Darren Fletcher
Fletcher has been at
Manchester United for his whole career coming up from the youth team.
Fletcher joined Manchester United as a trainee in July 2000 and he
signed a professional contract in February 2001. He was initially seen
as a right midfielder in the David Beckham mould and was tipped by many
to break into the first team with ease and stay there for many years to
come. His first few seasons at the club, however, were marred by
injury, and as he developed came to be viewed more as a central
midfielder.
Fletcher broke into the Manchester United team during the 2003-04
campaign, playing a number of important matches and starting in
United's FA Cup Final win over Millwall in May 2004.
Despite a slow start to the 2004-05 campaign, in which in the early
part of the season he made very few competitive appearances, Fletcher
again broke into the United first team. On 1 January 2005, Fletcher
scored his first goal at club level in a 2–0 win over Middlesbrough.
Fletcher was one of the players singled out for criticism by club
captain Roy Keane in the wake of United's 4–1 defeat to Middlesbrough
in October 2005. Keane reportedly said, "I can't understand why people
in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher." However, Keane later attempted
to set the record straight stating, "If you listen to any of my
comments over the last two or three years, if I've given any player
credit over the years it would be Fletch. Fletch will tell you that
himself." Fletcher went some way towards answering his critics on 6
November 2005, with his performance in the vital league match at home
to Chelsea, scoring the only goal of the game with a looping header.
His winning goal ended Chelsea's forty-match unbeaten run in the
Premier League.
In 2006-07, at the start of the season he retained a place in the first
team but only on the bench and scored in an away win over Charlton
Athletic, as well as scoring the headed winner in the away game with
Middlesbrough in December and another headed goal in the home win
against Charlton in February, making it a double against the club that
season. As the season progressed, Alex Ferguson preferred the midfield
quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Ryan
Giggs, limiting Fletcher to a few substitute appearances. However, with
Paul Scholes absent through suspension, he made a starting appearance
in United's 7–1 win over AS Roma in the Champions League quarter-final.
In the 2007-08 season, with the further arrival at the club of
playmakers Owen Hargreaves and Anderson and winger Nani, Fletcher
played even less than during the previous season, and was even rumoured
at one time to want to leave the club out of displeasure at not playing
enough. Indeed, as before, Ferguson preferred Carrick, Scholes, Giggs
and Ronaldo to him in midfield, and he even played less than the new
arrivals.
In the 2008-2009 season, he started the first two games, due to the
injuries of Carrick and Ronaldo, and scored against Newcastle United at
Old Trafford in Manchester United's first Premier League match of the
season, forcing a 1–1 draw after Obafemi Martins' goal. Fletcher
notched his second goal of the season opening the scoring from close
range against Portsmouth, following a pass from Patrice Evra. He was
later shown a yellow card on the 93rd minute before the match ended 1–0.
On 3 October 2008, Fletcher signed a three-year extension to his
contract with Man Utd, keeping him at the club until 2012. Fletcher
notched his third goal of the season against Everton on 25 October.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 02 November 2008 13:00 |
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