Richard Butcher (footballer)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Richard Tony Butcher | ||
Date of birth | 22 January 1981 | ||
Place of birth | Northampton, England | ||
Date of death | 10 January 2011 | (aged 29)||
Place of death | Swinton, England | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1999–2000 | Northampton Town | 0 | (0) |
2000–2001 | Rushden & Diamonds | 0 | (0) |
2001–2002 | Kettering Town | 44 | (13) |
2002–2005 | Lincoln City | 104 | (11) |
2005–2006 | Oldham Athletic | 36 | (4) |
2005 | → Lincoln City (loan) | 4 | (1) |
2006–2007 | Peterborough United | 43 | (4) |
2007–2009 | Notts County | 80 | (18) |
2009–2010 | Lincoln City | 15 | (0) |
2010 | → Macclesfield Town (loan) | 8 | (2) |
2010–2011 | Macclesfield Town | 7 | (1) |
Total | 341 | (54) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Richard Tony Butcher (22 January 1981 – 9 January 2011) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
In a career that lasted from 1999 until his death in 2011, he notably spent three separate spells with
Career
Northampton Town
Born in
Rushden & Diamonds
After his release from Northampton, Butcher was signed by
Kettering Town
In October 2001 he signed for
Lincoln City
Butcher joined Football League Third Division Lincoln City which had recently recovered from a financial struggle that had nearly seen the club go out of business. The club was now under the stewardship of Keith Alexander who had begun to bring in a new influx of players to the team. He made his City debut on 23 November 2002 in a 2–1 home defeat against his former club Rushden. He scored his first Imps goal on 14 December in a 2–2 draw with Cambridge United. By the end of the 2002–2003 season Lincoln had gained entry into the Play-offs following a dramatic Simon Yeo equaliser against Torquay United on the final day of the season. City progressed to the final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium following a 6–3 aggregate victory over Scunthorpe United in the semi-finals. Butcher played the full ninety minutes of the final but could not help Lincoln from losing to AFC Bournemouth 5–2. During the 2003–2004 season Lincoln reached the Play-offs yet again but were defeated by Huddersfield Town in the semi-final. The 2004–2005 campaign saw The Imps qualify for a third successive Play-off spot and after dumping Macclesfield Town out in the semi-final, City were beaten 2–0 by Southend United.
Oldham Athletic
August 2005 rang in a new era for Butcher when he joined
Peterborough United
Butcher was reunited with Keith Alexander when he signed a contract with Peterborough United where he was one of a number of former Lincoln players brought to London Road by United's recently appointed manager. Alexander and Butcher both left United after one season.
Notts County
Return to Lincoln City
On 27 May 2009 Butcher signed a two-year deal at
Macclesfield Town
He re-joined Keith Alexander in February 2010 for a third spell this time with Macclesfield Town,[2] scoring on his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Bury.[3] On 3 March 2010 Alexander suddenly died at home following the club's away match with Notts County. This had come little over a month since Alexander had brought Butcher to Macclesfield. The Silkmen appointed Gary Simpson as manager, who had previously been Alexander's assistant at Lincoln and Peterborough. Butcher signed permanently with Macclesfield in July 2010 following his official release from Lincoln.[4] On 20 May 2010 Butcher signed a two-year deal at Macclesfield Town.[5] The final match of his career was on 3 January 2011 when Macclesfield were beaten 0–2 by Rotherham United.
Career statistics
Source:[6]
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Northampton Town | 1999–2000 |
Division Three | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Rushden & Diamonds | 1999–2000 |
Conference | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rushden & Diamonds | 2000–01 |
Conference | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Kettering Town | 2001–02 |
Southern League Premier | 26 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 9 |
Kettering Town | 2002–03 |
Conference | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 |
Total | 44 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 13 | ||
Lincoln City | 2002–03 |
Division Three | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 29 | 3 |
Lincoln City | 2003–04 |
Division Three | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[b][c] | 1 | 40 | 7 |
Lincoln City | 2004–05 |
League Two | 46 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[d][e] | 0 | 53 | 2 |
Total | 104 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 122 | 12 | ||
Oldham Athletic | 2005–06 |
League One | 36 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4 |
→ Lincoln City (loan) | 2005–06 |
League Two | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Peterborough United | 2006–07 |
League Two | 43 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 51 | 5 |
Notts County | 2007–08 |
League Two | 46 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 12 |
Notts County | 2008–09 |
League Two | 34 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[g] | 1 | 39 | 8 |
Lincoln City | 2009–10 |
League Two | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
→ Macclesfield Town (loan) | 2009–10 |
League Two | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
Macclesfield Town | 2010–11 |
League Two | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 9 | 1 |
Career total | 341 | 54 | 15 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 384 | 58 |
- ^ Appearance(s) in Division Three play-offs
- Football League Trophy
- ^ 2 appearances and 1 goal in Division Three play-offs
- ^ 3 appearance(s) in League Two play-offs
- Football League Trophy
- ^ Football League Trophy
- Football League Trophy
Death
Butcher died aged 29 at his Swinton, Salford home on 9 January 2011.[7] After Butcher had failed to turn up for training on Monday morning, club manager Gary Simpson found out after an investigation that Butcher's wife had been away and that he had died overnight. Butcher's death came less than a year after the death of Macclesfield manager Keith Alexander, who had also managed Butcher at both Lincoln City and Peterborough United.[8][9]
The next match for Macclesfield Town, an away game at
Family, friends and fans paid tribute to Butcher at Lincoln City's Sincil Bank stadium on Wednesday 2 February 2011, the service was attended by fellow footballers and close friends Simon Yeo, Ben Futcher, Paul Morgan and Alan Marriott as well as former Macclesfield teammates and Peterborough United director Barry Fry. A private service was held at Lincoln Crematorium service following the thanksgiving service at the stadium.[11]
A coroner's verdict delivered in June 2011 determined Butcher's death to have been caused by the heart condition
References
- ^ "Lincoln sign midfielder Butcher". BBC Sport. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ "Macclesfield sign Lincoln midfielder Richard Butcher". BBC Sport. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ^ "Bury 2–1 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ^ "What Do Northampton, Burton And Cambridge United Share?". The Forgotten Imp. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Silkmen sign Butcher". Macclesfield Town F.C. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ "Richard Butcher | Football Stats | No Club | Season 2010/2011 | 1999-2011 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.
- ^ "'Shock' as Macclesfield midfielder Richard Butcher dies aged 29". The Guardian. London. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "Macclesfield midfielder Richard Butcher dies aged 29". BBC. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ "Macclesfield Town footballer Richard Butcher found dead at Salford home, aged 29". Manchester Evening News. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ "Macclesfield postpone Burton game after Butcher death". BBC Sport. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ "LINCOLN City hero Richard Butcher made his final journey on to the Sincil Bank pitch as family, friends and fans gathered to say goodbye". Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
- ^ "Macclesfield's Richard Butcher died from heart condition". BBC News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.