Unsung Heroes #4 - Nicky Butt

Introducing a new series to Written Offside called "Unsung Heroes" where the great and the good of Twitter reveal the Manchester United players who largely crept under the radar of publicity yet arguably had as much impact on the success of the club as the more exciting names.

In our fourth instalment, the subject is Nicky Butt chosen by RedSnout 

Picture courtesy of The Telegraph

Being born in the very late 80's meant that my earliest, and most effusive, football memories coincided perfectly with a period when United were dominating the football scene in the country. It was also a period that saw a soaraway maturation of a crop of burgeoning talents who later known as Fergie's fledglings. Obviously there were setbacks and shrieks but they didn't bother me much. I was not only too young to appreciate what fine footballers Ince and Kanchelskis were, but was also too infantile to wallow in despair after their premature exits from the club. United were enigmatic in the extreme and filled my childhood with an endless stream of joy. Edge-of-the-seat stuff week-in week-out from some of the most breathtaking footballers ever to grace this game. But now looking back, I feel, in all the excitement, whilst appreciating many, I may have overlooked the significance of an unfettered, icy-veined ginger lad then. No, not Paul Scholes. Nicky Butt.

Nicky Butt is a strange character and, in some ways, a persona that exudes mystery. He may have spent thirteen trophy-laden years at the club he supported as a boy, but no one can be adamant that the twitching remains of his legacy still persist there. There are no banners or memorials at Old Trafford that glorify his footballing deeds. Rarely, if ever, would you see someone in a retro replica shirt having Nicky Butt written on the back of it. He doesn't visit any fan's everyday chats often. Never in last few years have you read an article saying United could do with a player in the mould of Nicky Butt. Heck, if you're asked to pick your favourite Nicky Butt moment, the response, more than likely, will be a long, stretched pause. Don't get me wrong, it's not the fact that his mystique is still not around the club that makes him mysterious, but it's the fact that no one seems to bother about it. A player who's won as much as him isn't supposed to be like this. He should be esteemed and talked about.

Nicky, a born and bred Mancunian, a regular match-goer with uncle Billy in his childhood days, joined United as a trainee in July 1991. A member of youth cup winning team of '92, he was hailed as one of the kids that can fulfil the long-instilled longing of fans for home-grown talents. Though made his debut in November '92, the enthralling success of Ince- Keane partnership meant 'The Guv'nor' of reserve team had to wait till '95-96 to get a regular run in the team. Post-Ince era, Butt was proved to be a crucial player in the two following title winning seasons, made more appearances than Roy Keane in both. He also ably replaced the Irish colossus when the latter did his knee ligaments at Elland road in September '97 and missed the rest of the season. In the absence of suspended Keane and Scholes, Butt was the only recognised central midfielder given a start in the '99 European cup final against Bayern; an indication of manager's trust in his defensive diligence and discipline. It's easy to forget, in all the nostalgic euphoria, that German champions couldn't score from open play that night. Nicky continued to be a valuable member of squad in the early part of century before moving to North East in '04 when his position was taken by Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson and youth product Darren Fletcher. A United career expanding over a decade, decorated with plenty of honours. Loyalty and commitment never in doubt. Nicky Butt, a United hero? Um... Well.. not really.

So what is it about Nicky Butt that leaves him so ill-appreciated by the wider section of supporters? It's facile - not to mention impossible - to offer an answer to that, but it is worth thinking about. Nicky Butt, in retrospect, spent his entire career being a consummate stand-in. United almost, almost didn't miss Keane when he was injured or Scholes when he was out or Ince after he left because of this lad. May be, there lieth the problem. Nicky Butt always had huge huge boots to fill early in his career and as a result he never really had an identity of his own, certainly not of the magnitude of Ince or Keane's. In many ways, Butt was a back-up even when he was a regular starter. Then there is the notion of personality. He had none of the raging ego of Ince or the relentless desire of Keane. He didn't really have the insouciance Paul Scholes either. He had, instead, an almost machine-like grace, in the sense that there was nothing overtly heroic, raucous or surprising about him. A self-conserving but selfless, soft-edged character calmly accepting of the fates, whether they swing for him or against. You want your heroes to be a genius or an eccentric, or both. Nicky Butt was neither of them.

The way he played his football had its blemishes too. Nicky played in the least fashionable position on the pitch with minimum fuss. Stress told on his face and gestures regardless of the situations. Even when he was playing brilliantly, the grimace of distress on his face made it look it's all a bit struggle out there. Unable to offer anything that looks more than functional, he struggled to excite the imagination, even of the utmost pragmatists in the gallery. Moreover, the surrealist form he showed in reserves was abandoned in favour of utilitarianism for the first XI. It's not difficult to imagine that if he had played cricket, he probably would have played it like Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The shivery-looking West-Indian doesn't possess the brooding aura of Viv Richards or the sudden, absurd and outlandish lurches into genius that Brian Lara can provide but he, somehow, does his job rather effectively without tickling anyone's aesthetic sense. Nicky Butt, when compared to Keane and Scholes, wasn't much different.

Picture courtesy of here

I'm in no way suggesting that an enigmatic/eccentric personality or an enchanting playing style is a pre-requisite for being a cult icon. For some players, it only takes a few spectacular incidents in their career or life. But, sadly, that's where Nicky Butt falls really short. His career graph is devoid of any kind of epic curves or troughs of a hero. There were no career threatening injuries and miraculous comebacks, or onerous controversies to please any jaundiced journalist. Grabbing-games-by-the-scruff-of-the-neck was never his forte. He didn't score an injury-time winner at rival's backyard or a wonder goal to keep any dream alive. His best goal came in a 4-0 routine trouncing of Sunderland '00. Arguably his most important goal came in a 2-all draw against Liverpool '95, a game of little importance barring the rivalry factor. The players he tried to pick on in the tunnel and on the pitch were Pascal Chimbonda and Micah Hyde, not Vieira and Shearer. Put simply, his story was one of discernible banality and a tinge of mediocrity.

It's not that he was a mediocre player, far from it actually. An irrepressible but startlingly mature box-to-box midfielder in younger days and an extremely organised centre midfielder later, Nicky Butt was aptly described as a "good, honest soldier you can always rely on" by Ferguson. In a country where only Hollywood passers with the positional sense of blindfolded drunk are revered, he'd still managed to forge a respectable international career. In many ways he had a football career that millions of footballers would dream of. It's just that this lingering concern that the perception of his talent did not always correspond to how good he really was. One would like to think that, if Nicky had done exactly the same job, but snarled like a maniac and ripped Ray Parlour a new one while he did it, things might have been a lot different. A lot different.

Follow @Redsnout

If you would like to read the previous posts in the Unsung Heroes series, please click here.

What was your opinion of Nicky Butt? Please leave your comments in the box below.