Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Nicholas Butt [1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | [1] | 21 January 1975||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Gorton, Manchester, England | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1] | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Salford City (chief executive officer) | ||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
1991–1992 | Manchester United | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
1992–2004 | Manchester United | 270 | (21) | ||||||||||||||
2004–2010 | Newcastle United | 134 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
2005–2006 | → Birmingham City (loan) | 24 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
2010–2011 | South China | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Total | 431 | (30) | |||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||
1992–1993 | England U18 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
1992 | England U19 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
1994–1996 | England U21 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
1997–2004 | England | 39 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
2016–2017 | Manchester United U23 (interim) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Nicholas Butt (born 21 January 1975) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the head of first-team development at Manchester United. He is also a co-owner and chief executive officer of Salford City. Butt played professional football as a midfielder from 1992 to 2011. He spent the majority of his career with Manchester United, where he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, four FA Community Shields, the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup.
Butt moved to Newcastle United in 2004. He spent one season on loan to Birmingham City in 2005–06. He finished his career abroad, playing for South China where he won the Hong Kong League Cup.
Butt earned 39 caps for England between 1997 and 2004. He was chosen for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2004.
Born in Gorton, Manchester, Butt began his career at Manchester United as an important part of their youth team before turning professional in 1993.
He made his first-team debut in the 1992–93 season as a substitute against Oldham Athletic in a 3–0 Premier League win on 21 November 1992, but did not get his big break in the team until the 1994–95 season, often covering for Roy Keane in the event of injuries and suspension. One of his first appearances for the first team came in the FA Cup semi-final on 10 April 1994, also against Oldham as a substitute, this time in a 1–1 draw at Wembley Stadium. United won the replay 4–1 at Maine Road but he was not included in the squad. 1994–95 saw Butt play 35 games in all competitions, scoring one goal and featuring in the starting eleven for the FA Cup final, which United lost to Everton.
With the departure of Paul Ince to Internazionale in the 1995 close season, manager Alex Ferguson chose to draft in Butt as Ince's successor in midfield alongside Roy Keane. Butt was part of a notable batch of talented, young Manchester United players dubbed Fergie's Fledglings, who had mostly been involved in United's FA Youth Cup-winning triumph of 1992 and gradually been introduced into the first team over the next few seasons. Others included David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes – who all spent a decade or more in the Old Trafford team's first team and helped the club win numerous major trophies as the dominant force in English football.
Butt performed remarkably in his early seasons as a regular first team player at United, and often started in the lineup, scoring crucial goals, such as against Liverpool in Eric Cantona's comeback match in October 1995, and forcing Nigel Winterburn to concede an own goal for the winner against Arsenal in November 1996 – a game which saw the end of a three-match losing run in the league. Butt also functioned as a steady replacement for Roy Keane as the midfield ball winner, while Keane was injured for much of the 1997–98 season, earning a PFA Team of the Year award that year. However, Keane returned and after forward Paul Scholes was re-deployed as a midfielder around the end of the 1990s. Butt's first-team chances started to become increasingly limited, with many of his appearances coming from the bench from this stage onwards.
Butt still went on to collect many honours at United, as the club capped their domination of the 1990s with a remarkable and unique treble win in 1999 (with Butt playing the whole of the Champions League Final due to Roy Keane being suspended), and several more titles in the years up till 2001. By the time of his departure from Old Trafford, Butt had gained six Premier League title winner's medals, three FA Cup winner's medals and a Champions League winner's medal. He had also collected an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1995.
Butt handed in a transfer request in January 2004, [2] but turned down a proposed move to Birmingham City during the January transfer window. [3] He was signed by Bobby Robson for Newcastle United in July 2004 for a fee of £2.5 million on a four-year deal, where he was seen as a replacement for the veteran Gary Speed, who had moved to Bolton Wanderers. [4]
Butt had a disappointing and injury-marred 2004–05 season, prompting the then Newcastle manager Graeme Souness to sign Senegalese midfielder Amdy Faye in January 2005. Despite a promising start, the fans turned on Butt after the 4–1 defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final.[ citation needed ] The acquisition of Scott Parker and Emre in the summer of 2005 pushed Butt further down the pecking order, and his move to Birmingham City (managed by former Manchester United teammate Steve Bruce) on a season-long loan was announced on 3 August 2005. [5]
However, on 13 February 2006, Butt walked out on his manager and former Manchester United teammate Steve Bruce, after finding out Bruce placed his son Alex Bruce in the squad ahead of him, and was later fined two weeks wages. [6] After Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League, Butt returned to Newcastle who were being managed by Glenn Roeder. [7]
Although not an instant fan favourite at St. James' Park, Butt won over some fans with two goals scored through headers in a pre-season friendly against Villarreal. [8] There was some speculation that newly appointed Sunderland manager Roy Keane would try to sign his former Manchester United midfield partner. However, due to the lack of back-up midfielders at Newcastle and his good pre-season form, Butt remained at Newcastle.
