Former Newcastle United captain Nicky Butt insists he has no regrets about moving to Tyneside from his boyhood club.
Back in January 2004, Butt handed in a transfer request at Manchester United after years of playing second fiddle to Paul Scholes and Roy Keane. The then 29-year-old was a product of the famous ‘class of 92’ youth side at Old Trafford that went on to dominate English football in the 90s and early 00s.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to play Butt saw his wish granted six months later. Man Utd’s loss was Sir Bobby Robson’s gain as he persuaded Freddy Shepherd to fork out £2.5million on the accomplished midfielder.
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Butt had a mixed start to life at St James’ Park and was loaned out to Birmingham after a disappointing debut season. The acquisition of Scott Parker and Emre saw Butt face the same problems he met at Man Utd. However, he eventually won the fans over and was club captain during the Magpies’ memorable Championship-winning season in 2009/10.
Red Devils legend Keane infamously walked out of Man Utd after a bust-up with Ferguson just six months after Butt’s departure. Despite struggling on Tyneside at the time, the 47-year-old - now co-owner of League Two outfit Salford City - maintains he has no regrets. Speaking to FourFourTwo, Butt said: “(I have) no regrets. I didn’t know Roy was going to leave. I chatted to Steve McClaren and he said, “If they play a three and you’re not one of them, then you have a real problem.”
“That stuck with me and he was right – we did start playing a three in Europe. I went to speak to the manager, who was great with me. He said, “It’s not going to look good, this: you don’t really want to leave and we don’t want you to go. But, if you’re adamant about going, then we’ll make it work for us both.”
Butt claims he wanted to join Newcastle because of the passion from supporters. He faced the Magpies 14 times before joining the club and experienced playing at St James’ Park while on England duty.
“It took about six months for me to get the right club,” he added. “City, Tottenham and Arsenal all asked me, but I just wasn’t interested. I was interested in joining Newcastle because I’d played there for England Under-19s and loved the atmosphere.
“It wasn’t too far from Manchester, there was no real hatred between the fans, Sir Bobby (Robson) was a god and the first team was very good. They should have qualified for the Champions League, but it wasn’t to be.
“I had a tough start. I was injured when I first signed – I just didn’t tell the club that. But I was Newcastle’s captain for two years. It wasn’t too bad.”
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