Leeds United Born in
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, Batty made his debut for Leeds in November 1987 as an 18-year-old during a 4–2 win over
Swindon Town, and quickly earned a reputation as a fiercely competitive midfielder in the mould of Leeds legend
Billy Bremner. Perceived to be a bit lightweight, to build up Batty's strength Bremner would call him into his office every morning to drink
sherry with a raw egg stirred into it. Batty was a key member of the Leeds team that won promotion from the second division in
1989–90, and a member of a midfield which included
Gary Speed,
Gary McAllister and
Gordon Strachan, when Leeds won the first division championship in
1991–92. As a tireless and sometimes ruthless forager of the ball there were few equals, but there was more to his game than simply breaking up opposition attacks; having won the ball, his distribution was excellent, making him the springboard for many counterattacks. If there was one aspect missing from his game it was the lack of goals, as evidenced by cries of "shoot" from Leeds fans when Batty received the ball anywhere within the opponents half. In October 1993 Leeds manager
Howard Wilkinson needed funds to finance the rebuilding of his team, and reluctantly accepted an offer of £2.75 million for Batty from
Blackburn Rovers, who were managed by
Kenny Dalglish. Wilkinson used the funds to buy
Carlton Palmer for £2.6 million eight months later.
Blackburn Rovers At this point Blackburn were an emerging force in the newly created
Premier League with players such as
Alan Shearer and
Chris Sutton. He suffered a broken foot which ruled him out of the majority of Blackburn's title-winning campaign in
1994–95, only playing five games for them that season. He refused a winners medal at the end of the season, stating that his contribution had been minimal. By the following season Batty was available to help Blackburn's
Champions League campaign. However, the team failed to reach the lucrative knock-out stages; Batty's contribution to the campaign is best remembered for an incident involving himself and his teammate
Graeme Le Saux, when they started fighting each other during the Champions' League game against
Spartak Moscow. In 1996 Batty requested a transfer from Blackburn Rovers, and moved to
Kevin Keegan's
Newcastle United for £3.75 million.
Newcastle United With Batty providing midfield bite and cover for the defence, Newcastle were able to challenge the dominant team of the day,
Manchester United; Newcastle finished up as runners-up in the league to Manchester United twice (
1995–96 and
1996–97). His first full season at St. James' Park saw the departure of Keegan, with Kenny Dalglish taking over and guiding the club to another runners-up spot. Batty started the
1998 FA Cup Final; however, the arrival of new manager
Ruud Gullit in August 1998 marked the start of a team rebuild, and Batty made the move back to Leeds United in December 1998 for £4.4 million.
Return to Leeds United Batty rejoined a resurgent Leeds team under the management of
David O'Leary; O'Leary wanted Batty to provide bite and experience for his youthful side. A rib injury picked up in his first game kept him on the sidelines for some time, but by the end of the
1998–99 season he was a regular in the Leeds team. However, in the early part of the
1999–2000 season he suffered an
Achilles tendon injury, and recovery was lengthened by side effects of the drugs he had to take for the heart problems he suffered as a result of the earlier rib injury. This caused him to miss
Euro 2000. Batty's experience was a key factor in Leeds qualification for the
UEFA Champions League, and the cup runs to the semi-finals of both the
UEFA Cup and the Champions League; however, when O'Leary was sacked by Leeds in 2002 Batty found himself out of favour with subsequent managers. He was injured in a game against former club Newcastle United on 7 January 2004; it would turn out to be the final game of his career. He retired from football when he was released by Leeds in May 2004. ==International career==