29]

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1989–90	Aston Villa	First Division	2	0
1990–91			18	2
1991–92			32	11
1992–93		Premier League	27	6
1993–94			12	2
1994–95			37	6
1995–96			35	17
1996–97			37	17	2	2	2	1	0	0	41	20
1997–98			30	12	2	2	1	0	7	2	40	16
1998–99			1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Manchester United		32	18	8	3	0	0	11	7	51	30
1999–2000			32	20	–	–	0	0	15	3	47	23
2000–01			22	9	2	0	2	2	11	1	37	12
2001–02			8	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	12	1
2002–03	Blackburn Rovers		33	8	3	3	4	2	3	0	43	13
2003–04			23	4	1	0	1	2	2	0	27	6
2004–05			4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Birmingham City		13	2	1	0	2	0	0	0	16	2
Australia			League		Cup		League Cup		Oceania/Asia		Total
2005–06	Sydney	A-League	21	7							21	7
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2006–07	Sunderland	Championship	32	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	33	5
2007–08		Premier League	20	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	1
2008–09			7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Total	England		457	141
	Australia		21	7
Career total			478	148

Updated on 26 April 2010.^[30]

International goals

Scores and results list Trinidad and Tobago's goal tally first.^[31]

Num	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1, 2	9 July 1989	Bridgetown, Barbados	Grenada	2–1	Win	1989 Caribbean Championship
3	21 May 1993	Montego Bay, Jamaica	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	4–1	Win	1993 Caribbean Cup
4	23 June 1996	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Dominican Republic	8–0	Win	1998 World Cup Qualifier
5	15 February 2000	Los Angeles, United States	Guatemala	4–2	Win	2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6	7 May 2000	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Haiti	3–1	Win	2002 World Cup Qualification
7	19 May 2000	Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	1–1	Draw	2002 World Cup Qualification
8, 9	8 July 2000	Port of Spain	Jamaica	2–4	Loss	Friendly
10	16 July 2000	Edmonton, Canada	Canada	2–0	Win	2002 World Cup Qualification
11, 12	16 August 2000	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Panama	6–0	Win	2002 World Cup Qualification
13	23 June 2001	Hamilton,	Bermuda	5–0	Win	Friendly
14, 15	28 February 2006	London, England	Iceland	2–0	Win	Friendly
16	7 October 2006	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	5–0	Win	Friendly
17	15 October 2008	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	United States	2–1	Win	2010 World Cup Qualification
18	19 November 2008	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Cuba	3–0	Win	2010 World Cup Qualification
19	11 February 2009	San Salvador, El Salvador	El Salvador	2–2	Draw	2010 World Cup Qualification

Honours

Club

Aston Villa

• Football League Cup (2): 1993–94, 1995–96

Manchester United

• Premier League (3): 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01
• FA Cup (1): 1998–99
• UEFA Champions League (1): 1998–99
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999

Sydney FC

• A-League (1): 2005–06

Sunderland

• Football League Championship (1): 2006–07

National team

• Caribbean Cup (1): 1989

Individual

• Barclays Golden Boot (first foreign winner, joint): 1998–99
• Joe Marston Medal: 2005–06

References

1. ^ FIFA.com - FIFA Player Statistics: Dwight YORKE
2. ^ Shaun Fuentes (Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation Press Officer) (15 February 2000). "T&T keep hopes alive". SocaWarriors.net. http://www.socawarriors.net/mens-senior-team/goalscorers.html?view=matchreport&id=300. Retrieved 24 November 2008. 
3. ^ Northcroft, Jonathan (23 January 2005). "Passion burns for Cole". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article505334.ece. Retrieved 24 November 2008. 
4. ^ Murray, Scott (24 April 2009). "The Joy of Six: great strike partnerships". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/apr/24/joy-of-six-strike-partnerships. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
5. ^ "United hit Arsenal for six". The Daily Telegraph (London). 25 February 2001. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/2999656/United-hit-Arsenal-for-six.html. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
6. ^ Nixon, Alan (25 January 2002). "Yorke puts Boro move in jeopardy". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/yorke-puts-boro-move-in-jeopardy-668872.html. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
7. ^ "Birmingham 1-1 Charlton". BBC. 18 September 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3647064.stm. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
8. ^ "Birmingham 2-2 Newcastle". BBC. 3 October 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3689208.stm. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
9. ^ Gallant Sky Blues go down 1-0 to Everton
10. ^ http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4872&pageid=489
11. ^ Taylor, John (8 March 2008). "Aussie encore for Yorke". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23336611-5001023,00.html. 
12. ^ Davutovic, David (11 March 2008). "Dwight Yorke close to A-League comeback with Mariners". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23352151-5001023,00.html. 
13. ^ Yorke to stay with Black Cats, Sky Sports News, Accessed 2 July 2008.
14. ^ Taylor, Louise (6 October 2008). "No substitute for sentiment as Leadbitter's sweet celebration is dedicated to his father". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/oct/06/premierleague.sunderland. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
15. ^ Nick Alexander (4 December 2008). "Sbragia to take charge at United". Sunderland A.F.C.. http://www.safc.com/news/?page_id=16353. Retrieved 7 December 2008. 
16. ^ "Yorke heads Sunderland clear-out". BBC Sport. 28 May 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/8072478.stm. Retrieved 29 September 2010. 
17. ^ http://guardian.co.tt/sports/football/2010/12/07/yorke-gets-level-b-coaching-badge
18. ^ Yorke retires from internationals
19. ^ Yorke to make surprise T&T appearance
20. ^ SIX PLAYERS ADDED TO SOCA WARRIORS ROSTER... Dwight to rejoin team for qualifiers, TTFF, Accessed 11 July 2008.
21. ^ Trinidad News
22. ^ "Yorke opts to end playing career". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 4 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8239081.stm. Retrieved 4 September 2009. 
23. ^ "Dwight Yorke: I'm ready for management now, not marriage". The Guardian. 27 February 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/27/dwight-yorke-interview-carling-cup. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
24. ^ ^{a b} "The 10 worst examples of footballers behaving badly". The Guardian. 4 November 2011. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,583485,00.html. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
25. ^ Catherine Deveney (5 February 2006). "Two faces of Jordan". The Scotsman. http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=173652006. Retrieved 18 March 2007. 
26. ^ "It won't be a Dwight Christmas for Jordan". Evening Standard (London). 23 December 2008. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23607399-details/It+won+t+be+a+Dwight+Christmas+for+Jordan/article.do. Retrieved 5 February 2009. 
27. ^ Mccormack, Kirsty. "What will the Hoff say? Hayley Roberts 'bedded Dwight Yorke and Enrique Iglesias' prior to meeting David". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2049681/Hayley-Roberts-allegedly-bedded-Dwight-Yorke-Enrique-Iglesias-meeting-David-Hasselhoff.html. Retrieved 16 October 2011. 
28. ^ http://content-pak.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/53379.html
29. ^ http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/dwight+yorke/born+to+score/6651842/
30. ^ Dwight Yorke career stats at Soccerbase
31. ^ Mamrud, Roberto (7 January 2009). "Dwight Yorke - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/yorke-intlg.html. Retrieved 12 February 2009. 

External links

• Dwight Yorke at the Internet Movie Database
• Dwight Yorke career stats at Soccerbase
• Sydney FC profile
• Dwight Yorke Interview
• Profile at Soca Warriors Online

Persondata
Name	Yorke, Dwight Eversley
Alternative names
Short description	Professional footballer
Date of birth	1971-11-03
Place of birth	Canaan, Tobago
Date of death
Place of death