| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Neil Butler[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1974-09-15)15 September 1974 (age 51) | ||
| Place of birth | Wordsley,West Midlands, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1993 | Walsall | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1997 | Walsall | 74 | (8) |
| 1997–2000 | Cambridge United | 104 | (41) |
| 2000–2003 | Reading | 103 | (32) |
| 2003–2006 | Rotherham United | 97 | (28) |
| 2006–2008 | Walsall | 44 | (11) |
| 2007 | →Grimsby Town (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2008 | Grimsby Town | 16 | (5) |
| 2009 | Burton Albion | 12 | (2) |
| 2009 | Worcester City | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 458 | (128) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Martin Neil Butler (born 15 September 1974) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as astriker from 1993 until 2009.
Butler played forWalsall,Cambridge United andReading. He also had spells withRotherham United,Grimsby Town,Burton Albion andWorcester City.
Butler started his career atWalsall, where he rose through the youth ranks. He made his senior debut in the1993–94 season.
His career at Walsall faltered, and he was allowed to joinCambridge United for £22,500 in the summer of 1997. A prolific spell at theAbbey Stadium promptedReading to pay around the £750k mark for his services in February 2000. Butler scored on his debut againstPreston North End[2] and continued his goal-scoring form – including a goal in the2000–01Football League Second Divisionplay-off Final in May 2001, although Reading went on to lose the match 3–2 to Butler's former team Walsall.[3] On 6 November 2001, Butler was stretchered off during Reading's 2–0 win overWrexham, suffering serious damage to his ankle. He broke his ankle andfibula, and suffered ligament damage competing for a ball on the touchline after his foot stuck in the ground. He did not play again until April 2002 againstPeterborough United,[4] but his goals that season still helped Reading to get promoted to theFirst Division in 2nd place.
After his injury, Butler could not recapture the form for Reading that he'd shown before, and after floating in and out of the first-team, he was sold toRotherham United in a £150,000 deal in August 2003. Butler then moved back to Walsall three seasons later on afree transfer, signing a two-year deal on 1 July 2006.
In October 2007 Butler, whose contract with Walsall was due to end at the end of the2007–08 season, signed a three-month loan deal atLeague Two sideGrimsby Town. The move lasted until January at which point Grimsby signed him on a permanent deal.[5] He made his debut for Grimsby on 20 October againstWycombe Wanderers. Butler's time at Grimsby was troubled due to the players concerns that his 350-mile trip from hisWorcester home toCleethorpes were affecting his performances on and off the pitch, and he notably missed training regularly due to the time it took to commute.Alan Buckley attempted to sell Butler toHereford United on transfer deadline day, which was only two months after signing a two-year deal atBlundell Park, but the player rejected Hereford's contract offer. In an attempt to amend relations with Grimsby, Butler returned to regular training and won back his place in the side next toDanny North and helped the Mariners climb from 19th in League Two, to 10th. Despite Butler's renewed attempts to salvage his Grimsby career, he reignited his travel problems, and this eventually saw the player drop out of contention at the club. He played his last game for the club in theLeague Cup fixture withBlackburn Rovers and after that he was shelved by Buckley who dropped him to the reserves, which is where he remained for the rest of his time at Grimsby before he was eventually released in October 2008 by the club's new managerMike Newell due to the aforementioned travel problems.[6]
In February 2009, he was announced asRoy McFarland's first signing atnon-League clubBurton Albion when he signed a contract until May 2009, he was released at the end of the season. Upon his release he signed forWorcester City in July 2009.[7] It was said that Butler would be heading towards management, but he chose to retire shortly after departing Worcester and has since not returned to the game in any capacity.
Welsh cricketer Luke Michael Butler wears the number 9 shirt for his club as a tribute to Martin. Martin works as a heating engineer and runs his own business called MK Installations.[8]
Walsall
Cambridge United
Reading
Grimsby Town
Burton Albion
Individual
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