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
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@NicoQB: You know, I think I must make a separate post for it.
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The only problem I have with the new format is you can’t reply to post on iPhone.
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@grognard how do you rate wolfsburgs manager from last year? Why did he leave, and are they as potent without him?
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Ha ha ha lol the Scouse are 2-0 down to Fiorentina lol
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that Olympiakos keeper Antonios Nikopolidis is a monster…at 43 he is single handedly keeping Arsenal from scoring…
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As for tomorrow, i think its suicide if Gary Neville is playing, love him to bits, but not for this level, in his current form. Gary has redefined the “skinned sausage” moniker.
Dzeko and Graffite are a handful, we’ll need our back 4 to put in a decent shift. My team
Foster
O Shea Rio Vidic Evra
Valencia Fletcher Giggs Nani Berba Rooney
we’re at home, lets do another Roma pls,
Attack, Attack, Attack!
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@Red Ranter: Please do!
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@Grognard: What faith did the the fans’ have??
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@Grognard: I have to agree with Cyclops. The manager deserves to be rewarded for his faith, but the fans? Gimme a break. He was the most reviled player on the United team sheet. People said a lot of bad things about him, as how he’s in the side just because he’s a Scot etc. I think Fletcher’s come good despite the lack of faith shown by most fans rather than because of our faith. He is one player who doesn’t really owe much to most United fans. He’s just a top man, who’s maintained his humility and honesty and worked his way up.
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Vidic>de laet> neville> liverpools defence
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@ Dan, i thought of including De Laet in my preferred starting lineup, but opted for the experience of O Shea instead. De Laet is a monster tackler, this lad will do well.
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@Phoenix Red: Hes a vidic on the wing with better ball control is how id describe him. I agree, experience is needed, that said, De laet shat all over valencia, and last time i checked, valencia>wolfsburg.
But O’shea i feel should get the nod tomorrow.
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@NicoQB:
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@Phoenix Red: Had my Liverpool-fan mate over to watch the game, and I lolled the whole time because he went on complaining about everything possible!!!
From Lucas being the worst player ever, to how Insua sucks, how their defence is terrible, how Voronin is the most stupid footballer you will ever see, how Benitez is stupid to play Aurelio as CM and sub Babel, and so on… 
Its nice to have a mate like that, liking a rival team and actually managing to stay unbiased at times. Of course he is biased, but who isnt? He is cool, should let him come over more often! 
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@Dan: Lucas < Bag of Shit
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Not much going on these days… Everything has cooled since the City win. United related that is, as I see there is very little talk here. And I dont count Foster bashing as talk, its just rubbish in my opinion to brand a keeper just 6 games into his United career as either “horrible” or “absolutely fucking immense!”. Give the lad time, thats all Im saying.
So fucking little is going on…
On Thursday FIFA 10 is out!!!
Gonna game it to death the first day! 
Ive got some squad ratings for United, take a look:
Rio: 86
Vidic: 88
Evra: 82
Valencia: 80
Fletcher: 79
Carrick: 84
Scholes: 84
Anderson: 80
Nani: 79
Rooney: 87
Berbatov: 85
Giggs: 83
Owen: 79
Ive got some more, but these are the most vital ones in my opinion… How the fuck can Fletch only be 79?!?!?!!?
Well, they do have some shit ratings at times. But thats just a travesty! Naaah, at least I figured out how the Viritual Pro GameFace works! 
It looks immense, and those of you with Xbox Live or PS3 Live should defo make your own accounts on eafootballworld.com. The gameface is probably one of the best things in the game, its gonna be so fucking amazing! 
Just gotta find a recent picture of me that fits the bill, so far my face looks blown up and just unnatural! 
Gonna work on that tomorrow…
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@Johnsom33: Well Felix Magath is an excellent manager. A real disciplinarian who demands complete loyalty and does not deal well with ego’s. He had great success at Bayern and got sacked because some of the superstars didn’t like his rotation system and his demands on them to defend as well as attack. I’m sure Munich are really regretting sacking him and hiring Klinsmann who didn’t exactly work out. Magath’s record speaks for itself. Everywhere he has managed he has won. Last year he accomplished a minor miracle. He took a footballing minnow and guided them to the Bundesliga title by getting the absolute maximum from all his players and by helping Edin Dzeko finally emerge as a scoring talent. I still cannot believe Wolfsburg won the title. Anyway, Magath is the real deal and although Schalke have not been great so far this season, neither was Wolfsburg at this stage last year. Their second half was from another universe as I believe they only lost once after the winter break. I don’t think he will repeat with Schalke because I do not think he has the attacking threats he had with Wolfsburg. But he has a solid defensive team with what I feel is the best goalkeeper on the planet presently, and that includes Casillas and Buffon.
