Midfielder : Richard Butcher

Richard Butcher joined the club for a third time in 2009 having had two previous spells under Keith Alexander. Many were excited about the prospect of seeing Butcher again, but it just didn't work for him under either Peter Jackson or Chris Sutton and he left in the summer of 2010.

  Debut : Lincoln City 1 Rushden and Diamonds 2 - November 2002

Butcher joined from Kettering Town in 2002 when the Poppies couldn't pay their players and a clause meant he only had to give two weeks' worth of notice to join another club. His time during his first season at Sincil Bank was a bit slow and even though he was a first team regular, he didn't really excel in a four man midfielder, but did form a decent central-midfield partnership with Peter Gain.

The following season saw him become arguably City's most valuable midfielder as he scored stunning goal after stunning goal. He seemed to be having his own personal goal of the season competition and scored what has been my personal favourite goal watching City, a 40 yard screamer against Mansfield in the second minute to give City a memorable victory.

This continued for Butcher but he was helpless at City failed in the Playoffs three times before he announced he was leaving in the summer of 2005, trying his hand at going into League One with Oldham Athletic. His time there was considerable less successful as he was made a hate figure amongst the Oldham fans and he returned to Sincil Bank on loan for a month, scoring a brilliant volley against Orient before returning.

He left Oldham to go to Peterborough and then onto Notts County. Despite scoring one goal every four games for the Magpies, he was against singled out as one the reasons that they were regularly seen towards the bottom of the table. He was released at the end of the 2008/9 season and hooked up with City again.

Despite getting a good run in the first team, Butcher rarely showed glimpses of the man who used to inspire and he was eventually dropped altogether under Chris Sutton. Butcher left the club for a third time in May 2010, signing up for Macclesfield for a second time after being sent there on loan during the 2009/10 season.