During the 2006–07 season, Butt was much more involved in the first team at Newcastle, playing in the holding role which allowed the likes of Parker and Emre to go forward. On 14 January 2007, Butt scored his first Newcastle goal in over 2 years when he scored the winner against Tottenham Hotspur in a 3–2 victory at White Hart Lane. [9] Butt's return to form was encapsulated when he captained Newcastle in a UEFA Cup match against Zulte Waregem on 15 February when Parker was injured. [10] His good form that season continued, as on 9 April, Butt won the man of the match award for his performance against Arsenal. He continued to captain Newcastle whenever Parker was injured, and by the end of the season it was widely considered that he had won over the Newcastle fans. [11]
With Parker having moved to West Ham United, Butt continued to play a big part in Newcastle's 2007–08 campaign. On 21 December, he penned a new contract keeping him at the club until the end of next season. [12] After being an almost ever-present in that season, he expressed a desire to finish his career with Newcastle. [13] Butt also started the season as captain, filling in for the injured Michael Owen, and proved to be a popular choice. Butt played his 100th league game for Newcastle on 21 December 2008, marking it with a 2–1 home win against Tottenham. Newcastle were eventually relegated that season, meaning that Butt's record of playing in every Premier League season has been relinquished.
Butt was made permanent club captain for the 2009–10 season, his first outside the top flight, following Michael Owen's departure to Manchester United as a free agent during the summer transfer window. However, vice-captain Alan Smith's impressive form has seen him take the armband more often than Butt. Butt started fewer games, but still effectively carried out his holding role well, leading his side to gritty shutouts in most of the games he started.
The club eventually won both promotion to the Premier League and the Championship title, and Butt announced his retirement in the build-up to Newcastle's last home game against Ipswich Town. [14] He entered his penultimate game as a substitute and won a penalty en route to a 2–2 draw. Butt lifted the Championship trophy alongside vice-captain Alan Smith.
After leaving Newcastle he was backed by former Newcastle boss Chris Hughton to move into coaching, although a coaching position with Newcastle is not something Hughton had spoken with Butt about. [15]
On 6 November 2010, the chairman of Hong Kong club South China, Steven Lo, said that the club expected Butt to sign for them at the end of the month. [16] Butt signed for South China on 22 November. Wearing the No. 8 shirt, [17] his first match was against TSW Pegasus in a 2–1 win for South China. Butt scored from a freekick during this game but also missed a penalty. [18]
After leaving South China, he featured in Gary Neville's testimonial against Juventus on 24 May 2011 in central midfield alongside Paul Scholes, rekindling the old times in a midfield that also contained David Beckham. However, they lost the game to the Old Lady. Butt also featured in midfield for Eric Cantona's New York Cosmos in Scholes' testimonial match against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 5 August 2011. [19]
Having been capped five times at under-21 level, he won his first England cap during the 1996–97 season against Mexico and became a squad regular, providing reliable backup for the central midfield positions. An injury to first choice midfielder Steven Gerrard before the 2002 FIFA World Cup gave Butt his chance in the starting line-up alongside Manchester United teammates David Beckham and Paul Scholes. Ahead of England's quarter-final game against Brazil, he was named "the best player of the England squad" by Brazilian legend Pelé, [20] a compliment to his performance in the unattractive holding role. England eventually exited the World Cup after a 2–1 defeat to Brazil.
After the World Cup he returned to his role as a squad player, providing experienced cover for the first-choice midfield pairing of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. He was selected for UEFA Euro 2004, but missed the tournament through injury. His last international appearance was in a friendly against Spain on 17 November 2004. In total he appeared 39 times for England.
In October 2012, Butt returned to Manchester United as a coach for the club's reserve team. [21] He was appointed head of the academy in February 2016, a few months after the departure of Brian McClair. [22] [23] Since November 2016, he has filled in as interim coach of the reserve (under-23) team after Warren Joyce left for the managerial position at Wigan Athletic. [24] He briefly served as assistant to Ryan Giggs, after Giggs was made the interim manager of the Manchester United first team, following the departure of David Moyes.
