Sep 28
Fletcher has the right ideas
Darren Fletcher after having more or less established himself at the heart of United’s midfield reveals he wants to be known more than just a destroyer.
Fletcher’s defensive abilities and energy in the middle of the park has been apparent for most United fans even in the tail end of last season, but the Scot feels there are still areas that need improving.
“I don’t want to be pigeonholed as a destroyer,” Fletcher told the Sunday Telegraph.
“The whole idea is to become an all-round midfielder, who can pass the ball, score goals and get the team going.
“I can be a destroyer when we don’t have the ball and set a high tempo and be the trigger. When we don’t have possession, I’m thinking, ‘right, I’m going to be the first one to press and win it back’.”
I’ve been calling out for a dynamic midfielder who can both destroy play, as well as turn defence into attack by bombing forward, and it’s fantastic to see Fletcher recognize that. Players make the transition from average to good to great by recognising flaws in their game such as this one, and improving upon that. Fletcher is 25 and is yet to reach his peak if he continues to improve. So, hopefully, when Hargreaves eventually returns from his layoff, he can form a formidable partnership at the heart of our midfield especially useful in away European games.
He also talks about the change in the side following Ronaldo’s departure: “The manager has pointed out that Ronaldo has gone and that is a huge goal difference that we need to fill. As players, we all have to rise to the challenge.
“Ronaldo was good for us, but a lot of players sacrificed themselves for Cristiano too. In a lot of games, I’d be asked to play in central midfield but, whenever he went forward, I’d have to get out to the right to cover him.
“Maybe, now we have got back to 4-4-2, where everybody drops back as a four, it gives the midfielders more opportunity to bomb forward.
“I’d like to think I can get double figures this season because, in this team, you are always likely to get chances if you can get into the box.”
Fletcher got two in the Manchester derby, and if this is not a one-off from him, his contribution will go a long way towards spreading the goals around the side — which is, needless to say, very critical following the loss of Ronaldo.
Related items from Red Rants:
- United win easy, questions on Evans and Rossi
- Blackburn v Man Utd: Preview
- Thoughts on the Aalborg win and reactions
- Fletch Wants To Stay. Do You Want Him?
- Ferguson Breaks Silence on Midfielders
Tags: Site News
Opti (541)
Stephen (490)
RedDevilEddy (461)
Craig Mc (349)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@NicoQB: Well, this article, dated July 28, 2000 would disagree with you: link He’s being viewed as a winger throughout.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: You haven’t, that surprises me too!
Like?
0 
0
@Redrich: I dont’ really agree with this. Stam and RVN were played in their most effective positions and were successes at least at individual level.
Beckham, even though his original position was in the centre of midfield, learnt very early the position od Right midfield, and had such a sweet foot and great stamina that h efared exceedingly well at this position. THat’s not to say that he would have failed in the centre, I believe he would have done just as well but by the time he gave the position a shot he had already mastered the position of right midfielder, so he was always bound to pale in comparison.
But the thing about players not performing well after leaving /United is just a myth imho.
McGrath won POTY at Aston Villa, Forlan is right now one of the best strikers in the world, even Poborski ended up being a legend at Porto (I think). RVN performed very well at Madrid, but he himself sees that he did a mistake in leaving, not because of he doesn’t play as good as he did at United, but rather becausehe knows that he will never relive those halcyon days where he was the main man of the team.
I think the reason people think players fail after leaving united is because
1) in truth the player wasn’t really good enough, e.g. Beillion, Miller, Taibi; or
2) the person had trouble coming to grips with life in england and his performances ended up suffering – Poborski, Veron, even nearly Vidic!
3) plain bad luck (e.g. through injuries) or lack of chances to appear in the team – Beardsley, Forlan
Also it is a recognised fact for the most part that by not playing players in their natural position, they tend to lose effectiveness. Veron was an example, and it seems that Anderson will follow suit… Gibson has also been very disappointing when played on the right, just as Fletcher was in a way.
Like?
0 
0
Right. There’s been a tweak in the theme. I’ll be looking to post breaking news, updates, links, short posts etc in this format. These posts will appear formatted differently on the front page to differentiate between longer, more opinion oriented posts. Anyway, feed back appreciated. Although I will be sticking with this kind of a format, by and large for newsy-linksy posts.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: What the heck does an espn dated of 2000(!) know about football?
Kidding, but I’m 100% sure (and I don’t make these kind of statements very often) that Fletcher was always a Centre Midfield by trade. I’m pretty sure he mentioned it.
The journalsit there just wanted to sex up his article by making sweet comparisons with Beckham, and made the parallel between an up and coming young united fan. Nowhere its mentioned that Fletcher actually plays on the right, or has the same footballing style as him. Its just what the writer of the article would want you to believe.
