Darren Fletcher

Poxbo said:
It's just the right course of action. Surgery is always a last resort for any illness if there are other less invasive therapies available first.
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Most who require surgery, myself and Red Baron included, do so after a sudden unexpected attack, and are very weak and sick. And so one has to recover from the weakness as well as the surgery post operation.

The statement says fletchers surgery was planned ... Which means that he is physically fit and strong going into surgery. And so he will bounce out the other side much more quickly. And so spectacular loss of weight and muscle mass is unexpected.

Of course he will also have a world class rehabilitation system to help him recover which most patients don't get (or need!). And so a few days after surgery, his mini army of Physio's, nutritionists and sports scientists will get to work, making sure every possible step is taken for him to get back to what he was.

I state again, it should be possible for him to quickly regain his physical prowess. Though not a professional sportsman, I did a lot of athletic work a year after my surgery and had ended up being fitter than ever before.

I think that's where SAFs optimism in his statement comes from. It would make sense for united to always keep the door open for him, even of that means that once he is fit, he is allowed a free transfer to a club that plays at a lower level.

Fletcher has done more than enough in his career with us to deserve such paternalistic loyalty.
 
sammsky1 said:
Most who require surgery, myself and Red Baron included, do so after a sudden unexpected attack, and are very weak and sick. And so one has to recover from the weakness as well as the surgery post operation.

The statement says fletchers surgery was planned ... Which means that he is physically fit and strong going into surgery. And so he will bounce out the other side much more quickly. And so spectacular loss of weight and muscle mass is unexpected.

Of course he will also have a world class rehabilitation system to help him recover which most patients don't get (or need!). And so a few days after surgery, his mini army of Physio's, nutritionists and sports scientists will get to work, making sure every possible step is taken for him to get back to what he was.

I state again, it should be possible for him to quickly regain his physical prowess. Though not a professional sportsman, I did a lot of athletic work a year after my surgery and had ended up being fitter than ever before.

I think that's where SAFs optimism in his statement comes from. It would make sense for united to always keep the door open for him, even of that means that once he is fit, he is allowed a free transfer to a club that plays at a lower level.

Fletcher has done more than enough in his career with us to deserve such paternalistic loyalty.
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Good post, especially the part I have highlighted.

Whatever happened with his recovery lets not forget that he hasn't played regularly for almost two seasons. If he can play pro football in the future is a bonus but I doubt it and a more likely destination is a role as a coach at Carrington.
 
How "in the know" is Crerard on this? Darren underwent a planned operation, and it was stated he would be given the rest of the season to recover. The season isn't even over yet, and he'll have the summer break to recover as well. Seems a bit odd Crerard would just come out and say that, unless he has spoken personally with Fletcher, but even then, I'm sure he would leave the announcement of that sort of thing to Fletcher himself.

Still, it would be awful to see a player retire at the age of 29. The lad is a warrior. Park was always lauded for his stamina, but I think Fletch has always been just as potent in that area as Park. I'd love for Fletcher to prove Paddy wrong. Love the guy.
 
OnlyTwoDaSilvas said:
How "in the know" is Crerard on this?
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Not very.

This line is pure nonsense:

"He's not been heard of, he's not played anywhere, he's not done anything"

Like you said, it was publicly announced that he was having an operation, and he last played just a few months ago.
 
Was there not a photo shoot with DHL at the Cliff recently and Fletch was in it? Also only a few weeks ago it was reported that he returned to start light work at Carrington.
 
Quite frankly we need to move on. He's only getting older and there's less and less chance he'll get even close to his best again. He wasn't good at all this season when he played and I can't imagine next season being any better after having a major surgery, being out so long, and getting older.

As much as I love him I hope his time as a footballer is finished here, let him coach the youth team like he did in the past because he obviously doesn't deserve to be completely ditched by the club.
 
Whilst not pinning our hopes on him in any way, I think he deserves to be given every chance to make a return.
 
Agreed, we need to plan without him, but he deserves our support and every opportunity we can give him to return for as long as he wants to try. Then a role in the club after that.
 
We need an out and out ball winning midfielder to replace him in the squad regardless.

Such a shame.. fecking hell I feel for the lad.
 
I find this a bit odd, to be honest. Paddy is known as, well, a mouthpiece: When was the last time he didn't tow the party line, as it were? And Fergie's official opinion is that Fletch is on his way back. What he - Paddy - says is essentially what most of us think: Hope he returns, but it's not bloody likely. Which is an odd thing for him, of all people, to say - ain't it?
 
From Paddy's twitter:

Just want to make it clear that i have never said that Darren Fletcher is finished. How would I know I'm not a doctor

I'm a Darren Fletcher fan & hope he is playing for the champions next season.
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From the quotes I read, it sounded exactly like Crerand was saying he thought Fletcher was finished as a footballer. No other way of interpreting his quotes. You cannot really retcon comments such as "I don't expect him to play for United again" or that it will take a "miracle" for him to come back.
 
Crerard was just expressing concern/fear for Fletcher's future, IMO. Something I'm sure we all share. He doesn't have any inside knowledge, and isn't basing his concern on anything solid.
 