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FIFA 10 ratings for United. Xbox 360 and PS3 only(as far as I know).
VDS: 83
Oshea: 80
Rio: 86
Vidic: 88
Evra: 82
Valencia: 80
Fletcher: 79
Carrick: 84
Nani: 79
Berbatov: 85
Rooney: 87
Foster: 77
Evans: 76
Rafael: 76
Owen: 79
Park: 80
Scholes: 84
Giggs: 83
Neville: 76
Anderson: 80
Macheda: 74
Brown: 78
Tosic: 75
Hargreaves: 82
Welbeck: 73
Fabio: 72
Kuzzy: 73
Gibson: 72
Obertan: 68
De Laet: 66
Cathcart: 65
Eikrem: 62
Thoughts please?
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@Cyclops-Red: Many fans believed he would be a very decent player and would be consistent. Well ha has been that but now he has stepped it up to even greater heights than what the fans expected and i am sure even over what Fergie expected too. Then again I think the Gaffer knew what he had all along.
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@Red Ranter: I don’t know RR. He wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but i rarely remember out and out criticism directed at him the way Anderson, Foster and Berbatov get. I think he was just seen as a good player but far from anything spectacular. He was accepted in the same vein as O’Shea because he did his job well but without any frills. But now he has really emerged into an outstanding two way player who is making us all take notice. Sure there were those who hated his every move in the past but I do not think it was a loud majority by any means. I for one am very critical of certain players but I do not recall having really been vocally loud against Fletcher. No I didn’t want him as a regular starter but I never felt scared that he was out there unlike the way Anderson made me feel playing the same position.
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Just to prove why 79 is too little for Fletcher… Well, best way is probably to tell you that Lucas, of all people, is 78.
Fletcher: 79
Lucas: 78
Ehhhhh…………………………. Epic fail?
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@Phoenix Red: I really like De Laet a lot and I feel he has the tools to be the starting RB for the club. But in truth, none of us really know enough about him based on a few appearances and what he does with the reserves. We need to see much more of him before we anoint him as the fullback position’s Vidic. I just think we should be a little cautious when praising him too much before he has really accomplished anything.
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@Footy4Eddy: It’s time to convince him that his future as a fan should be with the Red Devils not the forlorn hope that is known as the Red Scouse.
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@Footy4Eddy: I think that is really being hard on all bags of shit. How about Foster>Bag of shit instead?
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@Grognard: I said he was one of the most reviled.There were threads dedicated towards mocking him. I remember that quite vividly. Fans have poor memories. Players like Anderson and Berbatov have polarising opinions — you have those that are complete loyalists and those that are not. However, if you asked about Fletcher 2-3 years ago, no one would have argued if we were to have sold him. The fans that had faith in him even 2 years ago were in the minority.
The common refrain this season unanimously has been: “Fletcher has become the most important player for us” followed by this: “who would have thought of that not too long ago”. Almost 99.99% of the commentary on Fletcher has been that. Says a lot about how he was never really rated.
Whereas if Anderson/Foster/Berbatov come good, you will see about a 50% of bloggers and commenters coming out and saying: “See, I told you so.” That didn’t happen with Fletcher.
Fletcher has unexpectedly emerged.
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@Footy4Eddy: When they put those ratings together they obviously were basing it on last season and based on last year Fletcher is no better than an 80. Maybe they will change it before the release and actual printing/pressing date for the game. I still feel that Berbatov and Scholes are too high. No striker who can’t score goals should ever get a rating that high. And Scholes, I wouldn’t give Scholes an 80 at this stage in his career. I also would rate Giggs higher based on the fact he is still great and he is coming off his PFA award season. Vidic is 88 which is fine but so help me I will drive over to EA personally and reign havoc on them if they rated John Terry higher.
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@Footy4Eddy: Scholes
, Foster a 77? 
More like a 57 in my books. 
De Laet is to unknown by the bozo’s at EA or i would give him at least a 75. EVDS also deserves higher than 83. I wonder what Messi and Ronaldo are this year?
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@Grognard: No way, man.
Fletcher was bashed and criticised and very unfairly.
Anderson for instance, does not receive 1/10th the amount of bashing that Fletcher did 3 to 4 years ago.
In the collective mind of fans he was reviled much in the way that a Foster is nowadays, except that he was exempted from day-in day-out criticism as his appearances were only occasional.
@Footy4Eddy: Park at 80 is just marketing, and you know it! To be fair, nowadays Fletcher is only truly appreciated at his just value by United fans. General football media still think he’s somewhat of an odd fish in our star studded team. Maybe that’s because he has such a bland appearance.
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@Footy4Eddy: That is a joke. I actually can live with Fletcher at 79 because I can tweak him up to 81 or 82 without much trouble but Lucas is a useless git that should be getting what they gave De Laet.