But the article did comfort me in one thing I always thought about Fletcher is that he was technically very good in his early United days, and somewhere along the line this aspect of his game was dimmed when his blood and guts character became his bread and butter.
Like?
0 
0
@NicoQB: ESPN’s soccer articles, back in the day, used to be written entirely by Brits.
Like?
0 
0
@NicoQB: My point was that, SAF, regardless of the talent, wants players to perform his way. It gives him control of how the team plays and the results of that control, speak for themselves.
The 3 examples I used were of players that did not heed his word, and they were let go.
Their talents were still obvious to see, and they did go on to perform well for other teams, but SAF insistence on control made them expendable.
And so his tendency to play players in positions that does not immediately reap rewards, is not so much a “major flaw”, but an insistence that has created his success!!
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: Why the need for the change? Certainly doesn’t give the front page any more impact but seems fine to me.
I’m not sure I ever differentiated between one type of post or another. If I wanted to comment, I would comment anyway!!
Like?
0 
0
@Redrich: This format helps me have short posts just to post links/news etc and look cleaner on the front page. Otherwise you will have a headline with big font, yet a tiny article. It’s got more to do with the cosmetic look on the main page on the site than anything else.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: So do we still just comment to the last post or should/can we comment to 2 or three simultaneously??
Like?
0 
0
@Redrich: You can comment on ant post you like. The only time I tell people to move on to newer posts is when there are far too many comments on a post that slows a page down.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: The ratings that clown and Bill O’Reilly get are nothing compared to what the Liberal side like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow get. There will always be enough nut jobs out there to support the crazy’s like Beck as there will be a lot of nut jobs out there who will believe with every fiber of their being that Ben Foster will be the second coming of Gordon Banks too. And I have no problem calling them nut jobs because that is exactly what they are even if they have the right to express their opinion. I call a spade a spade. As you know from the past RR, I have serious problems tolerating stupidity (unless it’s my own), so forgive me on this one.
By the way, I comments you on the new look and approach. It makes the blog more current looking and more dynamic, not to mention functional. Well done.
Like?
0 
0
@NicoQB: Sorry mate but on Fioster you know diddly squat. Sorry. But I won’t hold that one against you. We all have our guilty pleasures and have made our poor choices in life. You choose footballing numptees to idoloze, for me it’s women who will destroy one’s soul. Such is life.
Like?
0 
0
@Redrich: That’s what I was trying to allude to earlier. That no matter how fantastic Fletch has been, it’s been 7 games and he got off to great start (although not as great as this season) last year. Based on form he has been a Keane lite, but lets see how long he can continue with it or if it’s a permanent thing.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: I called his present form right now Keane Lite and that I would take only Essien over him based on that current form. But i do want to emphasize that I also did warn everyone to be more cautious before anointing him to the throne because the season was still in it’s infancy. I just want to make that clear because I am on no level a true bandwagon jumper as I need to see more greatness from him. On the Foster scene however, i have seen enough. Ship him off to Iceland on the next ice breaker.
Like?
0 
0
@NicoQB: No, that label is being held for Gibson.
Like?
0 
0
@Redrich: Absolutely agree with you Red. He has been phenomenal up to now but it is only seven games into the year. The one really encouraging thing to consider is that he has tremendous stamina and energy and is less likely to burn out from fatigue. Then again, he has never been used as much as he is going to be used this year. We’ll have to see how he handles the Carrick role of starter while Michael vegges out on the bench demanding a transfer by Christmas.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: I think it’s a great way to handle the numerous stories and angles that are going on and keeping posts and threads on topic more. Again, well done mate.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: This is why I think it’s a good idea. To keep the site from slowing down. I remember at times when we have gone over 500 or more posts on a thread and the site would just go into sloth mode. This might take some getting used to by some because they are programmed to think one way, but I think once everyone is used to the new look and understand the reasoning behind it, they will move on as if nothing has changed. After all, we are United fans here and not Scouser supporters. We are expected to have more of an IQ and understand subtle changes better than your average Liverpudlian.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: Yeah.. Its give good new look to it…
But, I am still not able to see reply button.. 
(Maybe because my browser.. 
)… But at least I am seeing the smileys…. 
Like?
0 
0
See, when Man UTD plays well we may take whole week to reach 500 but, when its a rubbish Man UTD performence we reach that marks in a day or two isn’t it???
Incredible… Of course its all about Ranting….
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: To be honest I’m getting increasingly tired of Olbermann and Chris Mathews too. You see, they are sort of the other extreme and lose objectivity for the sake of counterbalancing Fox News. I am sick of the bias on news channels when we’re supposed to be watching objective analysis. The most sense on politics these days come, oddly enough, on The Daily Show (Jon Stewart) and the Colbert Report.
