Darren Fletcher

Darren Fletcher has offered some insight into the defining roles former teammate, Roy Keane and Alex Ferguson played in his career having come through the ranks at Manchester United and made over 300 appearances before leaving for West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2015.

It had been widely said that Keane didn’t rate Fletcher high during their time together at Old Trafford. The Scottish midfielder was said to one of the players Keane was heavily critical of in his infamous MUTV punditry video in 2005.

However,32-year-old Fletcher says that Keane had always been his source of encouragement, and that he had helped shaped him (Fletcher) both as aplayer and also, as anindividual. “It frustrates me to know that some people think Roy didn’t rate me because he moulded me more than any player I have known. The midfielder however revealed, “Though he was hard but he was always fair”.

West Brom defender Jonny Evans has branded captain Darren Fletcher as an intelligent leader who has been central towards the club’s successes this season.

A spectacular 3-1 win over Arsenal just before the international break helped West Brom move up to eighth in the Premier league table. Fletcher was instrumental in this victory, as he marshalled his team from the centre of the park. He was able to keep on top of every proceeding in the 90 minutes. Thus, he ensured that West Brom gave no opportunities for Arsenal to come back into the match. West Brom had scored from a counter-attack and two set pieces.

Evans had the experience of being alongside Fletcher in the squad when he was at Manchester United. He says that the 33-year-old has really been an outstanding leader in the dressing room and on the pitch. His experience of playing under a great manager Sir Alex Ferguson has provided him with knowledge about when to put the arm around the shoulder and when to be authoritative.

Things are looking pretty right now for Tony Pulis and his merry band of Premier League superstars. Eighth in the table and seven points clear of Stoke in ninth, it appears the Baggies are on for a record haul of points and their highest-ever finish in the Premier League.

Head coach Pulis often has a reputation as a “firefighter” at the expense of good football; however, that reputation is often unfair.

After all, the Welshman has never been relegated as a manager and is perhaps not gaining enough credit for turning West Brom from potential relegation candidates to potential Europa League competitors since taking over the reins in 2015.

What Does the Rest of the Season Hold?
Safety assured and seemingly a top ten spot in the bag, what can Baggies fans look forward to from now until May?

Tony Pulis has no doubt had a tough time during this transfer period.

Most of his bids for new players are currently falling off. Pep Guardiola’s strong desire to hold on to Fabian Delph have totally cut short West Bromic Albion’s hope of signing the midfielder.

Series of enquiries have been made and questions have been asked concerning the 27-year old Manchester City player. For a while now, Guardiola’s keenness on seeing more of Delph shows that City has no interest in a complete sale, or even a loan of the player to any club. Delph has missed many matches this season due to a groin injury and has been inactive since last August.

Delph who has been a very passionate player in England, combined with his energetic, aggressive and experienced style of play, he has checked many of the midfield boxes for Tony Pulis.

Tony Pulis’ men have been impressive in recent Premier League matches and it has sent them to the top six in the current EPL table, though Manchester United are yet to play Everton.

West Brom’s last two home games have seen them score seven goals. A happy captain Darren Fletcher reckons that the team’s recent successes are due to the attacking style of the team.

“Getting James Morrison and Chris Brunt back from injury is almost like having two new signings and Nacer Chadli has come in too. We’re getting the ball in the box, getting more people in the box and attacking a lot more and a lot better,” Fletcher said.

“We were unfortunate before the last international break when we dropped a few points that I thought we should have held on to win.

“Before the Leicester game, we looked at the table and we were fourth from bottom and had been sucked right back in because we played last, but we have responded to that and made that the benchmark,” the captain added.