Rowem said:
Crerard was just expressing concern/fear for Fletcher's future, IMO. Something I'm sure we all share. He doesn't have any inside knowledge, and isn't basing his concern on anything solid.
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I can see that yeah. He's still said he is finished in his opinion which is fair enough.
 
I'm not a Fletcher fan at all, but I'm sad that this is the way he will end his career with us.

Crerand is right in what he says and you can't attack him for what he says, it's what everone thinks. To actually say it does not make more of an idiot that us thinking it.
 
Giggsforever said:
I'm not a Fletcher fan at all
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Really? How so?

The guy was a beast before his illness. Home grown, in the Premiership Team of the Year, developing every season, providing our midfield with energy, tough tackling with decent passing and the occasional goal. What's not to like?

I'd take a fully fit Fletcher over virtually any of the CMs on the market atm.
 
The longer he's been out, the higher his reputation has soared. Listen to some and he'd have been the difference against Barcelona!

I think he'll probably come back again, and sit in the squad and play a small handful of games way below his best level. It's super sad but I'm sure we'll give him every single chance just in case.
 
Rowem said:
Really? How so?

The guy was a beast before his illness. Home grown, in the Premiership Team of the Year, developing every season, providing our midfield with energy, tough tackling with decent passing and the occasional goal. What's not to like?

I'd take a fully fit Fletcher over virtually any of the CMs on the market atm.
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Insane. Yaya Toure, Ramires, Arteta, Fabregas, Xavi, Alonso, Marchisio, Vidal, Sweinsteiger, Khedira, De Rossi, Nocerino ect, etc...
 
Giggsforever said:
Insane. Yaya Toure, Ramires, Arteta, Fabregas, Xavi, Alonso, Marchisio, Vidal, Sweinsteiger, Khedira, De Rossi, Nocerino ect, etc...
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Are all playmakers, not the type of player that Fletcher is.

Fletcher over Marchisio, Rameries, Khedira any day.
 
Giggsforever said:
Insane. Yaya Toure, Ramires, Arteta, Fabregas, Xavi, Alonso, Marchisio, Vidal, Sweinsteiger, Khedira, De Rossi, Nocerino ect, etc...
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:lol::lol:

No-one of the others I didn't bolded are in market anyway.

Fletcher was a very good player in his best, but he had a Lucas Leiva syndrome in caf. The longer he stayed out of the pitch, the better he become.
 
jakec said:
Are all playmakers, not the type of player that Fletcher is.

Fletcher over Marchisio, Rameries, Khedira any day.
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Different opinions but I think that Ramirez last season has been slightly better than Fletcher at his best, while there is not much to choose between Fletcher and Khedira. Marchisio is a completely different player.

Nocerino was the poorest example someone could have made. He is struggling to have time in a poor Milan, and was never half the player Fletcher was.
 
I don't think Remirez offers the same drive as Fletch, not to say he's not a great player, or doesn't have drive. I like Khedira, but I think physically Fletcher in his prime was superier. Nocerino has lost his place with Milan already tbh.
 
jakec said:
I don't think Remirez offers the same drive as Fletch, not to say he's not a great player, or doesn't have drive. I like Khedira, but I think physically Fletcher in his prime was superier. Nocerino has lost his place with Milan already tbh.
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Funny you would mention drive, because that is the one thing that Ramires is clearly better at than Fletcher (have you seen many Chelsea games?). Ramires is all about drive, Fletcher is all about holding the ball. Fletcher runs a lot without the ball, but so does anyone else.
 
Revan said:
:lol::lol:

No-one of the others I didn't bolded are in market anyway.

Fletcher was a very good player in his best, but he had a Lucas Leiva syndrome in caf. The longer he stayed out of the pitch, the better he become.
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Not so my friend. In 2009 fletch was one of the top performers for United and he looked like continuing that form before the illness. Maybe you only recall the early fletcher but I remember the one that ran the midfield and was also developing into one of our best passers. We would have won a few more European cups if he wasn't sick, I firmly believe that.
 
Irwinwastheking said:
Not so my friend. In 2009 fletch was one of the top performers for United and he looked like continuing that form before the illness. Maybe you only recall the early fletcher but I remember the one that ran the midfield and was also developing into one of our best passers. We would have won a few more European cups if he wasn't sick, I firmly believe that.
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That is exactly what I was saying.

He was good and was becoming better (though he was never and was never meant to be as good as Carrick of last two seasons) but that what you saying is over the top.

If he stays another two seasons sick, he will become as good as good as Matthaus.
 
Giggsforever said:
Insane. Yaya Toure, Ramires, Arteta, Fabregas, Xavi, Alonso, Marchisio, Vidal, Sweinsteiger, Khedira, De Rossi, Nocerino ect, etc...
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I said ON THE MARKET.

Insane indeed. Yeah, let's sign Toure from City.

And I'd have Fletcher over a few of those definitely. Arteta? Seriously? Given Fletcher is a home grown player who has previously proved himself for us, I wouldn't swap a fit Fletcher for players like Ramires, Nocerino or Khedira either.
 
