Aston Villa F.C

Villa fans urged to ignore Yorkes return (3 Dec)

           Aston Villa supporters are being urged to give Dwight Yorke the silent treatment when their former
           hero returns to Villa Park for Saturday's FA Carling Premiership title showdown with Manchester
           United. Dave Woodhall, editor of leading Villa fanzine `Heroes and Villains' believes the cold
           shoulder approach would hurt Yorke more than jeering and booing Alex Ferguson's £12.6million
           capture.

And Woodhall claimed: ``It would be better if every fan turned their back on him - in the same
way as Yorke turned his back on us.''

Yorke will be returning to Villa Park for the first time since his move to Old Trafford in August
when an angry John Gregory said: ``If I had a gun, I would shoot him.''

Woodhall said: ``I am sure that Yorke will get booed on Saturday, in fact I think he can get ready
for some right stick from some of the Villa supporters.

           ``But personally I think it would be a lot more effective to be silent and ignore him as if to say
           `you're gone mate, we don't want you anymore'. That would show him up and hurt him more. That
           would be more effective.

``It would also annoy the United fans who have this ethos of loving to be hated because they think
people are jealous of their club if the Villa supporters ignored Yorke and his team-mates.''

Woodhall added: ``We have an edition of the fanzine coming out on the day of the game and most
people are saying `don't sink to Yorke's level'.

``Personally I think it would be unbelievable if every fan turned their back on him because he
turned his back on us.

``But I do think some of the sting has been taken out of the situation because Villa are top of the
league and Dion Dublin, who came in for Yorke, has been scoring goals for fun.''