In July 2019, Manchester United restructured their backroom staff, making Butt the head of first-team development, reporting directly to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær to help improve the transition for young players from the youth team to the first team. Nick Cox replaced Butt as head of the academy. [25] In March 2021, it was announced that Butt was to leave Manchester United after 9 years there in various coaching roles within their academy. [26]
In 2014, it was announced that Butt, along with fellow ex-Manchester United players Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Gary and Phil Neville had agreed a deal to purchase Salford City ahead of the 2014–15 season. [27] [28] with plans to get the club to the Football League. [29] The group announced they would take part in a special friendly, with Salford facing a Class of '92 team. [30] [31] [32] On 22 September, the group agreed to sell a 50% stake in the club to billionaire Peter Lim. [33] [34]
On 31 October 2022, Salford City announced the appointment of Butt as the club's chief executive officer, taking over from Gary Neville who had served in that role in a part-time capacity for eight years. [35] On 15 October 2024, Butt announced he was stepping down as CEO of Salford to pursue coaching opportunities. [36]
Butt was arrested and bailed for assaulting a woman in 2004. [37] Butt married his long-time girlfriend Shelley Barlow in 2008. [38] They have two children. [39] Butt was arrested for alleged domestic assault in April 2019 [40] but the case was discontinued after the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence. Butt accepted a caution for criminal damage. [41]
In 2024, Butt was banned from driving for a year and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work for breaking a motorcyclist's leg during an accident caused by Butt's "lapse of concentration". [42]
Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other [43] | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Manchester United | 1992–93 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
1993–94 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
1994–95 | Premier League | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
1995–96 | Premier League | 32 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 41 | 3 | ||
1996–97 | Premier League | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 6 | |
1997–98 | Premier League | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 3 | |
1998–99 | Premier League | 31 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 2 | |
1999–2000 | Premier League | 32 | 3 | – | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 4 | ||
2000–01 | Premier League | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4 | |
2001–02 | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 | |
2002–03 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 29 | 0 | ||
2003–04 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
Total | 270 | 21 | 29 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 71 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 387 | 26 | ||
Newcastle United | 2004–05 | Premier League | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 28 | 1 | |
2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
2006–07 | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
2007–08 | Premier League | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 3 | |||
2008–09 | Premier League | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 0 | |||
2009–10 | Championship | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 0 | |||
Total | 134 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173 | 5 | ||
Birmingham City (loan) | 2005–06 | Premier League | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
South China | 2010–11 | Hong Kong First Division League | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
Total | 431 | 30 | 41 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 97 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 601 | 36 |
Manchester United
Newcastle United
South China
England U18
Individual
Ryan Joseph Giggs is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of football. Giggs spent his entire professional career at Manchester United, where he also served as the club's interim player-manager and assistant manager. He is one of the most decorated footballers of all time, and is one of only 44 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances.
Paul Scholes is an English football pundit, coach, former player, and the co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 appearances between 1993 and 2013. Scholes won 25 trophies, including 11 Premier League titles, two FA Cups and two UEFA Champions League titles. He is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and one of the greatest midfielders of all time, renowned for his technical skills, accurate passing, intelligent movement, powerful shooting from long range and goal-scoring ability.
Gary Alexander Neville is an English football pundit, former player, and co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. As a player, Neville was a right-back and spent his entire career with Manchester United, serving as club captain for five years. He is one of the most decorated English and European footballers of all time, having won a total of 20 trophies, including eight Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League titles.
Darren Barr Fletcher is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who is currently serving as a first-team coach at Manchester United, where he spent the majority of his playing career and won 13 trophies including five Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League. He mostly played as a central midfielder, but began his career as a right winger and also featured occasionally in defence.
Philip John Neville is an English football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teammates.
The period from 1986, when Alex Ferguson was appointed as Manchester United manager, to 2013, when he announced his retirement from football, was the most successful in the club's history. Ferguson joined the club from Aberdeen on the same day that Ron Atkinson was dismissed, and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league. Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the club was back in 11th place the following season. Reportedly on the verge of being dismissed, victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final replay saved Ferguson's career. The following season, Manchester United claimed their first UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. That triumph allowed the club to compete in the European Super Cup for the very first time, where United beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance in 1992 saw the club win that competition for the first time as well, following a 1–0 win against Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium. In 1993, the club won its first league title since 1967, and a year later, for the first time since 1957, it won a second consecutive title – alongside the FA Cup – to complete the first "Double" in the club's history. United then became the first English club to do the Double twice when they won both competitions again in 1995–96, before retaining the league title once more in 1996–97 with a game to spare.
