Fletch: A Decade Of Service

Can it really be a full decade since we first saw Darren Fletcher in a United shirt, arms pumping with characteristic high elbows and leggy lope carrying him to all four corners of the pitch?

Well, it is. And although his playing career is on hold for now, in commemoration of this milestone here are 10 matches that define Darren's career. Fletch, we salute you...

12.03.03 United 1-1 Basel, Champions League
Fletch’s senior debut and he was in from the start in the Champions League – no League Cup run-out or late sub appearance for the prodigious 19-year-old. Okay, it was a dead rubber with United already qualified for the quarter-finals, but this was still a fancy first feather in Fletcher’s cap. Wearing number 31 and stationed on the right of midfield, he looked in no way out of place for 73 minutes before David Beckham replaced him.

03.04.04 United 1-0 Arsenal, FA Cup semi-final (Villa Park)
The first time Fletch showed his ‘big-game player’ credentials. Pitched into a central midfield battle against Patrick Vieira and Arsene Wenger’s dominant Arsenal, Fletch showed no fear alongside Roy Keane and was instrumental in the victory. He had a hand in the goal, hurrying Vieira into a fluffed clearance, which led to Giggs picking out Scholes for the winner. It earned him a starting berth in the final against Millwall for his first major medal.

06.11.05 United 1-0 Chelsea, Premier League
A barnstorming display in another huge game; this time against Mourinho’s machine-like Chelsea, unbeaten in 40 league matches. Fletch was brilliant and even netted the winner with a far-post looping header. United had been poor in losing to Middlesbrough (4-1, ouch) and Lille in the previous two matches, leading to some heavy criticism and claims the empire was crumbling. When the pressure was on, the odds against, Fletch delivered.

22.10.06 United 2-0 Liverpool, Premier League
This game is best remembered as Paul Scholes’s 500th in a United shirt and for Rio Ferdinand’s left-footed screamer, but at the heart of a dominant Reds display was Fletcher. He set the tone with an early tackle on John Arne Riise and thereafter put in a tireless Man-of-the-Match shift.

24.04.07 United 3-2 AC Milan, Champions League semi-final
Rose to another huge occasion with a midfield-bossing Man-of-the-Match display against Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf and co. Rooney and Ronaldo may have scored, but Fletch provided the platform. He won tackles all over the pitch, wouldn’t allow the Rossoneri to play, and was a threat going forward.

16.02.08 United 4-0 Arsenal, FA Cup fifth round
Industry, drive and endeavour as Darren covered every blade of grass and harried the Gunners into submission in another star man showing. He did his bit in front of goal with a brace of headed goals, one on 20 minutes and the other powered in at the back stick with 15 minutes to go. Many plaudits went to a rampant Rooney, but Fletch was key in making this a one-sided tie.

20.09.09 United 4-3 Man City, Premier League
Everyone remembers Owen’s winner, but Fletch got a brace that day. As against Arsenal, both were scored with his head. In the helter-skelter game Fletch notched United’s second on 49 minutes, making it 2-1, and third, for 3-2, 10 minutes from time. The winner was unforgettable, but let’s not overlook Fletch’s role in one of our most memorable recent wins.

21.11.09 United 3-0 Everton, Premier League
Probably Fletch’s best goal in a United shirt. On 35 minutes, with the game 0-0, an Antonio Valencia knock-down skipped up at an awkward height 20 yards out. Not fazed, Darren lashed it on the volley and sent it hooking into Tim Howard’s top right-hand corner - sumptuous technique on another impressive showing.

16.02.10 AC Milan 2-3 United, Champions League
He stood up to be counted against the Italian giants, this time in their back yard. Unusually, he was deployed on the left of midfield, though he set up United’s equaliser with a brilliant run and cross down the right, demonstrating his willingness to work in any area of the field. He also created the Reds’ third, dinking a superb cross in to Rooney.

26.09.12 United 2-1 Newcastle, League Cup third round
This moment demonstrates Fletch’s strength of character more than any other. Having been diagnosed with an illness that would halt many a lesser man’s career, Fletch battled back to start for United for the first time in 10 months. He’d received a rousing ovation off the bench against Galatasaray a week earlier, but this time he was in from the start. As a mark of honour, the Scot was named United captain for the first time in his career in a competitive game, something he described as a “fantastic moment”. Operating at the base of a midfield diamond, he put in a mature shift to steer the Reds to victory.