Darren Fletcher
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| Darren Fletcher | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Barr Fletcher | |
| Date of birth | February 1, 1984 | |
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | |
| Playing position | Right / Central Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Manchester United | |
| Number | 24 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 2000–2001 | Manchester United | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2001– | Manchester United | 107 (7) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2003– | Scotland | 36 (4) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Darren Barr Fletcher (born 1 February 1984 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish football player currently playing for Premier League club Manchester United and is the vice-captain of the Scottish national team.
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[edit] Club career
Fletcher joined Manchester United as a trainee in July 2000 and he signed a professional contract in February 2001. He was initially seen as a right midfielder in the David Beckham mould - Shoot! Monthly tipped him as the next David Beckham - and was tipped by many to break into the first team with ease and stay there for many years to come. [1] His first few seasons at the club, however, were marred by injury, and as he developed came to be viewed more as a central midfielder.
Fletcher broke into the Manchester United team during the 2003-04 campaign, playing a number of important matches and starting in United's FA Cup Final win over Millwall in May 2004.[2]
Despite a slow start to the 2004-05 campaign, in which in the early part of the season he made very few competitive appearances, Fletcher again broke into the United first team. On 1 January 2005, Fletcher scored his first goal at club level (he had already scored twice for Scotland). The goal was the opener in the Premiership match against Middlesbrough.[3]
Fletcher was one of the players singled out for criticism by club captain Roy Keane in the wake of United's 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in October 2005.[4] Keane reportedly said, "I can't understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher." However, Keane later attempted to set the record straight stating, "If you listen to any of my comments over the last two or three years, if I've given any player credit over the years it would be Fletch. Fletch will tell you that himself."[5] Fletcher went some way towards answering his critics on 6 November 2005, with his performance in the vital league match at home to Chelsea, scoring the only goal of the game with a looping header.[6] His winning goal ended Chelsea's forty-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
In 2006-07, he retained his starting position in the first team at the start of the season and scored in an away win over Charlton Athletic, as well as scoring the headed winner in the away game with Middlesbrough in December and another headed goal in the home win against Charlton in February, making it a double against the club that season. As the season progressed, Alex Ferguson preferred the midfield quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs, limiting Fletcher to substitute appearances. However, due to Paul Scholes' suspension, he made a starting appearance in United's 7-1 win over AS Roma in the Champions League quarter-final.
[edit] International career
Fletcher has established himself as a regular pick for Scotland and scored in a 1-0 win Lithuania, having come off the bench for only his second cap.[7] His goal took Scotland to the play-offs for Euro 2004. On 26 May 2004, he captained Scotland to a 1-0 friendly win against Estonia in Tallinn. This made him the youngest Scotland captain since John Lambie of Queen's Park led the side that beat Ireland 7-2 on Saturday, 20 March 1886. Lambie was aged just 17 years and 92 days.[8]
Fletcher's improvement for his national side was capped by a 25-metre strike in an October 2005 World Cup qualifier against Slovenia. Fletcher is currently Scotland's vice-captain, deputising in the absence of regular captain Barry Ferguson. He has captained his country three times.
[edit] International goals
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11, 2003 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Lithuania |
1-0 | 1-0 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. |
| 2 | May 30, 2004 | Easter Road, Edinburgh |  Trinidad and Tobago |
1-0 | 4-1 | Friendly |
| 3 | October 12, 2005 | Arena Petrol, Celje |  Slovenia |
1-0 | 3-0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual. |
| 4 | September 2, 2006 | Celtic Park, Glasgow |  Faroe Islands |
1-0 | 6-0 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qual. |
[edit] Personal life
Fletcher is the father of twin boys, Jack and Tyler (b. 2007) with English girlfriend, Hayley Grice.[9]
Fletchers favourite musician is Notorious B.I.G.[10]
[edit] Honours
[edit] Manchester United
- FA Cup: 1
- League Cup: 1
[edit] Scotland
- Kirin Cup: 1
[edit] Career statistics
- Last update: 20:41, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
| Club Performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| England | League | FA Cup | Football League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2001–02 | Manchester United | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 3 | ||
| 2005–06 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2006–07 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||
| 2007–08 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 2 | ||
| Total | England | 107 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 172 | 9 | |
| Career Total | 107 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 172 | 9 | ||
[edit] References
- ^ "Fletcher is ready to fill Beckham's boots", ESPN Soccernet, 28 July 2000.
- ^ "Man Utd win FA Cup", BBC Sport website, 22 May, 2004.
- ^ "Middlesbrough 0-2 Man Utd", BBC Sport website, 1 January 2005.
- ^ "Keane gagged by United after TV attack on players", Guardian, 1 November 2005.
- ^ Grant, Michael. "Keane Rates Fletcher", Sunday Herald, December 18, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
- ^ "Man Utd 1-0 Chelsea", BBC Sport website, 6 November 2005.
- ^ "Scotland battle past Lithuania", BBC Sport website, 11 October, 2003.
- ^ Sat 20 Mar 1886 Ireland 2 Scotland 7. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
- ^ Scotland hopes.
- ^ Fletcher's favourites.
[edit] External links
- Official club website profile
- Darren Fletcher career stats at Soccerbase
- Darren Fletcher profile at scottishfa.co.uk
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|||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Fletcher, Darren Barr |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Fletcher, Darren; Fletcher, Darren |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | footballer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1984-2-1 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dalkeith, Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
