Terry Butcher

Ipswich Town

Butcher made his debut for Ipswich Town against Everton in the First Division on 15 April 1978 and over the next eight seasons would establish himself as the club's top central defender, combining leadership with great aerial ability and courage. This was soon noticed by England manager Ron Greenwood who gave him his debut in a friendly against Australia in 1980. In 1981, Butcher was part of the Ipswich side that won the UEFA Cup under Bobby Robson and came close to their first League title since 1962, though they were pipped at the post by Aston Villa. Butcher was named Player of the Year in 1985 and 1986, the latter season seeing Ipswich relegated to the Second Division.

Rangers

In 1986, Butcher left Ipswich when they were relegated, and became one of the first 'English invasion' players to join Scottish club Rangers following the appointment of Graeme Souness as manager. Souness, the former Liverpool player, paid Ipswich £725,000 for him in July 1986. As captain, he led them to three League titles in four seasons, plus two Scottish League Cups. In November 1987 he broke his leg during a Scottish Premier Division fixture against Aberdeen, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. In April 1988 Butcher was convicted of disorderly conduct and breach of the peace due to his behaviour in an Old Firm match in October 1987. He was fined £250. In October 1988 Butcher was the subject of a police investigation when he kicked the referee's room…

Coventry City

Butcher left Rangers on 15 November 1990 to become player-manager of Coventry City (as successor to John Sillett). At one month short of 32 he was the youngest manager in the Football League on his appointment. Under Sillett, Coventry had won the FA Cup in 1987 and finished as high as seventh in the First Division in 1989, but a dismal start to the 1990–91 season had seen Coventry fall back into the relegation battle that had been all too familiar occurrence at Highfield Road since Coventry first reached the top flight in 1967. With Butcher's appointment as manager, Coventry were intent on returning to their winning ways. Butcher steered Coventry to 16th place and safety in 1990–91, and they entered 1992 in 13th place, but he was sacked as manager on 6 January 1992. Butcher had played six league games for Coventry in the 1990–91 season before announcing his retirement as a player.

Sunderland

In February 1993, Butcher was named manager of Sunderland, re-registering himself as a player two years after his last game. He achieved survival at the end of the 1992–93 season, but was sacked the following December.

Motherwell

In October 2001, Butcher became assistant to Eric Black at Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League, taking over from Black a year later as the club was forced to deal with severe financial difficulties. Motherwell reached the 2005 Scottish League Cup Final, where his old team Rangers defeated them 5–1.

Sydney…

Butcher's performances for Ipswich were noticed by England manager Ron Greenwood, who gave him his debut in a friendly against Australia on 31 May 1980, when he was 21 years old. He won his second cap 10 months later in a 2–1 defeat against Spain (also a friendly). Butcher was the youngest member of the back four that featured at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He became a regular member of the national side at this stage and remained England's first choice centre-back for the rest of the decade, playing in the 1986 World Cup. In that tournament he played in the quarter final against Argentina in which Diego Maradona passed five English players before scoring, a goal sometimes described as the 'goal of the century'. A broken leg meant that Butcher was not in the England side that exited at the group stage of the 1988 European Championship while manager Robson was forced to rely on an inexperienced defensive partnership of Tony Adams and Mark Wright. While playing for England in a vital World Cup qualifier against Sweden in Stockholm on 6 September 1989, Butcher suffered a deep cut to his forehead early in the game. Butcher 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 red with blood by the end of the game. The image is regarded as…

Born in Singapore, where his father was commissioned with the Royal Navy, Butcher spent most of his childhood in Lowestoft, Suffolk, where he attended Lowestoft Grammar School. He turned down the chance to join the Norwich City youth team, as he was a fan of East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town. He joined the Portman Road club in August 1976 after a three-week trial.