Salford City Football Club is a professional association football club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system.
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the 15th season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007. Chelsea were the two-time defending champions.
The 2005 FA Cup final was a football match played between Arsenal and Manchester United on 21 May 2005 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2004–05 FA Cup, the 124th season of English football's primary cup competition, the FA Cup. Arsenal became the first team to win the FA Cup via a penalty shoot-out, despite being outplayed throughout the game, after neither side managed to score in the initial 90 minutes or in 30 minutes of extra time. The shoot-out finished 5–4 to Arsenal, with Patrick Vieira scoring the winning penalty after Paul Scholes' shot was saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
The 2004 FA Cup final was the 123rd FA Cup Final and the fourth to be played at the Millennium Stadium, the Welsh national stadium in Cardiff, due to the ongoing reconstruction of the usual venue, London's Wembley Stadium. The match took place on 22 May 2004 and it was contested by Manchester United, who had finished third in the Premier League that season, and Millwall, who had finished 10th in the First Division.
The 1999 FA Cup final was an association football match that took place on 22 May 1999 at the old Wembley Stadium in London to determine the winner of the 1998–99 FA Cup. It was contested between Manchester United and Newcastle United. Goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes gave Manchester United a 2–0 win to claim their 10th FA Cup title. It was the second part of the treble of trophies Manchester United won during the 1998–99 season, which was completed four days later, when they won the Champions League.
The 2004–05 season was Manchester United's 13th season in the Premier League, and their 30th consecutive season in the top division of English football.
The 1997–98 season was Manchester United's sixth season in the Premier League, and their 23rd consecutive season in the top division of English football. The campaign ended in disastrous fashion, having been pipped to the Premier League title by Arsenal, who managed a ten-match winning streak in the last two months of the season, as well as being eliminated by league strugglers Barnsley and French outfit AS Monaco in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, respectively. To make matters worse, United entered March still in contention for a League and European double after opening up a 12-point gap, regardless of the fact that nearest challengers Arsenal had three games in hand. Thus, the season ended with only the Charity Shield in the cabinet.
The 2003 FA Community Shield was the 81st staging of the FA Community Shield, an annual football match contested by the reigning champions of the Premier League and the holders of the FA Cup. It was held at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 10 August 2003. The match pitted Manchester United, champions of the 2002–03 Premier League against Shield holders Arsenal, who beat Southampton 1–0 in the 2003 FA Cup final. Manchester United won the Shield 4–3 on penalties, as neither side could be separated after a 1–1 draw in 90 minutes.
Fergie's Fledglings were a group of football players recruited by Manchester United under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson and trained by assistant coaches Brian Kidd and Eric Harrison, before eventually progressing to the first team during the 1990s.
The 2001 FA Charity Shield was the 79th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup. The match was contested between Liverpool, winners of the 2000–01 FA Cup and Manchester United, who won the 2000–01 Premier League on 12 August 2001. It was the first Shield match to be held at the Millennium Stadium following the closure of Wembley Stadium for reconstruction. It was also the final time that the match was played under the FA Charity Shield name, as it was renamed to the FA Community Shield the following year.
The 2000 FA Charity Shield was the 78th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match organised by the Football Association, and contested by the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. It was the final match played at the original Wembley Stadium in London and took place on 13 August 2000 between Chelsea, the winners of the 1999–2000 FA Cup, and Manchester United, who had won the 1999–2000 FA Premier League. Watched by a crowd of 65,148, Chelsea won the match 2–0.
Eric George Harrison was an English professional football player and coach. He played in midfield for several teams, including notable spells at Halifax Town and Barrow. Harrison became a football coach and worked at Everton before he was brought to Manchester United by Ron Atkinson in 1981 to manage the youth team. Under Alex Ferguson, Harrison developed "one of the best crops of young players in the English game" – the so-called Fergie's Fledglings – which included David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.
The "Battle of Old Trafford" was a Premier League match played at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Sunday, 21 September 2003 between Manchester United and Arsenal. The final result, a 0–0 draw, turned out to be significant for Arsenal as they went on to finish the league season without a single defeat, something that had only been achieved once before in English football, by Preston North End in 1888–89.
The second leg of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League semi-final between Juventus and Manchester United was a football match that took place at the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin, Italy, on 21 April 1999. Manchester United won the match 3–2; combined with a 1–1 draw in the first leg, that gave them a 4–3 aggregate win and sent them to the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final.