As for calling those who back Ben Foster stupid, well, you’ve opened a can of worms for yourself, because you could open yourself to a lot of criticism. It’s quite possible others might genuinely think they are calling a spade a spade by returning the compliments to you too. My advice: play your cards carefully.
There is virtue in strictly following the policy of respecting opinions — even if it means you want to strike the person on the head at heart. 
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: The ONLY news worthy of the title News, is the infamous News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS (Public broadcast). This is seriously the only show left on TV that displays the power of investigative journalism and critical thinking.
Like?
0 
0
@Onkar: That’s very true, it’s debating and generally disagreeing with each other that makes a thread go over 500 replies. When we play well we are all in agreement and once the love fest is over, it’s on to other things. That’s perfectly normal and common nature. I still prefer the debates as long as they do not become heated arguments. Agreeing on everything is good because it means the team is playing well but it is boring in terms of debate and overall blogging and conversation, don’t you think?
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: Very true and very good point on Ben Foster. I need to learn to control myself when it comes to tolerating what I see as stubborn stupidity and naiveté. The problem here is that even more than usual, I really believe 110% that I am right on him. So in regards to a can of worms, I am also setting myself up for a mighty deluge of abuse shoulf he turn out to be a great keeper. Yeah right! And goats have wings.
As for MSNBC, I have never been a strong Matthews fan but I truly love Olbermann. I’m sorry RR but he calls it as it is. The man smells of righteousness and honesty and he has constantly and continuously dished out cold solid proof on the noise and corruption of the right wing and especially Cluster Fox News or Fixed New, as he so smartly refers to them. The man has integrity and has scruples and his special comments remind me so much of Edward R Murrow who was well before your time. I love the man and his show is a staple for me every night when I am eating dinner. I to love the Dailey Show but Colbert I find funny at times but generally his format and style for me is annoying. Another hero of mine although I do not share his atheist views is Bill Maher. Maher is the closest thing you will ever find to my personality, sense of humor, cynicism and ability to rationalize. I’m dead serious. Two friends of mine often tell me that Ia remind them of Maher in regards to my personality and wit. For me he just makes so much sense.
As you know I absolutely hate the right wing and i find them and most Republicans dead from the heart up as well as selfish, greedy and evil. Now I need to ask you who I find to be one of the nicest, fairest and most liberal sounding people I know why you don’t care for Olbermann? Seriously mate, is living in Hickville Texas starting to rub off on you. That’s Dubya country and they seriously are a state that is sick in the head.
Sorry for the political rant but lets face it, until tomorrow, there isn’t much footy to discuss. Cheers mate.
Oh and by the way, if you want a quick tip on a sure fire way to pick up women anywhere but in Texas, buy one of these shirts. I can’t get enough of how many women are showing the old Grognard attention and chatting up with him since he bought and started to wear that shirt. Chicks dig the shirt.
http://www.imaginegate.com/super-obama-comic-con-alex-ross-tshirt.html
Like?
0 
0
@[OPTI]Madschester United: I agree with you as it is neutral and completely professional and it steal makes most Republicans look like the evil ass clowns that they are. But my fave is still Olbermann. That man is one of my true heroes.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: I don’t hate Olbermann – I actually like him, but some of his over the top antics annoys me. I love Bill Maher too. I’m not very religious as such, although that doesn’t mean I don’t have morals and ethics — they are completely different if you get my drift.
Right now, Glenn Beck makes O’Reilly look the voice of reason. He’s quite easily the most detestable talking-head ever. Little wonder he shares the same initials as George Bush.
I could go on about my political views but I guess it will be long winded, out of place, and people will just get bored
Maybe email is a better option.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard : Agreed… We are just natural fighters…. I mean we like to debate.. Debate hard… And till the skin of teath is ripped off… I will debate…
Agreed.. Sometime its nice to disagree….
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: Truly, because I have the greatest respect and admiration for you mate (despite our occasional disagreements on here), I am relieved to hear you say that. Up until 3 or 4 years ago I never really cared if somebody was a liberal or conservative. In fact, I used to work for a conservative provincial minister back in Alberta in the 80′s as my leaning back then were different and dare I say a little warped and naive. I eventually woke up to the realities of the world and I thank the George Bush regime for finally setting me straight on all this. Such evil corruption I have never seen so close to my door. I was shocked every week with how many terrible, vile, evil and reprehensible things Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush and his cronies would perform. It all really started with that corruption over who won the first election back in 2000. Anyway, suffice it to say I have been shocked and appalled at what has become of America, a country I used to not only admire, but wanted to live in.
