Inside Jack Butland's journey from England prospect to Rangers No.1

It is one that began in League Two with Cheltenham Town. Mark Yates, then manager at Whaddon Road, utilised his contacts at former club Birmingham City and completed a deal to sign a young keeper that had an imposing physical frame and a burgeoning reputation after choosing a career in football over one in rugby.

The arrangement suited Butland. Originally from Clevedon, just outside of Bristol, a switch to Cheltenham was handy geographically and suited personal and professional requirements.

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The chance it presented was even more significant, though, and the decision from Yates to sign Butland ahead of Lee Nicholls, then of Wigan Athletic, proved to be a sliding doors moment.

"He is a really good character," Jon Palmer, a journalist and author of four books on The Robins, said as he recalled his dealings with Butland in his formative years. "Cheltenham have had a lot of young lads on loan and some have shown maturity beyond their years, and he is definitely one of them. Everyone thought he would go on to do well, everyone thought he would be England’s number one.

"There have been times in his career when it hasn’t gone his way, but he has been at some amazing clubs, like Rangers now. I know a lot of fans here have kept a close eye on him.

"It is quite scary to think he is 30 now because I remember the day he turned up. He was a very good shot-stopper, pulled off saves that nobody in League Two would have even thought about making.

"It was more his maturity and his attitude that impressed me that season. You expect a keeper that has come in from Birmingham and has been in the England youth setup to be able to pull off saves, but it was his character and maturity that made me think he was going to go all the way."

Butland would have two stints of a dozen games for Cheltenham. Mistakes were made in defeats against Shrewsbury and Southend but were quickly forgotten about and learned from.

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Such was his obvious talent and potential, Yates opted to drop keeper Scott Brown, who went on to play for Aberdeen, despite his standing as a hero figure with supporters. The campaign ended with a what might have been after Butland was recalled to St Andrew's early.

"It was a brave decision from Yates to drop Brown and bring Butland in, but that is what he did and it showed how good Butland was," Palmer said. "Cheltenham got into the play-offs that season but he had gone by that time and Brown came back in before they lost to Crewe in the final at Wembley. Butland played a big part in them getting there and that team should have gone up automatically.

"He made a bit of history becoming the first player to play for England having only played senior football for Cheltenham. He made his debut that summer and it showed how highly rated he was.

"He started against Italy in August and he had only played for Cheltenham at that point so that was a proud moment for the club and an amazing achievement for him."

It was during Butland's time with the England Under-17s that Adrian Bevington saw him in action for the first time. Like for so many, those immediate impressions were positive ones.

His performance in a Team GB match against Brazil ahead of the Olympics in 2012 stands out for the former managing director of Club England at the Football Association. His views of Butland the man had already been formed.

"My first dealings with Jack personally were when he came out to the European Championships in 2012 in Poland and Ukraine," Bevington said. "He struck me and a lot of members of staff as someone who was a really mature individual, a great person around the environment. He was always polite.

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"He took on responsibility. I remember taking him to a media appearance and he was happy to play his part talking to kids. He was very mature beyond his years.

"He had precocious talent when he was a young player and everybody had extremely high expectations of him for his career.

"I think it is a great move for him to go to Rangers at this point in his career and hopefully he can fully establish himself as a number one at Ibrox and play week in week out. That is what he needs to be doing now."

Ironically, it was the misfortune of Celtic keeper Joe Hart that handed Butland his Three Lions debut and he played the first half of a match that Roy Hodgson's side won 2-1. Jermain Defoe scored the England winner in Berne.

Butland's career has not progressed on the trajectory expected since. He had loans at the likes of Barnsley and Derby County after signing for Stoke City in 2013 and it was with The Potters where he eventually established himself.

A move to Crystal Palace and loan with boyhood club Manchester United didn't have the desired outcomes. Now he arrives at Ibrox to fill the number one jersey vacated by Allan McGregor and aiming to leave his own legacy.

"When he came in at Stoke, he was following Asmir Begovic, who was a legend himself and there had been a number of really good goalkeepers prior to that," Butland's coach and mentor at the Britannia Stadium, David Rouse, said. "At Stoke, any goalkeeper there is always judged against the best in Gordon Banks.

"Coming into Rangers, you talk about Allan McGregor and how fantastic he has been for years and the fact that he played for such a long time just shows you the quality that he had.

"The amount of top quality goalkeepers that Rangers have had over 10, 20 years or longer, Jack has got some big boots to fill. But I think he has got the personality, got the ability, to do that."

Rouse joined Stoke to work under Michael O'Neill when he was named manager in November 2019 and he is now part of the Northern Ireland international staff.

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He vouches for Butland as a presence and a voice in the dressing room. Even during his struggles at Stoke, Butland was never one to let his head or his standards drop and the switch to Palace was hard earned.

"I think he will do really well at Rangers," Rouse said. "We all know how big a club Rangers is and how strong a personality you have got to be as a goalkeeper to deal with the pressures.

"You can’t make too many mistakes when you are fighting for the league every season but Jack will enjoy that challenge. You will get a lot of goalkeepers that won’t be able to rise to that but he is one that will revel in that environment.

"You get a lot of keepers that look fantastic in training but can then only bring a certain percentage of that ability onto the field and in pressure situations. Jack is so calm.

"Look at his Premier League games, he plays with a calmness and authority that he can bring out the big saves when they are needed. The best goalkeepers need to make those big saves in big moments in big games and that is what the Rangers fans are going to see."

The acquisition of Butland is the headline move of the summer so far for Michael Beale. The financial investment is significant and signing a keeper that United wanted to retain is a statement of intent from Rangers.

Butland spoke with assuredness and authority during his first interview with RangersTV and will now report for duty at Auchenhowie on Friday. He is fully cognisant of the prizes on offer as well as the challenges that lie between him and his new targets.

"Playing for Rangers, there is such a level of expectation and pressure to perform in every game," Bevington said. "He may well have his eyes on the Old Firm games and big European nights or cup finals, but it is also the bread and butter of the Premiership week in week out.

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"When you are playing for a club the size of Rangers, you have to perform to a level because there is that scrutiny and expectation that comes with it.

"I am convinced that Jack, the character that I remember very well, will not be fazed by it. He is someone who will embrace that challenge and the responsibility that comes with it."

Butland arrives at Ibrox as an established figure in the game. As such, the demands from supporters will be even greater than the ones that he places on himself.

He remains the youngest keeper to play for his country. The last of his nine caps came five years ago against Switzerland but a renaissance for his club could reignite aspirations for his country.

"I am sure in Jack’s mind the first priority is to play regularly and perform well on a weekly basis and in the big games for Rangers," Bevington, who spent five years at the FA, said. "With regards to the national team, that will be determined by his performances.

"If he is playing fantastically well, that will be something for Gareth and his staff to make a decision on. There is an established trio of goalkeepers with England with Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope, but if a player is playing extremely well then the manager of the national team will watch them.

"At this moment, the first priority for Jack will be to establish himself for Rangers and play consistently well at Ibrox."