Terry Butcher

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Terence Ian ("Terry") Butcher (born December 28, 1958 in Singapore) is an English football manager who was last in charge of Sydney FC in the Australian A-League. Also formerly a professional player, he made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town, Rangers and England in the 1980s.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Managerial and coaching career 3 Other Activities 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Playing career

Butcher made his debut for Ipswich in 1978 and went on to become a linchpin at the back for eight seasons, combining leadership with great aerial ability and amazing courage. This was soon noticed by England manager Ron Greenwood who gave him his debut against Australia in 1980. Although he was born in Singapore he spent his childhood in Lowestoft. In 1981, Butcher was part of the Ipswich team which won the UEFA Cup and came close to their first League title for 19 years, though they were pipped at the post by Aston Villa. The following year, Butcher was the youngest member of the back four which featured at the World Cup in Spain. He remained England's first choice centre back for the rest of the decade, playing in the 1986 World Cup, infamously trying to tackle Diego Maradona with some desperation as the Argentina skipper slotted in his wondrous second goal in the quarter-final, which England lost 2-1.

In the same year, Butcher left Ipswich when they were relegated, and became one of the first 'English invasion' players to join Rangers. As captain, he led them to three League titles in four seasons, plus two Scottish League Cups. In 1987 he suffered a broken leg. The injury meant that Butcher was not in the England side which was torn apart in all three group games at the 1988 European Championship, and his absence proved crucial as Robson was forced to rely on an inexperienced defensive partnership of Tony Adams and Mark Wright. Then, on 6 September 1989, while playing for England in a vital World Cup qualifier in Sweden, Butcher suffered a deep cut to his forehead early in the game which would have prompted most players to be withdrawn from play for urgent medical attention.

Butcher, however, had some impromptu stitches inserted by the physiotherapist and, swathed in bandages, continued playing. His constant heading of the ball - unavoidable when playing in the centre of defence - disintegrated the bandages and reopened the cut to the extent that his white England shirt was entirely red by the end of the game. This match remains his defining moment as one of England's great footballing heroes, especially as England got the draw they needed to qualify for the 1990 competition.

England made the semi-finals in 1990 with Butcher at the helm of a slightly more cautious back five (Butcher with Wright and Des Walker in the centre, plus full backs Stuart Pearce and - initially - Gary Stevens, later Paul Parker); he also took over the captaincy after an injury ended Bryan Robson's tournament prematurely. A memorable image of the contest was of Butcher and team-mate Chris Waddle dancing with triumph in front of the England supporters after beating Belgium in the second round. A photograph of this was later placed on a T-shirt range under the heading 'Let's All Have A Disco'.

[edit] Managerial and coaching career

After the World Cup, Butcher quit international football with 77 caps and three goals to his name. He left Rangers on 15 November 1990 to become player-manager of Coventry City, at one month short of 32 he was the youngest manager in the league on his appointment. He played six First Division games that season before retiring as a player. He was unable to return the Sky Blues to the form they had shown under his predecessor John Sillett, and was sacked on 6 January 1992 with relegation looking increasingly likely - although survival was narrowly achieved under his replacement Don Howe.

In February 1993 he returned to management with Sunderland, re-registering himself as a player nearly two years after his last game. He achieved survival at the end of the 1992-93 season, but was sacked the following December with Sunderland still struggling at the wrong end of Division One.

In 2001 he became assistant to Eric Black at Motherwell, taking over from Black a year later as the club was forced to deal with severe financial difficulties, which have since largely abated and Butcher has been praised by the club's supporters and media for his performance under those difficult circumstances. Motherwell reached the 2005 Scottish League Cup final, where his old team Rangers defeated them 5-1.

After being linked with a possible move to Sydney FC for several weeks, he was announced as their new head coach on May 17, 2006,^[1] signing a two-year contract. On 7 February 2007, Terry Butcher was sacked by Sydney FC after being knocked out of the finals series with a 3-2 aggregate loss to the Newcastle Jets.^[2]

[edit] Other Activities

Butcher can be frequently heard as a summariser, usually at England matches, on BBC Radio Five Live and occasional UEFA Cup matches on Five (TV). Butcher also worked for the BBC during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, after which he fully recommenced his work with Sydney FC (i.e. from July 10, 2006). He was also used as an in game commentator in the first Pro Evolution Soccer video game, and in Nintendo 64 game International Superstar Soccer 2000, along with main commentator Chris James.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Terry Butcher on RSSSF-site
• Butcher is unable to resist chance to live high life Down Under (Times Online)

Preceded by John Sillett	Coventry City manager 1990-1992	Succeeded by Don Howe (caretaker)
Preceded by Malcolm Crosby	Sunderland manager 1993-1994	Succeeded by Mick Buxton
Preceded by Eric Black	Motherwell F.C. manager 2002-2006	Succeeded by Maurice Malpas
Preceded by Pierre Littbarski	Sydney F.C. manager 2006-2007	Succeeded by Branko Culina (caretaker)

	England squad - 1982 FIFA World Cup
1 Clemence | 2 Anderson | 3 Brooking | 4 Butcher | 5 Coppell | 6 Foster | 7 Keegan | 8 Francis | 9 Hoddle | 10 McDermott | 11 Mariner | 12 Mills | 13 Corrigan | 14 Neal | 15 Rix | 16 Robson | 17 Sansom | 18 Thompson | 19 Wilkins | 20 Withe | 21 Woodcock | 22 Shilton | Coach: Greenwood

	England squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Shilton | 2 Gary Stevens | 3 Sansom | 4 Hoddle | 5 Martin | 6 Butcher | 7 Bryan Robson | 8 Wilkins | 9 Hateley | 10 Lineker | 11 Waddle | 12 Anderson | 13 Woods | 14 Fenwick | 15 Gary A. Stevens | 16 Reid | 17 Steven | 18 Hodge | 19 Barnes | 20 Beardsley | 21 Dixon | 22 Bailey | Coach: Bobby Robson

	England squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place
1 Shilton | 2 Stevens | 3 Pearce | 4 Webb | 5 Walker | 6 Butcher | 7 Bryan Robson | 8 Waddle | 9 Beardsley | 10 Lineker | 11 Barnes | 12 Parker | 13 Woods | 14 Wright | 15 Dorigo | 16 McMahon | 17 Platt | 18 Hodge | 19 Gascoigne | 20 Steven | 21 Bull | 22 Beasant | Coach: Bobby Robson