Dwight Yorke has never coached a pro league game.
Still, the Manchester United legend will make his A-League Men coaching debut for Macarthur in the first round against Adelaide United, having already won a trophy with the fledgling club.
Under Yorke and heading into their third season, the Bulls won the Australia Cup, scoring 19 goals and conceding twice in five knockout games, earning Macarthur their first silver award.
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The jury is still out on Yorke as a coach and little is known about what style he will bring to the men’s A-League, but being a prolific forward in his playing days his team is unlikely to become overly defensive be.
Former Premier League winger Craig Noone confirmed this when asked what has brought Yorke to the Bulls since joining in May.
“Yorke is a very attacking coach as he’s an attacker himself,” said Noone The sports news at the start of the A-League season.
“His leadership style and coaching style was very good, very professional.
“He made a lot of changes at Macarthur and proved on the pitch that his methods work.
“I think you will find a very attacking side. We will score a lot of goals. We will be very fit because the training has been very intense.”
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And there’s certainly an incredible amount of offensive and creative talent at Macarthur this season that will allow Yorke to express himself as a coach.
The jewel in the Bulls crown is Johnny Warren medalist Ulises Davila, who wreaks havoc on defense in a role behind the forward.
Creative options that can sidestep Davila include one-time prodigies Daniel Arzani and Daniel De Silva, while Noone can wreak havoc even from the wings.
At the helm of the Bulls are two of Australia’s most talented young strikers, Al Hassan Toure and Lachlan Rose.
It’s certainly a hodgepodge of attacking players where Macarthur could be one of the teams to watch under Yorke this season.
But the Red Devils icon wants his best players to go to another level in the 2022-23 season.
“The first thing I said to them: you are good players, you really are. But what have they actually achieved? They didn’t win anything,” Yorke told 10Play before Macarthur’s final win at the Australia Cup.
“You called all the names like they were Premier League stars bang bang bang which is great don’t get me wrong but what did they actually do?
“I asked her: How do you want to be remembered? Just as a good player? Or do you want to achieve something legendary here, put your name in history, where what people say doesn’t matter because it’s in history?
“It’s my job as a coach to give the players that winning mentality, that vision that the club has.”
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