Newcastle United are in talks with Nicky Butt and his agents about extending Nicky’s time at Newcastle.
Nicky is just 32 years old and Big Sam is sure he can prolong Nicky’s career with the tools and expertise Sam and his staff possess and have shown amply at Bolton that they can prolong players’ careers.
You only have to look at our former player Gary Speed, who is now 38 but still performing more than well at Bolton.
Nicky Butt – has played well for Newcastle and deserves contract extension
Big Sam talked to the Newcastle Journal today about Nicky, whose contract runs out at the end of this season:
“Nicky Butt has been one of our most consistent players this season,â€
“Contract talks go on above me, but talks are going on. I don’t know how far along they’ve gone but they are happening. He is someone I’d like to stick around.”
“He has started this season, has played in virtually every game and has been one of our best performers. I’d like to give him another one, maybe two year contract.â€
“In terms of fitness, we can prolong his career with the tools and expertise we have here, like we did with Gary Speed at Bolton. But it is up to Nicky Butt how long he wants to carry on playing for. He’s only 32, so he’s not exactly an old man yet.â€
Butt has actually played in every game for Newcastle this season, and has finally turned out to be the great buy everyone thought he would be, when Bobby Robson brought him from Manchester United in August, 2004. But he hasn’t played too much for Newcastle having been sent out on loan to Birmingham for the 2005-2006 season and only returning a year ago. But Nicky buckled down, won his first team place back and then won over the Newcastle fans with some great performances in the famous Newcastle shirt. Nicky has appeared 89 times for Newcastle, starting 78 times.
Allardyce continued:
“He’s still got a lot of destroying quality in his play which has disappeared from the game. Even though you are not allowed to tackle any more, he has learned to do things more tentatively and he times his interceptions with his reading of the play.â€
“He has looked a real force this season, picking up the loose ball and getting our attacks moving.â€
Nicky’s been a good player for Newcastle and deserves the extension, but if it’s just a 2 year extension, he’ll still be only 34 years old at the end of it, and maybe another extension would be on the cards. But that’s too far out in the future to contemplate – and right now we’re just pleased Nicky is staying with us beyond this season.
Comments welcome.
20 comments so far
Brisbane Mag
Nov 2, 2007 at 10:43 AM
Comment #1Nicky Butt has done very well for Newcastle this season and hope we sign him for another two years.
indian toon
Nov 2, 2007 at 10:45 AM
Comment #2he wins header’s and loose balls and has transformed into a very attacking mould .. very happy for butt that he’s one of sam’s favourites… a true winner with a fantastic attitude in life, passionate.. am really short of words rt now.. he has captained the mighty man united at big games… sir alex is no fool to hand over the captaincy to nicky butt.. so nicky should get a contract extension for atleast 2-3 yrs and should captain our side ….
yemozone
Nov 2, 2007 at 11:04 AM
Comment #3we need to buy quality players and butt is not one them.He loses possession so much in the mf.I think we shld bring edmilson in january to play the DM position
indian toon
Nov 2, 2007 at 11:12 AM
Comment #4you mean to say that butt is no quality.!!!!! u better say that to sam, sir alex and bobby robson.. theyll tell ya bout quality…
yemozone
Nov 2, 2007 at 11:27 AM
Comment #5THAT WAS THEN
yemozone
Nov 2, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Comment #6Can u give me a match this season that butt has been outstanding with is passes?
iain
Nov 2, 2007 at 11:58 AM
Comment #7but has been poor this season imo at times hes played as bad as he did vs man utd in the now infamous cup tie.
i dont have a problem keeping him for 1 more yr, but if hes going to be 1st choice and were not going to improve our dfm options in january or the summer then i do have massive problems becuase we wont go anywhere until we do.
mf is argubly are weakest area of the team right now, we have two fit wingers, two dfm who cant pass and who are dangerously slow, two amf players of which one is no where near match fit and the other in emre beyond useless in. away games.
watching city get beat 6-0 by chelsea you realise how much better teams will benifit from a dfm having a shocker like hamman did for city his pasing that day was very bad.
ssdd
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:05 PM
Comment #8when emilson really come, he will be the backup
ssdd
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:09 PM
Comment #9”he”—> butt
bobby
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Comment #10butt has been solid as a rock this season. against spurs he was awesome. not sure how anyone can say he has been poor.