From what I recall when I last talked to my friend who works over at EA, most of the programmers were fans of Liverpool, Barcelona and Arsenal. I guess that will make Almunia a 90 and Messi a 99 this season. 
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@NicoQB: Even Foster has a fairly even split among fans – despite the majority opinion on this particular blog. Maybe the City game has made it 70% against and 30$ for Foster. But the vast majority of United fans couldn’t be bothered if Fletch did well or not. So in my opinion he doesn’t really ‘owe’ us. Fletcher’s improvement has been a bonus no one really expected but for Ferguson and the coaching staff. Those people deserve the real credit.
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@Red Ranter: I’ll take your word for it mate. I do not scour the other forums so you would know better than me, but i always had the impression that he was thought of as alright but not as a starter. I stand corrected.
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@Red Ranter: Easy to gloat afterwards, but I was in the small minority that supported him!
But I admit that I didn’t see him originally as a Makelele-type of enforcer, more like a Scholes or Keane type passing/controlling midfielder.
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@Grognard: Thank you. I consider it my personal victory to have convinced you.
Now I must pat myself on the back for a good day’s work.
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@NicoQB: Which is odd, because he was supposed to have been a Beckham-type player.
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@NicoQB: I suppose that is why I never noticed it, because he didn’t play so often and thus wasn’t getting the day to day bashing that I and others have been dishing out to Foster. I for one have never had a major problem with him as a role player but I never in my wildest dreams expected him to emerge into a Roy Keane lite. Right now I would have to struggle seriously to select another DMF over him. Essien and my love and loyalty for Hargreaves are the only choices. He has been that bloody good. It’s still so early in the season though that I hope and pray he keeps it up and that it isn’t just a short hot streak of form he is in.
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@Red Ranter: I agree, but my point was that the bile directed at Fletcher was much in the same vein as that directed presently at Foster, even if Foster does have his own supporters.
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@Red Ranter: Hey mate there are those who would still vote for George W Bush too. Never underestimate the stupidity of some people.
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@Red Ranter: OK just for that you have me feeling suicidal. Had I known you would get your jollies from it I would have thought twice.
When I’m wrong I’m wrong. So relish this victory because you know how incredibly rare it will be. 
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@NicoQB: The big difference is that Foster deserves the bile he has been getting and possibly even more.
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@Red Ranter:
@Red Ranter: Fletcher? Beckham type? Nahhh.
3-4 years ago he was played mostly on the right, but Centre midfield was always his true position. I know as I remember an article in Manchester United Maganzine (I think its called Insdie United now) about him back when he was still a youth prospect of 16 or 17.
Fergie, and this is one of his major flaws, often plays players out of position and sometimes ends up dimming some aspects of their game.
Mr. Anderson will know everything about that!
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@Grognard: I think Bush is a rock star in comparison, I wouldn’t be surprised considering the ridiculously high ratings nutjobs like Glenn Beck get.
The world never fails to amaze.
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@Grognard: I won’t get into any argument about Foster with you!
I will be vindicated or I will stand corrected, but I know better!
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Well wait a minute here. It’s 7/8 games in and we’re already proclaiming Fletcher the new Beckham.
I guess it’s ok to go OTT when it’s positive but completely taboo when it’s negative.
Fletcher has played out of his boots so far and for that I’m loving him: But some more time please, before we bestow him with all these titles of greatness!
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@Redrich: No. You wait a minute there and read what was written.
What was said above was he was supposed to have been the new Beckham when he started his United career on the right wing. He is certainly not the new Beckham. And nor is he the next Keane/Essien. Not yet at least.
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@Red Ranter: And you think Bush is a rock star, too. I sometimes wonder about you, mate!
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@NicoQB: Although SAF will put players in uncomfortable positions, the measure of his commitment to the overall team effort shines through, and is shown by the success he has achieved for the team and us as fans.
The players that never succeed at OT in his reign, are those that ignore, this principal, and while they could be very good players (RVN, Staam, Beckham eg.), he is willing to sacrifice their talent for the overall good of the team!
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@Redrich: That was the point. Fletcher was never deemed to be the new Beckham, and he will never be!
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@Red Ranter: He actually started his united career in the centre of midfield, played once in a while there too. But he was soon shifted on the right as Fergie was experimenting with him and Solksjaer before Ronaldo was even bought.
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@Redrich: Hmm, never heard of the phrase tongue in cheek, eh?
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@NicoQB: The Beckham comparison was a poor choice by me to sieze on.
However I felt that with the season so young, the Fletcher mania should be tempered a little until the lad puts together a sustained period of good performances.
We did see some glimpses of this last season, and a sporadic game here or there throughout his career: But nothing sustained to make us think he’s gonna be great for us.
So far he has been suprising, plesently so, too!
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