Nicky Butt has opened up at his surprise after joining Newcastle from Manchester United in the summer of 2004
Newcastle United players Stephen Carr, Nicky Butt, Michael Owen and Shay Given watch the Chester Cup at the Chester racecourse
Former Newcastle United captain Nicky Butt has opened up over his surprise at the ‘disconnect’ in the Magpies squad after swapping Manchester United for Tyneside back in 2004.
Butt left his boyhood club after winning 15 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and an historic treble during the 1998/99 season.
He made the move to Newcastle, who were fresh from finishing fifth in the Premier League the season before under Sir Bobby Robson and he spent the next six seasons at St James’ Park.
Butt left Newcastle after helping them win the Championship title to win promotion back to the Premier League in the 2009/10 campaign.
And while he looks back fondly at his time in the North East, he has revealed his shock at the difference between the way the Newcastle squad at the time interacted with each other, compared to the way the Manchester United players had done under Sir Alex Ferguson’s management.
“I went to Newcastle and it was a real shock for me if I’m honest with you,” Butt said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
“When I was at [Manchester] United, and it is easy to build good teams when you are winning, but when I went to Newcastle I was surprised by the disconnect.
“You had the old pros, mostly British, then you would have the younger lads who liked a night out and were single which is fine, that’s what happens, and then the foreign lads.
“You have that dynamic in every single football club but you don’t have it where it is not connected and you could see it. It was weird because you think it is going to be easy but that is what comes to my mind when I went to Newcastle.
“You had like a crew of British 27-year-old plus blokes who would go for a pint and a bite to eat and then you had the younger ones who would be more single, no kids, no wife and enjoying their lives and then you had the foreign lads.
“Again, that is the norm. The norm is not what we had [at Manchester United]. I went to Newcastle, loved the football club when I was there and really enjoyed my time there.
“The fans were amazing and there were ups and downs but it was really weird when I think I never went out once in five years where all the squad was together.
“We used to go out every other week all together [at Manchester United]. Every single person would be there. They weren’t best mates and all laughing and joking but everyone would be there.”
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