YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS

“Honestly, I thought Alan Hansen had a point with his ‘win nothing with kids’ line. He just said what 90% of people were thinking...”

Interview Andy Mitten

For a bloke who claims to have known his place on the second rung at Old Trafford, Nicky Butt didn’t do too badly. The midfielder made 387 appearances for one of the world’s biggest clubs, under one of the world’s finest managers, with 11 major trophies to show for it. That all of this came alongside a bunch of his best mates and with the team he’d always supported only made it more satisfying for Gorton’s most successful son.

Butt will forever be associated with Sir Alex Ferguson’s great achievements at Manchester United, as part of the most famous crop of youngsters in British footballing history, who ruled Europe in 1999 without two of their most influential colleagues.

Later, he played another 173 games for Newcastle and won 39 England caps. Pele named him the Three Lions’ best player of the 2002 World Cup.

Having returned to Old Trafford in 2012, Butt coached United’s reserves and was appointed as their academy head in 2016, before being promoted to lead first-team development in July 2019. He left last April and is open about what comes next, but retains an active interest in the game through his part-ownership of League Two side Salford City. Right now, he sits down with FFT to answer your questions – nothing is off-limits…

How early on did you realise just how talented you and the other Class of ’92 lads (below) were? Did you know you would all make it?

Chris Carter, Sale

I didn’t. Growing up, I was the best player at school, then at Manchester Boys, then I came together with the lads at United and thought, ‘Maybe I’m not as good as I thought’. I’d started to meet them from the age of 12, playing against them for Sunday League teams or town teams. I was Manchester Boys; Gary was Bury; Scholesy was Rochdale; Giggsy and Ben Thornley were Salford. You always knew the best players on the opposing teams. When we all went to United, we clicked as mates, which helped.

A good thing about coming through together was that the spotlight wasn’t on an individual. Giggsy had a bit more of it as he was older, and Becks had it later, but it was shared for a long time. Giggsy was outstanding – way above anybody else playing-wise. Scholesy was a really gifted, aggressive kid I got on with. Nev was like a mature professional when he was 14. He did and said the right things – he lived it. Becks was talented but very slight. We didn’t know him that well at the start because he was based in London. We’d meet at summer camps, but it wasn’t until we were 16 that we started to know each other inside-out. I spent more time with those lads than my own family for so many years – that helped us on the pitch.

What are your memories of winning the 1992 FA Youth Cup Final against Crystal Palace? You played a key part by scoring twice in the first leg – past Jimmy Glass, of all goalkeepers.

Huw Evans, Norbury

It was a massive deal for us. The club hadn’t won it for a long time [since 1964] and there was pressure on us. The first team were all there watching, plus some powerful figures like Sir Alex. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but we just clicked. The hardest games were in the earlier rounds when lads from smaller teams raised their games. We didn’t realise how hard it was to play at Old Trafford, either, so it gave us a real insight into what it was like to play for United. We were almost impossible to play against. All of the first-team players celebrated with us, which you no longer see, and that’s pretty sad. [FFT: Robbie Savage is listed as playing upfront – is that really true?] Yeah, Sav played upfront with Colin McKee until the semi-finals, when Giggsy came into the equation. Sav was very good: a fantastic lad to have in the dressing room, and a workhorse who never stopped running.