Dennis Anthony Butler (born 24 June 1944) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a
winger for
Bolton Wanderers between 1959 and 1968, before ending his playing career following a five-year spell at
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
. Later working as a coach and assistant manager, he spent an unsuccessful time as
Port Vale manager between 1978 and 1979.
Playing career
Dennis played for Leigh Grammar School and Atherton Schoolboys before joining
Bolton Wanderers at the age of 15 in 1959. He spent nine years with the club, racking up 65 appearances. Dennis made his debut under
Bill Ridding
William Ridding (4 April 1911 – 20 September 1981)England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) also known as Nibbler Ridding, was an English football player and manager, most notably in a 17-year period manag ...
in December 1963 at
Aston Villa. The following week he made a winning
Burnden Park
Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup Final replay, it was the scene in 1946 of one of the greatest disasters in English footba ...
debut against the great
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
side before scoring his first league goal at
Arsenal in January 1964. At the end of the
1963–64 season the "Trotters" were relegated out of the
First Division. He was an ever-present until a bad cartilage injury in October 1964, which kept him out of football for nearly a year. Butler made occasional appearances for Bolton before moving on to
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
in 1968, who won promotion out of the
Fourth Division in
1968–69. He was signed by
Bob Stokoe
Robert Stokoe (21 September 1930 – 1 February 2004) was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional north-east animosity between the region's footballing rivals, Newcastle United and Sunderlan ...
and spent over six years with Rochdale playing 156 league games, and scoring 36 goals before his early retirement as a player in 1973.
Managerial career
Following his retirement as a player, he coached at Rochdale and
Bury.
He was made assistant manager at
Port Vale under
Bobby Smith in November 1977.
After Smith's departure to
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
, he became manager for the
1978–79 season.
The "Valiants" finished 16th in the
Fourth Division and later he left by mutual consent in August 1979.
He had signed popular player
Bernie Wright from
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
for £9,000, however most of his big money signings had torrid times at
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
.
He signed right-back
Neil Wilkinson (free),
Ken Todd
Kenneth Todd (born 24 August 1957) is an English former footballer who scored 11 goals in 52 games in the English Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Port Vale, and Portsmouth in the late 1970s. Despite being bought for £37,000 by Va ...
(a
club-record £37,000 signing despite only having made a handful of appearances for
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
),
Gerry Keenan (£15,000),
Felix Healy (£8,000),
Kevin Tully
Kevin Francis Tully (born 18 December 1952) is an English former footballer. A left winger, he made 164 league appearances in a nine-year career in the Football League.
He began his career with non-League Prestwich Heys, before signing with ...
(£3,000 plus Neil Wilkinson),
Andy Proudlove (£1,000),
Peter Farrell (breaking the club-record again at £40,000), and
Bob Delgado (£30,000).
To finance these signings, he sold
John Froggatt (£8,000),
Mick Moore
Michael Moore (born 20 July 1952) is an English former footballer. A midfielder, he played for Preston North End and Port Vale, but made his name at both Southport and Wigan Athletic. He helped Southport to the Fourth Division title in 1 ...
(£2,000),
Terry Bailey (£2,000),
Ken Beamish (£35,000), and
John Ridley
John Ridley IV (born 1965) is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for '' 12 Years a Slave'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the a ...
(£55,000).
After his team were booed he called the fans 'a bunch of yobs'.
Vale recorded a £52,000 loss despite a remarkable £225,000 income from the club's commercial department.
Butler's transfer dealings had lost the club £36,000, whilst wages more than doubled from £113,000 to £259,000.
After leaving
Burslem
Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.
...
, Butler then reunited with Bobby Smith at Swindon, becoming the first team coach before retiring from football in 1980.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
;Rochdale
*
Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion:
1968–69
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Dennis
1944 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Macclesfield
English footballers
Association football wingers
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
English Football League players
English football managers
Port Vale F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Association football coaches
Rochdale A.F.C. non-playing staff
Bury F.C. non-playing staff
Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff
Swindon Town F.C. non-playing staff