Darren Fletcher's break from football

Darrens the type of player who'd be featuring tonight if he was fit. Someone who can play and try to close down space. He's been missed, because of what he brings but also because of the injuries we've had to Cleverly, Anderson etc.
 
I wouldnt discount the possibility he could have made the difference against Barca. Not that I think he necessarily would have, or even probably would have. But I might have started with him if he had been available, just as I would tonight. And it is not because he is one of the 11 best players we have in the squad, but because he gives us balance. I think I am saying pretty much repeating Mr Anderson here.
 
Fourth Official ‏ @Fourth_Official

Rumours doing the rounds that Darren Fletcher has retired from football at the age of 28, sad if true! #mufc

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This guy has 40,000 odd followers, for what it's worth.
 
I wouldn't be surprised, only the bad things that are said on twitter in regards to manchester united turn out true ffs.
 
feck feck fecking bollocks. What an absolute cnut today has been if that's true.
 
I hope it's not true, but I have to say that for the team's sake, I hope the situation becomes clearer. We can either rely on him or not. Much as I love his contribution, we need to draw a line when it comes to midfield and see who we can count on and who we cannot. I don't want him to end up as another Hargreaves with us waiting forever.
 
He was in the away end tonight. Really a feck off of a day if he's retired. Reading that it's bullshit now.

Edit No.2 Anthony ‏ @W3104_
Darren was asked about returning next season in the away end tonight and he shook his head #MUFC

Could again be further bull shit.

mniuxi.jpg
 
Basically he was asked if he was returning next season in the away end by some lads and shook his head. Could be just to keep things quiet or whatever.

Won't be an announcement til the summer you'd expect anyway.
 
If he's actually retired, (in all probablity) losing the title to City is only the second biggest blow to our football club today.
 
Is This the same guy on Twitter who reported that he bumped into Lou Macari at a game who told him Morrison was on the bench for the last City FA cup game?
Or bumped into someone who told him Pogba was starting another game?

He bumps into a lot of people who reveal a lot to him...is he Michael Parkinson? Or am I thinking of some other twitter user who was quoted from?
 
He's now trending on twitter, so the rumour has picked up pace. Does that mean anything?

Footieguide ‏ @footieguide
Absolutely no substance whatsoever to Darren Fletcher retiring from football. Some people choose pathetic ways to drum up interest. #MUFC

Unfortunately, these rumours don't seem to garner so much interest unless there is some truth to them.
 
Gazza said:
Fourth Official ‏ @Fourth_Official

Rumours doing the rounds that Darren Fletcher has retired from football at the age of 28, sad if true! #mufc

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This guy has 40,000 odd followers, for what it's worth.
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feck - the worst news of the night by far, hopefully not true :(
 
Liam147 said:
Unfortunately, these rumours don't seem to garner so much interest unless there is some truth to them.
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Nonsense, there are an awful lot of rumours that have absolutely nothing to them. People say "Apparently Fletcher is retiring" and the rumours gathers traction from more people saying that, or wishing him well or whatever, because it's an interesting story. Until there's a more credible source than some bloke claiming a reliable source I wouldn't put any stock in this whatsoever.
 
kietotheworld said:
Nonsense, there are an awful lot of rumours that have absolutely nothing to them. People say "Apparently Fletcher is retiring" and the rumours gathers traction from more people saying that, or wishing him well or whatever, because it's an interesting story. Until there's a more credible source than some bloke claiming a reliable source I wouldn't put any stock in this whatsoever.
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I hope you're right, I'm just saying that they don't often seem to pick up this much speed. I'd be happy if someone could point me to something where a rumour has been so widely circulated and turned out false.
 
Liam147 said:
I hope you're right, I'm just saying that they don't often seem to pick up this much speed. I'd be happy if someone could point me to something where a rumour has been so widely circulated and turned out false.
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Benitez leaving Liverpool 3 or 4 times spread like wildfire, so did Ribery to Liverpool a few times, Joe Cole to United was massive for a few days in summer 2010. The fact no credible people are even talking about this says it all really.
 
Very little in this from what is being presented here; I'd be surprised also that if he were retiring that he would let it slip to some random supporters - I'd imagine the club would have a plan in place to make such an announcement.

I'm not at all surprised he was with the away fans tonight though.
 
Darren Fletcher's attempts to return from a long-term bowel problem, this is a chronic bowel problem, have stepped up.

