My Favourite Villan: Daniel Meredith on Dwight Yorke

[Tallman]

My Favourite Villan: Daniel Meredith on Dwight Yorke
avfc.co.uk

We have asked members of the claret and blue family - celebrities, fans, journalists, staff - to give us their all-time hero. Villa marketing manager Daniel Meredith reflects on the Calypso Kid who was in tune with Villa supporters.

The windows were wound down, the sun roof was open and our scarves were blowing in the breeze.

Along with my mum, dad and sister Olivia, I was travelling to the 1996 League Cup final.

And the cassette blasting out from the car stereo was on repeat play.

"Start spreading the news, he's playing today..."

The tune was New York, New York, the song made famous by Frank Sinatra. But this version was dedicated to my hero.

Dwight Yorke had made such an impact at Villa Park that a song had been recorded in his honour, and we loved it. So did thousands of others.

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[Mango Chow!]

Nice piece....It would be nice to see a compilation of all of his goals (Who knows, it probably have one on YouTube as I type this) but as the writer talks about that goal Dwight scored against Ipwsich, I recall one he scored against liverpool...diving header, near post, with David James coming, diving, full tilt to punch the ball....I was SURE he was goin' and mash up Dwight....amazing goal....

[Cocorite]

Goose bumps 

[Quags]

Villa was stupid those days ,every game he scored in it seemed but some games no Dwight ..or in at the end of the game .

[kaliman2006]

I remember when there was such an uproar among the Villa faithful when he left to go to Utd and somehow, some unflattering video footage of him surfaced in the media. I am glad, he was able to take it in stride and succeed at Utd, even should have transferred to a different team.

But hey, no one is perfect 

[Mango Chow!]

Villa was stupid those days ,every game he scored in it seemed but some games no Dwight ..or in at the end of the game .

  I remember dat, dey was playin' games (in MY opinion) and tryin' to give shine to 2 other players (a hite fella and another Black fella whose names I can no longer remember) and it used to rel piss me off!! 

[soccerman]

Nice read.

[Fyzoman]

Will there EVER be another Dwight for us?
We were lucky to have been around to see him do his thing.

[Rodney]

Villa was stupid those days ,every game he scored in it seemed but some games no Dwight ..or in at the end of the game .

  I remember dat, dey was playin' games (in MY opinion) and tryin' to give shine to 2 other players (a hite fella and another Black fella whose names I can no longer remember) and it used to rel piss me off!! 

Savo Milosovic and Dalian Atkinson if I remember correctly.

My big gripe was how long to took Villa to play him consistently as a striker even after showing (very early on!) it was his best posistion. They seemed obsessed IHMO in their belief that he was a winger and persisted in playing him there in his early career. I'm sure his goal scoring record there would have been way better if the penny had dropped a lot earlier. I blame Big Ron, he had some strange views on black players.

[Mango Chow!]

Villa was stupid those days ,every game he scored in it seemed but some games no Dwight ..or in at the end of the game .

  I remember dat, dey was playin' games (in MY opinion) and tryin' to give shine to 2 other players (a hite fella and another Black fella whose names I can no longer remember) and it used to rel piss me off!! 

Savo Milosovic and Dalian Atkinson if I remember correctly.

My big gripe was how long to took Villa to play him consistently as a striker even after showing (very early on!) it was his best posistion. They seemed obsessed IHMO in their belief that he was a winger and persisted in playing him there in his early career. I'm sure his goal scoring record there would have been way better if the penny had dropped a lot earlier. I blame Big Ron, he had some strange views on black players.

  I think yuh remembering more correctly than me....Dwight showed from day ONE what he was capable of and villa insisted on playin' de ass....they would have had much greater success themselves, had they played him more central (he just had a nose for goal and his finishing was clinical and precise) and more often.....