If anyone knows anything about the famous Manchester United youth academy, it’s Nicky Butt. The popular midfielder was born and raised in Manchester and started his career with the Red Devils. After a illustrious career at Old Trafford, he finished playing in China in 2011 and took over as a head of first-team development for United. He suddenly resigned in March and is still unemployed, but during his time in Manchester, he witnessed the retiring of sir Alex Ferguson and transition period from David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal, to Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Butt also oversaw the development of United’s future forwards Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, who are now regulars with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.Cristiano Ronaldo: a part of the solution for Man. United, or a burden?And former United midfielder recalls who it was to work under Jose Mourinho and what he thought of Greenwood. “An unbelievable character. I was his academy manager so I wondered what it would be like. The reality was that he spoke to me every single morning at breakfast. He asked me about young players, he was approachable, he was helpful. He was single-minded and selfish – and whether you like it or not, that’s what the best managers are. He would ask me which players I wanted to move up. He asked: ‘Who is this kid Greenwood?’ when Mason was 15. ‘Bring him to train with us,’ and I said: ‘We can’t, because he’s at school and there are rules and regulations. I pushed Scott McTominay and explained that he was a good kid who he’d like; one who was aggressive, can run and pass. Jose had him training and Scott never looked back. Jose sat with the under-19s ahead of a trip to Portugal. He told them what to expect, he said that Victor Lindelof will be the next big player. Jose was good and, for an elite manager with his record, he was very, very good with me” said Butt in an interview with the Athletic.(1.15) ENGLAND (9.00) HUNGARY (22.0)As for Van Gaal, who took over from Moyes and before Mourinho, Butt said that he totally turned things around at Old Trafford, even thou he respected the club.”I’ve heard what people say about him. He was totally different to anything I’d ever seen in my life in the way he managed his set-up. He was firm and partitions went up for meetings. At first, I was thinking: ‘This isn’t right, this is not how we do things.’ But it was no longer ‘we’ — that world had gone. Van Gaal respected United’s past but wanted to do things his way. His training and management was very structured. I really enjoyed watching how he trained with his coaches. They were good people, it was good for me to learn and I speak highly of Louis. He was approachable, he had a phenomenal CV” said Butt, adding that he had some doubts about both, but in the end, stayed quiet and learnt what he could from two of the greatest coaches in world football.