The midfielder recently returned to training at Carrington and has played in a practice match.

Fletcher's chances of soon returning have been further boosted by the invitation from Scotland to go and train with them ahead of their friendly with Australia on Wednesday 15th August.
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Read more: http://www.manchesterunited.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=289207#ixzz22n5G2KCH
 
Regardless of him being a bloody good footballer and the team desperately missing him, it'd be brilliant for him to return to full health.
 
And now Craig Levein claims that Fletcher has shown dramatic improvments in the last few weeks and played in a friendly behind closed doors last weeks.

He apparently could be ready to play in september according to Levein

Tribal picked that up from the Scottish Sun
 
I really do like Fletch, both as a player and a person and would like nothing more than to see him fit and back to his best for us but this really feels like the Hargreaves scenario all over again.

We've all read the reports on the illness and how debilitating it can be, we don't know how serious his condition is and whether it's just because he is a pro footballer that it has been such an issue or whether it is a severe case for anyone but it sounds like a very difficult situation to manage.

It could be that he feels fit enough to start training and he might get past that but as the intensity increases and he gets closer to games, whatever diet he is on might not sustain the energy levels he needs.

It's all speculation of course but it seems like a hard road he still has to come down. Coming back from a long time out for anyone is hard, a stomach condition like this makes it seem almost impossible.

At the end of the day though, this is Fletcher we are talking about, we know how resilient he is and if anyone can get through this it is him.
 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9740756.stm

here is an article on Lewis Moody who has the same condition.

Pexbo said:
The former England rugby captain Lewis Moody was used to some tough battles on the pitch but none were to prove harder than coping with a bowel disease.
Ulcerative Colitis is a long-term inflammatory disorder that causes ulceration of the rectum and the colon.
When symptoms of the condition - which can mean bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain, a frequent need to go to the toilet and weight loss - first appeared, the rugby star put off going to the doctor for four weeks.

Then once he was diagnosed he feared it would wreck his rugby career.
So he hid it from his teammates - but the frequent need to visit the toilet was not always an easy thing to conceal.
"That was really tough to be fair. I don't know anyone that openly talks about their toilet habits.
"So for a young man - I was 25 at the time - all of a sudden you are going to the loo 20 or 30 times a day.
"You are losing a relentless amount of blood and being a classic bloke I left it a month before I went to see the doctor even though this was a daily routine," he told the BBC's HARDtalk programme.
Charity support
Moody, known affectionately by teammates and fans as "Mad Dog" retired from rugby in March following a shoulder injury.

He is now supporting the work of the charity Crohn's and Colitis UK and urging other sufferers to get treatment quickly and to try to lift the taboo surrounding the subject.
He said: "It was very debilitating and humiliating as a young man because you expect it to be an old person's disease but it is the complete opposite I have learnt since - most people are diagnosed under the age of 30."
Doctors say the most vulnerable age groups for the disease are those aged between 15 and 30.
"For me not having any information was the hardest thing and trying to hide it from my teammates.
"I had such an array of injuries I didn't want there to be another reason for the guys to say 'well we are not going to be able to pick Lewis because he will never make it to the start of the game because he might have to run off the loo'."
Special diet
Covering the short distance from his home to training ground could be a battle in itself.
He recalled: "I was struggling to leave the house sometimes. I only lived four minutes away from the training ground and sometimes I would have to plan my route so that I could stop three or four times en route just to go to the loo.
"Some of the poor people in the establishments on the way probably wondered what on earth was going on as I pulled in every morning."
Moody wrote in his autobiography that he believed his rugby career could have played a part in him developing the condition.
He was plagued by injuries throughout his 15 years at the top and this led to an over-exposure to anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and painkillers.
To keep the disease under control he now takes tablets daily and has to stick to a special diet.
Being more open about his condition eventually made it easier to cope with.
"I have to admit it was probably a couple of years until I told my good mates and they probably knew anyway because it was obvious. I had lost weight. I was gaunt.
"But it became much easier when I did tell the guys...
"That was one of the learning curves for me with the disease. The more I spoke about it, the easier it became."
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Nothing major but he looks a lot better than he did in some of the photo's a few months ago.

Btw did anyone catch what was being said before the Fletcher bit?
 
Dramatic return to the club, takes captain's armband, leads club to trophy glory?!

Could be why we were never in for a midfielder this summer...
 
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