Butterworth: Aidan James (Aidan)

1980-1984 (Player Details)

Forward

Born Leeds: 07-11-1961

Debut v Coventry City (h) (substitute): 04-04-1981

5’8” 11st (1982)

Tadcaster Grammar School pupil Butterworth represented England at Under-Fifteen and Under-Eighteen levels. He was recruited by Leeds in May 1980 and he broke into the first team with a flurry of goals, being top scorer in 1982-83. He was a small terrier-like forward who never gave defenders a moment’s respite. He had a good turn of speed and, for one so small, he did quite a good job aerially and had the ability to leap quite high. Manager Allan Clarke persevered with him after his initial burst of scoring as goals were always hard to come by with this struggling United team. With United sliding down the table due to lack of scoring power, Frank Worthington was acquired and introduced at Butterworth’s expense. In June 1984 he announced he was disillusioned with Football and wanted to go to college to pursue a different career. He returned to football with Doncaster Rovers as a part-timer, where he made his debut on 7th November 1984 in a 0-2 defeat by Preston North End at Deepdale. He went on to score five goals in fifty League games, of which fifteen were as a substitute. He also start two games in the F.A. Cup, against Queens Park Rangers and Everton, and had three games as a substitute in the League Cup, before moving to Guiseley in 1987. With a Sports Science degree under his belt he joined Adidas (UK) in 1994 in the Sports Marketing department. He worked closely with clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Rangers and Newcastle as well as high profiled players like Paul Gascoigne, Paul Ince, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Aaron Lennon and Joe Cole. In 2005 Butterworth joined the ranks at Puma. He was an integral part of the Coaches Association and its beginnings.