Darren Fletcher | 2013/14 Performances

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Am I hallucinating or is he better on the ball than he was before his illness flareups? Or is it just because our standards have dropped so far in midfield? He was doing very well in tight spaces today, I wish we had more players with his ability in midfield.
 
Duafc said:
Probably just serves to highlight how fickle a fan you are.
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What a twat you are.

He had a poor first half spent being ran rings around by a centre back and Jonjo Shelvey.

Fair play to him he stood up in the second half, like most of the team did.
 
beergod said:
Am I hallucinating or is he better on the ball than he was before his illness flareups? Or is it just because our standards have dropped so far in midfield? He was doing very well in tight spaces today, I wish we had more players with his ability in midfield.
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Fletch was always very nice and tidy in the ball.
 
marjen said:
What a twat you are.

He had a poor first half spent being ran rings around by a centre back and Jonjo Shelvey.

Fair play to him he stood up in the second half, like most of the team did.
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You could have written that post about more than one player including Carrick in the first half.

But fletch was outstanding in the 2nd
 
Flandall Ragg said:
You could have written that post about more than one player including Carrick in the first half.

But fletch was outstanding in the 2nd
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He's never going to get back the intensity that was the biggest part of his contribution, but I think he's showing more on the ball than every other one of our midfielders. Plus he's actually making runs into the space from deep positions, which promises he'll score a goal or two.

Liked what I saw from him.
 
Very nice on the ball, willing defensively if lacking in strength, hopefully he gets stronger the more he plays. Looks promising for Fletcher.
 
marjen said:
He's never going to get back the intensity that was the biggest part of his contribution, but I think he's showing more on the ball than every other one of our midfielders. Plus he's actually making runs into the space from deep positions, which promises he'll score a goal or two.

Liked what I saw from him.
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There is no reason he cant get back to the intensity he had.
 
Stack said:
There is no reason he cant get back to the intensity he had.
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I'm no expert on medical conditiions but I'm sure two and a half years or so of being out of action due to a severe illness makes it difficult.
 
beergod said:
Am I hallucinating or is he better on the ball than he was before his illness flareups? Or is it just because our standards have dropped so far in midfield? He was doing very well in tight spaces today, I wish we had more players with his ability in midfield.
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You just forgot how good Fletcher was. Go back and watch some games from 2009/10 you'll soon remember. Darren Fletcher's technical ability, not in terms of Santi Cazorla style creativity, but the basics of football like first touch, control, passing both short and long range etc. has always been very strong.
 
Mickeza said:
Not sure about that, in his interview he was saying there's more to come and he's going to get faster and stronger.
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Well let's hope so. But if he can do what he did in the second half today on a regular basis I'd be delighted.
 
marjen said:
I'm no expert on medical conditiions but I'm sure two and a half years or so of being out of action due to a severe illness makes it difficult.
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Sir Steve Redgrave won an Olympic gold in one of sports most physically demanding events after overcoming the same thing Fletch has had to deal with.
 
Mickeza said:
Not sure about that, in his interview he was saying there's more to come and he's going to get faster and stronger.
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I just want to see him as dominant as he was in our home game against Milan in the last 16 of the 2009/10 Champions League. If, and its a big if, Fletch can get back to that we'll have a box-to-box centre midfielder who can stand up to anyone in English football including Yaya Toure (and you can quote me on that!)
 
Stack said:
Sir Steve Redgrave won an Olympic gold in one of sports most physically demanding events after overcoming the same thing Fletch has had to deal with.
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Really? That's incredibly impressive.

As I said I'll be absolutely over the moon if he can get back to that level, but even playing like the second half today will mean a world of difference to our midfield.

Looks like he really wanted it as well.
 
marjen said:
What a twat you are.

He had a poor first half spent being ran rings around by a centre back and Jonjo Shelvey.

Fair play to him he stood up in the second half, like most of the team did.
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i just think you changing your mind, about a very good united player after 2 years out, based on one half of his second full game, from a write off to someone you're happy to have around is silly.
 
Fletcher is extremely underrated by a section of the fans. It's true that initially he found it difficult and got a lot of slack ny the fans. However when his form improved and started to be one of the best performers,some dimwits refused to accept that and did not soften their stance towards him. He was the 'cleverley' of six or seven years. Thankfully the club showed more patience..
 
#07 said:
I just want to see him as dominant as he was in our home game against Milan in the last 16 of the 2009/10 Champions League. If, and its a big if, Fletch can get back to that we'll have a box-to-box centre midfielder who can stand up to anyone in English football including Yaya Toure (and you can quote me on that!)
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He mentioned becoming more box to box too. He's already defied the expectations on here, most thought he'd come back and just sit so I wouldn't write anything off, the guy is ridiculously determined.
 
