Daniel Paul Butterfield (born 21 November 1979) is an English former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
and coach who is currently an assistant head coach at
Lincoln City.
Butterfield was born in
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...
and played between 1997 and 2016 as a
right back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, and makeshift
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and
centre back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
. He began his career as a youth with
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
where he remained for 6 years before joining
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
. He made 232 appearances for The Eagles before moving on to
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
,
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
,
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
,
Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
and
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
. Since retiring he has held various positions on the coaching staff at Southampton,
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
and
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially kno ...
.
Playing career
Grimsby Town
Butterfield was educated at
Boston Grammar School
The Boston Grammar School is a Grammar school, selective grammar school and sixth form college for boys aged 11 to 18 and girls attending the sixth form aged 16–18 located in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.
A recent 2021 Ofsted report assesse ...
in
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...
. He was snapped up by
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
as a youngster, and was promoted to the club's first team setup midway through the 1996–1997 season. Butterfield was primarily used as a right back while at
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...
and made his first team debut in a 0–0 draw with
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
on 9 September 1997. Butterfield went on to make eleven appearances in the 1997–1998 season, and scored his first senior goal in the club's 1–0
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
victory over
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
that season. Despite playing no part in either, Butterfield was among the winning squad who earned a double
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
win that same season, triumphing in the Football League Trophy, as well as the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
play-off Final.
As the seasons progressed, Butterfield became more and more involved in first team, and converted mainly to a makeshift centre half. He was part of the Grimsby team that defeated
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
2-1 at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
in September 2001, at 0–0 Butterfield kept Grimsby on level terms by clearing an
Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born 11 January 1978) is an English former professional footballer who currently serves as head of football development of Leicester City Women. Playing as a striker, he made more than 500 appearances in the Foo ...
header off the line.
At the end of the 2001–02 season, Butterfield decided against a new contract and moved to
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
. In his five years at Grimsby Town from 1997 to 2002, Butterfield featured 124 times in the League, scoring 3 times playing all but one of his seasons with the Mariners in the second tier of English football. He played under three different managers,
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside.
As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, Wa ...
,
Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence (born 12 December 1947) is an English former football manager, player and football consultant who is non-executive director at EFL League Two side Hartlepool United.
Lawrence was a semi-professional at Croydon, Carshalt ...
and
Paul Groves.
Crystal Palace
He arrived at
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...
in 2002 where he quickly became a favourite of the crowd. He played regularly for the next two seasons, playing in the
2004 Football League First Division play-off Final that resulted in Palace's promotion to the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
.
The form of
Emmerson Boyce and long-term injuries restricted his appearances for the next two seasons, before re-establishing himself in the right-back spot for a spell. Midway through the 2008–09 season he was loaned out to
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
, but he managed to regain his place in the Palace line-up the following season, despite his Eagles career appearing to be over.
Butterfield started the
2009–10 Football League Championship season as the main right back ahead of
Nathaniel Clyne
Nathaniel Edwin Clyne (born 5 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Clyne began his career at Crystal Palace, playing regularly in four Championship seasons, before a ...
. However, due to Palace's financial problems, that saw them put into administration, he was converted to a makeshift striker. Butterfield scored a hat-trick in the space of 6 minutes and 48 seconds during a
2009–10 FA Cup fourth round replay 3–1 win against
Wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
; he scored with his left foot, right foot and his head which is described as the 'perfect hat-trick'. This is the club's fastest ever hat-trick, beating the previous record set by
Dougie Freedman
Douglas Alan Freedman (born 25 May 1974) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the current sporting director of Crystal Palace.
Freedman played as a striker, primarily for Crystal Palace and also had spells as ...
in 11 minutes. Palace manager
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...
revealed after the game that Clyne, who had played at right-back during the game, had turned down a move to Wolves only days earlier. Had the move gone through, Butterfield would have played at right-back instead. It was later revealed that Butterfield had only played up front in the game as a result of Warnock’s wife, Sharon, having a dream the night before that he would score the winning goal.
Southampton
On 16 July 2010, he joined
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on a one-year deal and joined the squad in Interlaken ready for the game against FC Sochaux. On 7 August, Butterfield made his debut in a 1–0 loss against
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
. Since making his debut, Butterfield established himself in the starting eleven in the right back position. His good form kept
Frazer Richardson
Frazer Richardson (born 29 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer.