Glen Beck, what a piece of work. This little insignificant misuse of egg ad sperm reminds me of David Dukes and your typical redneck white supremacist type. In fact I even remember writing into CNN a few years back and condemning them for having hired this man to spew his hate and narrow minded fear agenda on their second channel. It seems like anyone can have a show now if he has the agenda and the balls to make an ass of himself or to spew uneducated ignorant garbage, as long as he gets the ratings. Which says a lot about the dwindling and declining quality of news journalism over the past twenty years. News journalists still have a lot to accomplish before they become the Van Gogh’s of sleaze and tabloidism that the English and Spanish football media has elevated itself to.
Anyway, I’m glad you aren’t against Olbermann. Yes he can be a little over the top and there are times I do believe he makes a mountain out of a mole hill but in general, the man has ethics and respect for the rights of man, maintaining the common decency and ethics that the constitution demands of Americans.
The only time I have ever gotten pissed off with him brought out the conservative in me. It’s when he so condemned Roger Clemens for supposedly taking steroids and then lying about it. This was so unlike Olbermann for two reasons. Like myself, he was known and acknowledged as a major Clemens and Yankees fan and secondly, it was not like him to condemn anyone unless there was 100% irrefutable proof that linked Clemens to steroid use. To this day I have yet to see the irrefutable proof that links him to this. Hersay and innuendo as well as lies to congress by a weasel and scumbag who was trying to cop a deal to stay out of prison for having sold and injected many ball players in the past. All of whom had evidence and a paper trail proving their guilt. All of them except one Roger Clemens. The greatest pitcher of the modern era who was famous for his hard work, Navy Seal workout regiment and dedication to the game. Not a player who cheated and looked for the easy way out. Yes I show bias here because Clemens is truly one of my heroes and I do not want to believe in his guilt, but mostly because nothing has ever been presented to me or to the world that points to his undeniable guilt. But the media loves to condemn in their new kangaroo court of public opinion. Yet another reason why I hate journalists today and the one thing that I would love to tell Keith Olbermann off for.
The only thing that I cannot handle about Roger Clemens is that I do believe he is a Republican and that he had all the conservatives on his side in Congress while my beloved Democrats were quick to be rude and ruthless towards him when he was giving his testimony. Amazing how they would hang this man out to dry just out of political expediency and to get one over on their counterparts. Anyway, sorry once again for going on about something that is not about footy, but this was directed to you only. Obviously I am passionate about the issues and about what is going on, and it is clear you are too. Glad to hear you are a Bill Maher fan too. Although I am religious, I am not a church goer and do not believe in organized religion as I think it’s a sham and American’s have also shown why religion and politics should never mix too. Anyway, Maher lets them have it and I just love it because frankly, they all deserve it. And I never apologize for being long winded.
Like?
0 
0
@Onkar: I agree. This community here on Red Rants is a special little group where we all get along for the most part but where we all know each other pretty well and are comfortable with each other’s differences simply because over time, we have come to know what makes the other tick.
For example, I often have disagreements with Craig and Dan where we can get pretty nasty with each other. Well I cannot speak for them but I will say that i have the utmost respect for both of them and that i like them despite the fact that I quite often disagree and even get pissed off with heir views and ideas, as I’m sure they do with me as well. It’s hard to establish that kind of respect and understanding on a lot of other blogs that are either too big and too cold and lacking of community atmosphere. Quite often Red Rants has the feel of the boys meeting at the local pub after a long day of work and just sitting around drinking and talking United and footy. On other blogs you get the feeling that you are just another brick in the wall and one of many people who are overlooked and not remembered. Why contribute to a site that is so large and so cold that you are never really remembered or acknowledged? For me it’s like writing your name and a crude comment in a public washroom. What’s the point. who cares and who will read it? That is why I only participate in one football blog and it’s right here. I have established myself here and the community that resides on it is well known and very familiar to me.
I feel comfortable amongst all of you and that is important. Above all, I feel welcome, appreciated and respected (by most of you at least). You cannot put a price on that. And although I have often had my arguments and disagreements with Red Ranter, I have nothing but the utmost respect for him because he is the reason for this. He has designed and maintained a truly classy blog that for me is head and heels above the others because of it’s intimate sense of community and real feel of comfort and efficiency. This blog is not too big but it’s not to small either. And over the few years I have been on it, the bullies, thought police and control freaks have left out of frustration and out of the fact that their kind of attitude is not tolerated in a real community oriented blog. I wish a lot of the other blogs were maintained and run like that. Instead they are infested with hate mongers, intolerant ass clowns and undesirables who live to make other people uncomfortable or defensive due to their own insecurities and needs to vent their vile frustrations. RR doesn’t stand for that and he stands by his own laws that he has created and that we all seem to adhere to for the most part. That’s why debating and arguing on this blog is actually a privilege.
Like?
0 
0