Alex Brett
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:13 PM
Comment #11He has vast experience, young players coming through will see leadership from him, they need to be able to see these players in the squad that they can look upto! Is there anything he hasnt won in club football??
Owen
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:23 PM
Comment #12Butt has been our most consistant player this season. Fact.
He played great under Souness for the first 8-10 games, we didn’t lose a game remember. Then he got injured and his form dipped drastically leading up to THAT cup semi.
I was really surprised he didn’t move on after the spell in Brum but he has shown a real pro’s attitude to playing for us and deserves a new contract even if he will only be back up for 2 more years.
He’s been WAY better than Geremi since the seaason started. With Barton alongside him we should have a better CM.
Leo
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:44 PM
Comment #13people tend to forget that gary speed really looked after himself when he was young, ie no drinking or snack foods, training hard, and then he goes to bolton i guess alardyce may have helped further his career but it is defo the player who has to put the initiative down.
iain
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:54 PM
Comment #14if people think nicky butt playing the way he is will fire us up the league, then i want what their smoking.
cant some people see how our poor passing/ball retention in mf is hurting and exposing our back four time and time again ?
question why did we look better at home with emre in cm ???
…becuase the passing was better.
same goes for barton who again like emre vs spurs was the only cm capable of passing forwards between oposition players, it was his pass out to zog that started the move for the 3rd goal.
for all nicky butts hard work were still useless away from home, becuase oposition teams keep us under pressure with possesion and take advantage of our own poor passing, did any of you watch the man city game, unforced errors in possesion by us led to all of there goals. butt particlualry responsible for the 3rd by giving away possesion then fouling elano.
we could do worse than sign gilberto/campo both have played the pl and are more physcially suited to the pl than someone like edmilson.
iain
Nov 2, 2007 at 12:56 PM
Comment #15also opossiton teams have us sussed look how often they double up on the man in possesion in mf, there so confident they will win the ball back they arnt worrying about the spare man.
which says a lot about how good they think we can pass the ball.
Tom_Toon
Nov 2, 2007 at 4:33 PM
Comment #16Iain Campo and gilberto more physically suited to the prem than Edmilson!!!?!! Edmilson is huge and bloody strong his passing is also excellent, mainly his long passing that why sam likes him.
ToonKing
Nov 2, 2007 at 4:48 PM
Comment #17I’m with the anti-Butt squad on this. He had 1 good game against Spurs but in all the others he was useless. He looses way to many balls and gives stupid fouls away (remember Elano freekick).
I hope that Edmilson will come in and force Butt to the bench. Edmilson is strong as an ox, big tall lad, just waiting to give height to the midfield and head those long balls back to the oppositions half, he’s passing is also spectacular.
iain
Nov 2, 2007 at 6:10 PM
Comment #18edmilson ? physical maybe 3/4 years ago when he was any good. too soft/slow even for la liga these days imo.
hes a huge gamble becuase of his knee problems as well, have we not learnt with owen, look at viduka hes living up to his patern of getting injured. everyone said duff was injury prone as well when he signed.
why take a gamble on a guy who will want 60kpw minium is 32 and has knee problems and no pl exp, which funily is what a lot of people say some of our new key players lack.
gilberto dislodged edmilson from the brazil team, that should count for something, hes a year or more younger and fitter, i know it might be hard to get him, but surely no harder than beating ac milan to edmilson.
Tom_Toon
Nov 3, 2007 at 2:08 AM
Comment #19Edmilson is the captain for the 2010 world cup for Brazil mate, and the only reason gilberto got in is because Edmilson got injured. How do you know Butt is not on near to or above or w/e 60k a week, i wouldnt put it past him the stupid wages we paid ppl in the past. Also ‘because of his knee problems’, i think he has had 2 serious knee injuries is his 14 year or so long career.
iain
Nov 3, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Comment #20barcelona went out and signed two replacements for him in the summer, and tbh i think rijkaard knows a bit more than sam does.
i dont know about you, but a lot of people complain about sam thinking were like bolton then get all excited when we chase 32 yr olds with injury problems who arnt deemed physical enough for la liga.
the two players signed by barca to play ch and dfm in toure and milito are quick/strong players which points to edmilson not being though capable of doing that.
from 1994 to 2004 he played 275 club games that averages at under 28 games a season, doesnt sound like a fit srong player to me. and since 2004 hes missed 2 full season almost with knee injuries.