Jack Butland, tossed into the world on that cold, dreary day of 10 March 1993 (he's 32 now, in case you're having difficulty with the maths), is an English goalkeeper currently serving his time with Rangers. He's quite the beanpole, a lofty 6ft 5in (1.96m for those mainland Europeans), and tips the scales at 14st 11lb (94kg), wearing the number 1 jersey. You'd think with that size he'd be hard to miss on the pitch, wouldn't you? He's also had the dubious honour of representing the Great Britain national team.
As far as footballers go, he's not a Rockefeller. His market value sits arse-down in the mud at around £1.3m, (my thanks to Transfermarkt for that nugget), but I suppose even modest skill will keep a roof over your head in this game.
He cut his teeth in July 2010 at Birmingham City, making 46 stirring appearances, then was shipped off (I imagine in a crate marked 'Fragile') to Cheltenham Town in 2011 for a spell on loan. He returned like a boomerang to Birmingham a year later. Next pit-stop on his carnival ride was a £3.5m move to Stoke City in 2013, for which period he was also lent out to Barnsley, Leeds United, and Derby County (busy lad, isn't he?). After an extensive and dizzying tour of the English Championship and Premier League, Stokie Jack, for reasons best known to himself, signed the deed over to Crystal Palace for a paltry £1m.
Let's fast-forward a bit to January 2023, when Butland was loaned to the red side of Manchester before finally making the journey north to the verdant pastures of Scotland, signing with Rangers. A far cry from the hallowed turf of Parkhead - but to each their own, I suppose.
At Rangers, he's huffed and he's puffed to make 38 appearances in the 2023-24 season, 28 in the 2024-25 season, and 29 appearances so far this season, not to mention his very presence gracing the League Cup, Scottish Cup, Champions League Qualifiers, and, of course, the Europa League. And here he is. Still plugging away. Good on you, Jack.
