When Manchester United played against Atalanta last October, fans at Old Trafford were on their feet cheering as the club finished with a successful 3-2 win.
Amongst the crowds were one of, if not the, club’s most dedicated supporters.
John Butterfield, originally from Salford, has followed the club for the majority of his life.
The 88-year-old and dad-of-six has been to every United cup final since 1948 when he first saw his dedicated club triumph over Blackpool.
The club’s success against Atalanta marked the end of an era for John, as it is set to be his last game at Old Trafford due to ailing health.
Nicknamed ‘Old John’ by those who knew him, he was deeply passionate about the club - even when they would spectacularly lose.
“John always had a smile on his face,” pal Peter Bolton, 65, tells the M.E.N.
“He’s always been absolutely dedicated to United. Even when they’d be losing, he’d still be there smiling away.”
John started going to football matches in 1939, with one of his first games being to see New Brighton during the war.
His friends say he's been to games in 81 seasons and been a season ticket holder since they started introducing them.
He even went to school with Busby Babe Edward Colman, the youngest of the 23 people who died in the Munich Air Disaster.
“When the Munich Disaster happened in 1958, he was in his prime as a football fan,” Peter says.
“He was a similar age to all the players and I think that was actually quite hard for him.
“He also knew David Pegg and would often go round theirs for dinner.”
Peter got to know John by total chance in the late 90s when they both went on a club trip to watch United in Barcelona.
The two, both travelling alone, were paired off and asked to share a room together.
“It was with a travel company called Miss Ellie’s,” Peter explains.
“We just got put into the same group and rather than drinking all day like some of the others on the trip, we wanted to soak up the culture.
“A few of us went on the open top buses and river cruises to explore the city and we just got to know each other from there.”
From the stories John would tell, Peter learnt he spent some time working as a sales representative for Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls and also at an opticians.
Peter says: “His boss used to get a bit annoyed with him because if he was ever going to a match afterwards, he’d turn up to work in his scarf and bobble hat.
“Football has always been his number one.”
When asked how he got the nickname of Old John, Peter said there was no malice meant behind the namesake and was just something that had stuck between their companions.
“It was never anything disrespectful,” he laughs.
“There were two John’s, and he just happened to be the older one.
“He was in his 60s and I was one generation younger than him when we first met and it’s just stuck since then.
“I don’t think he’s ever taken offence to it.”
One story John liked to tell would be the time he hired a motorhome in 1977 with his wife and children to watch United play Saint-Étienne in France.
“They made a week of it and travelled round France together for a bit,” Peter says.
“When it came to the match, they parked up somewhere near to where they were playing and the motorhome got robbed alongside all of their belongings.
“The way he would always tell the story was so funny. Any time Saint-Étienne were mentioned in any capacity, he’d pipe up with the same story every time.
“We’d always wink at each other and just let him tell it again.
“It was just so funny because he’d clearly forgotten he’d ever told it to us.”
John also claimed to often take his children round to Bryan Robson’s house.
“It didn’t bother him one bit to go and sit outside the house or knock on his door to sign something,” Peter said.
“He just felt like he was a part of the club.”
On one trip to Switzerland, Peter, John and their friends came across Roy Keane and Adrian Chiles sitting nearby to them in a pub.
A couple of the fans went up to Keane to ask for a picture and he shrugged them off.
Undeterred, John went over and pulled up a chair next to him.
“He picked up his pint of Guinness, half drunk, and said he was going over to get his autograph,” Peter recalls.
“We all expected him to get a mouthful from Keane but he just pulled a seat up next to them both and sat talking to them for ages.
“He came back about twenty minutes later to say he’d been talking to him about his dogs.
“I don’t know how he managed to do it - if anyone else had tried to do that, he’d have told them to bugger off.”
On another occasion, the fans went to see United play Galatasaray in Istanbul and were told not to get on the local underground to the match as it wasn’t safe for fans.
Despite the warnings, John and Peter decided to get on the tram anyway.
“We were at the tram stop trying to figure out where we needed to go and everything was all in Turkish,” Peter explains.
“These four lads came up to us in half-decent English asking where we needed to go. We told them we were trying to go to the match and they said they were going there too and would take us there.
“We get on the tram and it’s absolutely full of Galatasaray and we’re getting a few looks.
“I’m there discreetly hiding my shirt while John is there with his United shirt, scarf and gloves on. He couldn’t have been any more obvious, he had no worries.
“Some people came over and got talking to us, I said that John was in his 80s and it got lost in translation and everyone thought he was 90.
“All these people started coming up to him asking him for his photo because they couldn’t believe he was 90 and still going to watch the football.
“They wouldn’t let us go, they all wanted a picture with John. Everyone was so unbelievably nice to us.
“When we got to the ground, there were riot police everywhere and literally as soon as everyone saw John, everyone just stopped and made a gap for us to get through.
“They all parted ways for us and then as soon as we walked through, they went back to their business. It was unbelievable.”
Another time, the group of fans walked into the same bar where Paddy Kenny and football commentator Stewart Gardner were. Known to the pair, they invited the fans to join them for a drink.
“Two minutes after sitting down with them, someone comes over with some plates of chips and Paddy, being the gentleman he is, offers them round to us,” Peter says.
“We pass them round, all taking a chip, and when it gets to John, he puts the plate down, reaches into his pocket and gets out a sachet of tomato sauce and vinegar and puts it on the chips.
“Paddy just shook his head and said he’d better order another bowl of chips. John must have just thought he’d ordered dinner.”
In France, during one of John’s last trips abroad, the group of fans were heading to a match when they were told that the roadside trams weren’t to be used for matchgoers and were advised to use a two-mile route instead.
Peter, knowing John couldn’t handle the walk, tried his luck at getting on the tram.
“I tried to explain to the police, who were in full arms and barely spoke English, that he couldn’t walk the route as he was too old,” he said.
“They weren’t really having it and as I was trying to reiterate that we had to get on the tram, this riot van turns up right by the side of us with blue lights flashing.
“They opened the side door and shouted for us to get in - I didn’t think we’d done enough to get arrested, but I thought we better do what they said.
“We got in the back seat wondering where they were taking us and then we realised they were driving us towards the ground.
“They drove us through the bollards and through the gates and then stopped not ten yards away from the turnstiles, opens the door and in broken English asked “is this close enough?”
“Only John could end up getting escorted to the match in a police van!”
Peter says his friendship with John has highlighted to him the importance of football and how it can bring people together.
“I started with John when he was the age I am now and I often wonder if I’ll still be going to matches in 25 years time,” Peter says.
“I miss him for my football trips, we made a good team. We’d always bounced off each other.
“If it weren't for Miss Ellie’s, we’d have never met each other.”
John, who is a 'grandad to many', has now moved to Leyland where he is looked after by his family.
Son John-Mark said of his dad's dedication to the game: "He took me to my first game when I was ten days old.
"We rarely missed a game home, away and abroad when I was growing up. I took him to possibly his last ever game last month, which marked 82 consecutive seasons of watching United at Old Trafford and Maine Road.
"He was still an official season ticket holder but had to give it up reluctantly this season."
Peter says that while he isn’t able to see his friend as much as he’d like to nowadays, they still keep in touch and remember their moments together.
“We speak regularly on the phone and we saw each other at the game last month,” he adds.
“We stayed at the stadium after the game for about half an hour just putting the world to righteous while we waited for everyone to leave.
"He’s more like my dad now but what a man to go to matches with.
"He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and probably my best friend for the last 20 years.
“If I could ask for a friend for the next 40 years, he’d be the person I’d want.”
