Butler To Turn Down Korean Pay Packet

Last updated : 07 July 2003 By Rob Cooper
Busan Icons appear to have failed in their bid to sign Martin Butler and Jamie Cureton as their new strike partnership.

Whilst Reading's golden striker Jamie Cureton is expected to sign for Korean outfit shortly on a free transfer, Martin Butler will not be following suit.

Butler, 28, seems determined to see out his contract at the Madejski having already previously turned down the chance to join Bristol City, Preston and Stoke.

Alan Pardew is looking to offload his misfiring forward, but Butler seems reluctant to leave the club. Given his £8,000 a week wages, that is understandable.

However, the former Cambridge United player is clearly determined to win back his first team spot as if it was all about money he would have jumped at the chance to move to Korea where he would not be taced on his earnings.

The standard of football in Korea is no where near the standard of the UK, but the Icons are prepared to pay over-the-odds to capture some British stars. Manager Ian Porterfield is quick to advertise the pay, the 50,000 capacity stadium and the amazing training facilities, but fails to mention the sub 2,000 crowds.

Loyalty in football is a rare thing, but it should be applauded when it comes along. Martin Butler is clearly very determined to wear a Reading shirt. However, with David Connolly likely to sign for the Royals, Butler's first team chances are going to be more limited than ever.

Since his injury it has been painstakingly obvious he is not the player he once was, and not up to playing Division One football. Unless he proves the fans wrong, it is time for Butler to find a new club. Don't get Reading MAD wrong, we sincerely hope that Butler launches himself back onto the scene next season.

Prior to his injury he did a fantastic job and was easily our best player. The likes of Sammy Igoe, Phil Whitehead, Jamie Cureton, Matthew Robinson, Keith Jones and Adi Viveash are now just ghosts of our past that clatter over the Madejsaki Stadium. Their departures fails to haunt Alan Pardew in the slightest. Martin Butler, barring a sensational turn round this season, is only delaying the ending of this chapter in Reading's history.