Futcher started his professional career with hometown club
Chester in the
Fourth Division, appearing in four first-team games under
Ken Roberts in
1973–74. He moved with twin brother
Paul on to
Harry Haslam's
Luton Town for a joint £125,000 fee in June 1974. He scored seven goals in 17 games in the
First Division relegation campaign in
1974–75, including a
hat-trick against
Wolverhampton Wanderers. The "Hatters" remained in the
Second Division in
1975–76. He bagged 13 goals in
1976–77 to become the
club's joint-top scorer (with
Jimmy Husband). He hit 10 goals in
1977–78, as did
Phil Boersma, to again become the club's joint-highest scorer. He left
Kenilworth Road after
David Pleat was appointed
manager. In August 1978, Futcher
transferred back to the top-flight with
Manchester City and played at
Maine Road for the
1978–79 campaign, scoring seven goals in 17 league games for
Tony Book. This included a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over
Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge on 17 September. Futcher began playing summers in the
North American Soccer League in 1976 with the
Minnesota Kicks, spending the next five seasons with the team. The Kicks reached the
Soccer Bowl in
1976 under manager
Freddie Goodwin, where they were beaten by
Toronto Metros-Croatia. They reached the Conference semi-finals in
1977, losing to the
Seattle Sounders. They again reached the semi-finals in
1978, losing to the
New York Cosmos. In
1979, they lost in the first round of the play-offs to the
Tulsa Roughnecks, costing
coach Roy McCrohan his job. They again lost out at the first round in
1980 under returning manager Freddie Goodwin, losing to
Dallas Tornado. The
1981 season was his last at the
Metropolitan Stadium, as Kicks lost in the quarter-finals to
Fort Lauderdale Strikers under
Geoff Barnett. Having been with the Minnesota Kicks since the club's founding in 1976, he remained with it until it closed in 1981. He played with the
Portland Timbers in the
summer of 1982, becoming the
club's top scorer with 13 goals, including a hat-trick against the
Vancouver Whitecaps. He also spent a brief period in early 1983 back in England with
Southampton without making first-team appearances. He moved on to the
Tulsa Roughnecks, scoring the second goal in a
1983 2–0 win over
Toronto in the
Soccer Bowl at
BC Place despite having initially being suspended following a
red card in the previous game. However,
1984 proved a disappointing campaign, and he then left the United States for good. He finished with 296 points in 201 career games in the league, including 119 goals. Returning to Europe, Futcher had a spell with
NAC Breda in the Netherlands, scoring three goals in seven
Eerste Divisie games in
1983–84. Futcher then headed back to the English Second Division, signing a two-year contract with
Barnsley in
1984–85 on a £12,000 transfer, joining his twin brother. In August 1988,
Port Vale manager
John Rudge paid £35,000 for his services, having tried unsuccessfully to sign a total of five other strikers. Futcher had verbally agreed to move to
Mansfield Town and was also scheduled to meet with
Bolton Wanderers manager
Phil Neal, but instead signed a contract with Rudge and chairman
Bill Bell. He was less impressive in the game at
Swansea City, however, as he was sent off for verbally abusing a linesman. He left Burnley in July 1991 and moved on to
Crewe Alexandra, scoring four goals in 21 league games in
1991–92.
Dario Gradi's "Railwaymen" reached the Fourth Division play-offs, where they were beaten by
Scunthorpe United. He later played two
Conference games for
Boston United in
1992–93 before he retired. ==Style of play==