Richardson began his career with Leeds United where he spent nine years making 186 appearances only interrupted by two loan spells at Stoke City in 2003. He ...
out of the starting line-up and Southampton were promoted to the Championship for the 2011–12 season after their 3–1 win over Plymouth. In his first season, Butterfield made 38 appearances, supplying three assists. After the end of 2010–11 season, Butterfield signed another 12 months deal.
In his second season, Butterfield began to be used more sparingly after injury prevented him from training and he struggled to force his way back into the Southampton starting eleven. On 9 August 2011, Butterfield played 120 minutes in a match against
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
in a League Cup tie which Southampton won 4–1. His first league match of the 2011–12 season came on 29 October when he played 90 minutes against
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and made an assist for
Guly to score the first goal in the game in a 3–0 win. Despite his fitness and injury preventing him from playing, on 17 February 2012, Butterfield signed a one-year contract extension with the club, keeping him at Southampton until June 2013.
Following the signing of
Nathaniel Clyne
Nathaniel Edwin Clyne (born 5 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Clyne began his career at Crystal Palace, playing regularly in four Championship seasons, before a ...
, Butterfield made no appearances for Southampton in the Premier League in 2012–13. On 28 March 2013, he moved on loan to
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
, managed by his former Crystal Palace teammate
Dougie Freedman
Douglas Alan Freedman (born 25 May 1974) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is the current sporting director of Crystal Palace.
Freedman played as a striker, primarily for Crystal Palace and also had spells as ...
and assisted by Lennie Lawrence, his old manager at Grimsby. He made his debut two days later, coming on as a second-half substitute for
Marvin Sordell
Marvin Anthony Sordell (born 17 February 1991) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Sordell started his career with Fulham prior to joining Watford for a two-year scholarship in 2007. He made his professional de ...
in the away game at former club
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
. He made his first start for Bolton at the
Reebok Stadium
The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England.
Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming righ ...
in the 1–0 win against
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...
. Butterfield was released by Southampton on 4 June 2013 at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Carlisle United
On 23 August 2013 Butterfield signed on non-contract terms with
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
following an unsuccessful trial with then newly promoted
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
side
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
.
Butterfield made his debut on the same day in a 1–1 draw at
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
.
On 2 September 2013 Butterfield was released by mutual consent after having only made two appearances for Carlisle.
Exeter City
On 21 September 2013 Butterfield signed for
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
side
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
.
On 14 May 2015 Exeter manager
Paul Tisdale appointed Butterfield as a
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
. Butterfield departed the club and subsequently retired from playing football in September 2016, just over a month into the 2016–17 season.
Coaching career
On 16 September 2016, Butterfield was appointed assistant manager of
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
's Under-18 team. He left his academy coaching position with Southampton on 10 August 2018 and immediately joined
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
as a first-team coach.
After achieving promotion with MK Dons from
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
at the conclusion of the
2018–19 season, Butterfield's contract with the club was terminated along with manager Paul Tisdale and assistant manager
Matt Oakley
Matthew Oakley (born 17 August 1977) is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a midfielder, notably in the Premier League with Southampton playing there for over a decade, including their defeat to A ...
on 2 November 2019 following a poor run of results.
He was appointed as assistant manager of
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially kno ...
in January 2020, under
Mark Kennedy the pair initially steered Town to safety having avoided relegation from the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
but a deduction of 17 points condemned them to relegation after the season had ended, sparing
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...
. Butterfield and Kennedy left the club in August after rejecting new contracts.
In January 2021, Butterfield returned to Southampton as a loans manager for the clubs youth academy.
On 23 December 2022, Butterfield left Southampton and joined
Lincoln City as assistant head coach, working under Mark Kennedy once again.
Club career statistics
Honours
Grimsby Town
*
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
Play-off Winner:
1997–98
*
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
Winner:
1997–98
Southampton
*
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
Runners-up:
2010–11
*
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
Runners-up:
2011–12
Individual
*
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
Supporters Young Player of the Year: 1999, 2000
References
External links
*
Grimsby Town profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butterfield, Danny
1979 births
Living people
People from Boston, Lincolnshire
English footballers
Grimsby Town F.C. players
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
Exeter City F.C. players
Exeter City F.C. non-playing staff
Southampton F.C. non-playing staff
Milton Keynes Dons F.C. non-playing staff
Macclesfield Town F.C. non-playing staff
Lincoln City F.C. non-playing staff
Premier League players
English Football League players
People educated at Boston Grammar School
Association football defenders