Stack said:
Sir Steve Redgrave won an Olympic gold in one of sports most physically demanding events after overcoming the same thing Fletch has had to deal with.
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Was he not a diabetic?

Edit he had both. Amazing determination.
 
Duafc said:
i just think you changing your mind, about a very good united player after 2 years out, based on one half of his second full game, from a write off to someone you're happy to have around is silly.
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I wasn't writing him off, my point was that now he's played enough football to be judged on the same terms as everyone else, and since his return he's been sub par all in all.

Great to see him like that in the second half. If anyone deserves it it's him.
 
Stack said:
I remember how much vitriol and abuse Fletcher got for a couple of seasons. Wonder if Cleverley can come out the other side of it the way Fletcher did.
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Fingers crossed he does, he needs to change his mindset somewhat though. Always great to see home grown lads in the team.
 
Fantastic second half and once again thought that whilst they weren't without fault in the first half, much like when he and Clev played against Swansea the problem was more around Carrick/Fletch in terms of the tactical set up and how we were playing. Considering though they were almost outnumbered 5 on 2 at times I thought he and Carrick kept it pretty tight centrally with them often getting a chance from the spare man out wide.

Either way we changed it up in the second half and Fletch was very impressive again. Class tells. I love how he's come in and shows no fear, plays at his pace. He's got a great way off doing something that looks very simple but at the same time is very effective. I've always thought his ability on the ball and passing was underrated and maybe people are finally seeing that.

He's still got some work to do on fitness/strength but that will come with game time, just look at how physically Adnan looks like he's benefiting from senior game time. It's a cliche to say but he really is like a new signing and if we can keep him and Carrick fit then suddenly getting back in to CL looks a lot more viable.
 
marjen said:
I wasn't writing him off, my point was that now he's played enough football to be judged on the same terms as everyone else, and since his return he's been sub par all in all.

Great to see him like that in the second half. If anyone deserves it it's him.
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Agreed!

He only deserves it on merit, as you say. I just don't expect the moon and the stars from him so soon.
 
He used to be energetic, pressing the opposition and putting in tackles. Now he's playing like Scholes. He's so comfortable on the ball and his passing is excellent. He's less keane and more Scholes now.
 
I thought he did very well. Calm, smart - hardly a pass that wasn't the right one, and a fair few of them in tight spots too. It's a delight to see him back. And he hasn't hit top gear yet either. This looks very good.
 
Just listened to his Sky interview, he seems very calm and clued up. Can definitely see him moving into management when he retires.
 
Steady and solid would be the two words I'd use myself to describe his performance today.

A lad with a dodgy heart would be less likely to get a heart attack when he'd see Fletcher with the ball or liathroidi at his feet.
 
He returned weaker physically but his mentality overcomes absolutely everything that's standing between him and United.

Player like him defines this club. He gave everything earlier and it was time to give him strongest support during unfortunate illness. Now he repays that with everything he got plus there's a future ahead of him here, even after ending his playing career.
 
He's leading on the pitch too, constantly cajoling and positive. It's been great to see him back and playing so well. Must be one of the first names on the team sheet currently. I wonder how him and Jones would work as a partnership?
 
I really hope he can play plenty of games and then get a full pre-season under his belt in the summer. Only then will we know if we have something close to the real Fletch back. The signs are good, though.
 
Promising second half from him, but I wouldn't read too much into it just yet. The first half was diabolical (as a team) and we only really improved in the middle after going in front, at which point Swansea became completely clueless as their whole gameplan seemed to be based around us needing to score more.

Still, at least he was willing to look for the right ball with a degree of balance between urgency and composure. Second half from him was miles better than what either Carrick or Cleverley have shown all season, which in Carrick's case is highly embarassing. We actually had someone other than Rooney able to play football and move from the middle of the pitch.

When we didn't have the ball in the first half though, my god what the feck were we doing?
 
Brophs said:
I really hope he can play plenty of games and then get a full pre-season under his belt in the summer. Only then will we know if we have something close to the real Fletch back. The signs are good, though.
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I reckon he must already be close to being ahead of Cleverley. In fact I'd be tempted to play him next week. I think it'd be a huge gamble, but I Cleverley I'd have less confidence in with the way he's been playing of late.

The thing is you could see in Fletcher's performance today the positives of the "experience" than our other more senior players just haven't shown this season. He was willing to take the initiative, but also not panick and try things that just weren't on. He shamed Carrick in that respect.

Today was the first time in ages (i.e. years) I think he's looked anywhere remotely close to match fit too, which is where I'm a bit cautious because maybe Swansea made it easy to give that impression. It seemed a huge leap from as recently as a week ago.
 
God, most of our midfielders - bar Carrick - should feel ashamed that a man that was off for so bloody long is still head and shoulders above them.
 
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