No Thanks: Richard Butcher
I will always be a huge Richard Butcher fan, a fine young man who was snatched from this world far too early. He was a superb midfielder, a box to box man who conjured up excellent goals, but had steel and determination in his play.
He served Keith Alexander’s fine side very well, making his debut against Cambridge in 2002/03 season, going on to score crucial goals including a screamer away at Bournemouth to give us hope of a play off place. He was a key figure in two more hunts for play off success, culminating in the 2005 defeat against Southend. That was the one that hurt the most, watching the finest team in a decade fall at the final hurdle, knowing it was all about to break up.
Butch got his deserved move to League One to none other than Oldham Athletic. That in itself was tough to take, but then they even loaned him back to us for a month after he struggled to settle. Watching him back in Imps colours, knowing he was going back was pure torture. Four starts, one goal and he was off back to Boundary Park where his little stint in red and white helped him go on to make 32 starts for the Latics.
At the end of the season, they let him join Peterborough. He remains one of only a handful of players wearing Posh colours who could never sully his reputation with me.