Big Sam is the new Fergie

Aug 26 2007 by Neil Farrington, Sunday Sun

AFTER 13 trophy-laden years at Old Trafford, Nicky Butt does not draw comparisons with his surrogate father, Sir Alex Ferguson, easily.

But it has taken Sam Allardyce just three months to convince one of Manchester United’s favourite sons that he is a manager in Fergie’s own image.

Not least because Big Sam has shattered the culture of complacency which Butt believes has dogged Newcastle in recent times.

And Allardyce is a big part of the reason why a born-again Butt believes he can continue to “stick two fingers up” at those who had written him off on Tyneside.

Butt pulls no punches in analysing the downturn in Newcastle’s fortunes which prompted Allardyce’s arrival at St James’s Park.

But he is equally forthright in his praise for a manager who is cutting no corners in trying to engineer a revival which will be tested at Middlesbrough today.

“I see similarities between them,” says Butt of Allardyce and Ferguson. “You definitely know who’s boss here, as you do at United.

“He’s the man everyone looks up to, and when he walks onto the training pitch everyone steps up a level.

“The set-up here now is also similar to Old Trafford. The manager and the staff there were always 100 per cent every day in training, and the gaffer is obviously trying to promote that here.

“He’s obviously a no-nonsense manager. From an outsider’s view looking in on his time at Bolton, he looked like a tough man to play for and would take no crap, and I’m sure he’ll be the same here.

“He’s come in, set up a whole new regime, with new training methods and an emphasis on dedication and commitment. He’s made it clear that no player here can take anything for granted.”

And taking nothing for granted means sweat and blood — but tears for anyone unwilling to address last season’s shortcomings.

“The gaffer‘s had a chat with us all, telling us he expects us to work hard every day in training,” adds Butt.

“We have heart monitors on to check that we are training hard, and if he thinks we’re not performing even in training and not applying ourselves right, we’ll not be selected on a Saturday.

“Maybe over the last few years here, people have expected to play if they are performing well or not.

“Last year, a few of us maybe didn’t put ourselves on the line, both in training and in games, but still expected to play week in, week out.

“Everyone’s guilty of that sometimes. Everybody can take their eye off the ball now and again. But with wearing a monitor, you can’t really do that now.”

And a fitter squad is proving to be a happier squad.

“Everyone is happier now. At the end of last season we were all upset; all peed off about the season that had gone by and the way things had shaped out.

“But now it’s a new season, a new start. We’re all together now and keen to keep it that way.”

Dressing room already changed beyond recognition, Butt now wants a new outlook among supporters to whom he still feels he has something to prove.

The memory of being booed on his return to Newcastle from a loan spell at Birmingham — which itself followed a difficult first season for Butt in the North East — is increasingly distant, but still distinct.

“Obviously, I didn’t get a great reception when I first came back, and I’d like to think that, the way I’ve been brought up in life — and in football — is to stick two fingers up at people.

“I’ve tried to do that and hopefully I’ll do that over the next few years.

“To have the fans on your side here though is a great thing because they are very passionate . . . hopefully I can keep them on my side.”

But first things first: that shift in supporters’ expectations. A goalless draw against Aston Villa in the opening home game of the season prompted some to accuse Allardyce’s side of negativity, with Butt’s midfield partnership with Geremi part of the case for the prosecution.

“We’re very alike players and, at home, the crowd are obviously very passionate and want to see us go and win games,” Butt acknowledges.

“But I think maybe over the years, Newcastle have been guilty of trying to show off a bit too much; been a bit too gung-ho and have ended up losing games 4-3 or 3-2.

“It’s not for me to tell them (the fans) how to watch football. But if we play a boring, terrible game that they all boo at and it ends 0-0, I’d rather have that and get a point than play in a great game to watch where we get beat 3-1 or 3-2.”

Yet whether they grind or groove their way there, Butt believes Newcastle are bound for better things.

“The top six . . . if we can keep our main players injury free — especially defenders,” he says.

“Defence is an area where we probably lack a bit at the moment. Everywhere else in the team — wide, midfield, up front — if we have injuries, there are top-class players who can come in and take over.

“But if we can keep our defenders reasonably fit for the season, we can make the top six.”

And helping Newcastle get there would represent quite some renaissance for a man who never expected a second chance at the club.

“When I left for Birmingham I definitely thought there was no way I was coming back here,” he said. “If you leave a club at my age, you generally never go back.

“I had a chat with Graeme Souness, who was manager then. It was man to man, it wasn’t an argument, and he just told me I wouldn’t be in the starting line-up and that at my age I’d want to play football.

“So I left to go and play football — it wasn’t a personal thing. But it worked out that I came back here. And I’m very happy I did.”

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Nicky's a new man

NEWCASTLE are now seeing the Nicky Butt of old — and will be rewarded with the type of success he enjoyed at Old Trafford.

Magpies manager Sam Allardyce believes Butt can add to his Manchester United medal haul . . . now that he has recovered from the trauma of leaving his hometown club.

“I am glad to see the old Nicky Butt playing for Newcastle in the same mould and the same context as he did for years for Manchester United and England,” says Allardyce.

“He has trawled himself through a traumatic time and come out the other end with flying colours. He has now finally laid to rest the disappointment of leaving Manchester United.

“I think that was probably the ultimate problem for him here to begin with.

“Boy and man he was brought up at one of the greatest football clubs in the world. It must be a great wrench in your life when you lose that, and that is something he has overcome.

“His frustration in the end was that Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't give him as many games as he wanted. Like everyone else, he found he was dispensable.

“Gladly, he has overcome that, and I can give him a platform to be as successful at Newcastle as he was at Old Trafford.”