DWIGHT Yorke must be wondering if he has sacrificed substance in pursuit of lifestyle as he assesses his first month of A-League action.
At 34, and with legs no longer carrying him at the velocity of yesteryear, the former Manchester United striker is still two moves ahead of his Sydney teammates in thought and deed.
Watching Yorke attempting to meld with his support cast is like witnessing Einstein explaining the theory of relativity to a schoolroom. After three goals in three games and an appetite for battle many wrongly believed had been surpassed by his appetite for nightlife, the suspicion is that Yorke's plunge from the Premier League to the A-League may have been premature.
The chasm in class between Yorke and his foot soldiers hasn't gone unnoticed with Central Coast skipper Noel Spencer observing: "He's thinking too fast for his teammates, he's on another level. It may take time to adjust to him.
"He expects people to be there on the end of all his flicks, touches and one-twos and often they're not.
"He's used to being surrounded by better players and he's a couple of steps ahead of everybody he's playing with."
Teammate Sasho Petrovski admits Yorke is doing more than his fair share to carry the Sydney workload.
"He's here to help us and it's up to us to try and learn from him and shine in our own right," he says.