We would have had much more chance of beating Barcelona had he not been suspended that year. That alone should tell you how far he had come. Also not much point in comparing him to Carrick as they are totally different types of midfielder.

Fletcher is exactly the type of player we've been missing.
 
Irwinwastheking said:
We would have had much more chance of beating Barcelona had he not been suspended that year. That alone should tell you how far he had come. Also not much point in comparing him to Carrick as they are totally different types of midfielder.

Fletcher is exactly the type of player we've been missing.
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It is a myth that was created after that game, and while it could had happened I seriously doubt it. If we had Hargreaves of the last part of the 2007-2008 season then we would probably beat Barca too.

The truth is that even with both of them, Barca was a better team than us, and very likely they would have won both final games.
 
After the game?? As soon as he was booked against arsenal everyone was saying what a huge loss he was going to be. We had No-one in midfield that could put barca under pressure on possession. This isn't me looking back back now saying it, it was the concensus at the time.
 
Rowem said:
I said ON THE MARKET.

Insane indeed. Yeah, let's sign Toure from City.

And I'd have Fletcher over a few of those definitely. Arteta? Seriously? Given Fletcher is a home grown player who has previously proved himself for us, I wouldn't swap a fit Fletcher for players like Ramires, Nocerino or Khedira either.
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Are you talking about the best CM as you said, or the best for us considering that he is home grown, he has already had one good season for us or what?

Kind of hard to argue if you change the premises all the time.

Fletcher played in the best team in the world at that time, you have to consider that and the fact that he was on top only a very short time.

That said, Fletcher is one of the most unlucky players ever. I saw his debut against Basel on OT and he was great. When we walked home after the match, he was the only thing we talked about. He had a great touch and passes. But then he got several bad injuries in his important development years, and I was never the same. He really could have been the great player you are talking about, maybe even better. But, as faith has it, he turned out to be an ok player for us, but he turned out to be a completely different player than he was destined to, and that is sad. Then he got this terrible illness and it's pretty much over. How unlucky can you be as a footballer.

I hope he will have a good life free from pain. But, he is still a rich man and will probably be better of than many with his illness. Best of luck to him. He played for United, so he is blessed in that way as well os others. Could be worse.
 
Irwinwastheking said:
Not so my friend. In 2009 fletch was one of the top performers for United and he looked like continuing that form before the illness. Maybe you only recall the early fletcher but I remember the one that ran the midfield and was also developing into one of our best passers. We would have won a few more European cups if he wasn't sick, I firmly believe that.
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Which years?

He was sick last season and this. That's about it. I doubt we had any hope of winning the UCL in these two seasons with or without Fletcher.
 
2009 although that wasn't sickness, I honestly think we could have won that game with him. 2011/12 we probably wouldn't have gone out in the group stages and this season he would have been a huge help for us.
 
Irwinwastheking said:
2009 although that wasn't sickness, I honestly think we could have won that game with him. 2011/12 we probably wouldn't have gone out in the group stages and this season he would have been a huge help for us.
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You just can speculate that way, because you can't prove me wrong if I said we would have lost even more with him on the field. With the way the match went, it was more than a player here and there that was the difference. The difference would have to be a Ronaldo or a Messi.
 
Irwinwastheking said:
After the game?? As soon as he was booked against arsenal everyone was saying what a huge loss he was going to be. We had No-one in midfield that could put barca under pressure on possession. This isn't me looking back back now saying it, it was the concensus at the time.
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To be honest I would rate that more as being down to our lack of other quality options in midfield - much like today. Fletcher would no doubt have improved us, but that isnt because he was/is world class so much as that we lacked any other player of that mould.

Fletcher to me represents a player who did well for us but would (or should) never have been regarded as a first team starter to the extent that he was. A team of our calibre should try to do better. I say that with the utmost respect for Fletcher however and I think its a huge shame his illness has effectively ended his career, not long after he had truly started to make a name for himself and hit his stride.
 
Giggsforever said:
Are you talking about the best CM as you said, or the best for us considering that he is home grown, he has already had one good season for us or what?

Kind of hard to argue if you change the premises all the time.
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I didn't say anything of the sort. I responded to your claim that you're not a Fletcher fan. I don't see how any United fan can't rate Fletcher and be a big fan of him as a player.
 
Giggsforever said:
You just can speculate that way, because you can't prove me wrong if I said we would have lost even more with him on the field. With the way the match went, it was more than a player here and there that was the difference. The difference would have to be a Ronaldo or a Messi.
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Of course it's pure speculation, but it's a valid guess IMO.

Walrus said:
To be honest I would rate that more as being down to our lack of other quality options in midfield - much like today. Fletcher would no doubt have improved us, but that isnt because he was/is world class so much as that we lacked any other player of that mould.

Fletcher to me represents a player who did well for us but would (or should) never have been regarded as a first team starter to the extent that he was. A team of our calibre should try to do better. I say that with the utmost respect for Fletcher however and I think its a huge shame his illness has effectively ended his career, not long after he had truly started to make a name for himself and hit his stride.
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I disagree and I think you are underselling the player that he had become that year. His vision and passing where as much of a key part of his game as his workrate and defensive work. He had really moved to a different level within himself in the 09 season.
 
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