WAG’s dream made Neil Warnock play defender up entrance and bag ‘excellent hat-trick’
Neil Warnock’s football tactics were once influenced by his wife’s dreams.
Not many football WAGs have dreamt about former Crystal Palace defender Danny Butterfield, but Sharon had seen the club’s right-back scoring the winner in her sleep. Warnock, 75, took inspiration from his better half, announcing Butterfield, who turns 44 on Thursday, would start up top.
Butterfield’s team-mate Darren Ambrose was convinced it was a joke – that was until Butterfield scored a hat-trick in just six minutes. The 2010 feat – which helped Palace win 3-1 – is still a club record for the fastest three-goal brace in its history.
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It was a rare so-called ‘perfect’ hat-trick with Butterfield netting one goal with his left foot, another with his right and the third with his head. Ambrose told talkSPORT Warnock was ‘insane’. The ex-England U21 midfielder said: “We were playing Wolves.
“He said, ‘My wife Sharon, she had a dream last night. She dreamt that my right back scores the winning goal today. So Danny Butterfield – you’re playing up front’. We all started laughing then and he was like, ‘no, I’m serious’.”
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During the game Ambrose said he begged his boss to switch Butterfield to his normal position. “I think about 12 minutes later he had a perfect hat-trick, Danny Butterfield. Left, right, header. We won the game 3-1.”
Amazingly, it’s not the only time too.
Former Sheffield United striker Paul Ifill revealed Warnock dropped him from a 2005 local derby with city rivals Wednesday based on one of Sharon’s dreams. His replacement Alan Quinn scored the only goal to win the match.
