I remember seeing Fletchers first games for United thinking the same. This was in 2003 or something, three years after he was supposed to come on as a 16-year old schoolboy. Three years of injuries, broken leg and growth problems. So his talent was not represented fully at that time. The first couple of years was also marked by him being trained to be more muscular, losing a bit of speed in the step, and transitioning into central midfield. By the time he was ready, Carrick and Scholes had become one of the best central midfield combos around. So no wonder we didn’t see it, but Fergie and his crew surely had not seen wrong.
Interesting, looking at McTominay, to think Mourinho said this about Fletcher in 2009 before the CL final:
"Fletcher is more important than people think. His work in midfield, especially in the midfield 'wars', in crucial matches is very important. Man United will miss his pace and aggression in defensive actions: he 'eats' opponents in defensive transition. I believe
Xavi and
Andrés Iniesta are happy Fletch is not playing."
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