"Fletch Was Scapegoat... Now He's First On Team Sheet"

Manchester United legend, Paddy Crerand, has recognised the improvement in home grown midfielder, Darren Fletcher. Crerand rightly states that Fletcher used to be singled out by United fans as a player who wasn’t good enough, but then who would look good enough in comparison to Roy Keane and Paul Scholes?

“For me, he is an automatic pick,” said Crerand. “For the big games I think the manager would pick Fletcher, he’d be first on the team sheet. Darren has made the point that he wants to be the number one choice in midfield. And he’s playing well enough to be number one. I almost don’t need to make the point for him, he’s making a strong enough case himself. He was outstanding against Wigan and outstanding against Arsenal. And against Tottenham and Manchester City, you want him in the midfield. He’s been playing like that for quite a few years now. I think the fans are starting to appreciate him, that’s the only difference. For a long time Darren was a scapegoat. When he came through he played alongside Roy Keane and Paul Scholes and there aren’t many players in English football, never mind for United, who’ve been as good as those two. That’s the standard that was set, but Darren’s got better and better. He’s a tremendous passer and doesn’t get the credit for that sometimes. All you hear is that he gets in at people. But he is enthusiastic and whole-hearted, and fans love that.”