Steve Fletcher
Encyclopedia
Steven Mark Fletcher is an English professional footballer born in Hartlepool
who is currently in his second spell for Bournemouth
, the club where he has spent the majority of his career. He was also assistant manager of Bournemouth under former team-mate, Lee Bradbury, from January to November of 2011, when he quit the role to continue his playing career.
before leaving for Bournemouth
in 1992 for £30,000. He spent 15 years with Bournemouth, recording more than 600 appearance caps and 100 goals. He holds the Bournemouth club record for most league appearances, having played 514 league matches for the club at the end of the 2008-09 season.
Fletcher was released by Bournemouth, then managed by Kevin Bond
, at the end of the 2006–07
season. He subsequently joined recently-relegated League Two
side Chesterfield
, where he became a Spireites fan favourite.
At the end of the 2007–08
season, Fletcher turned down a contract renewal with Chesterfield due to family commitments.
On 23 May 2008 he signed for Crawley Town
on a Bosman
free transfer, before being released from his contract on 22 January 2009 to re-sign for Bournemouth
in a deal that would take him to the end of the 2008–09 season.
On 24 February 2009 he made his 500th league appearance for Bournemouth
against Dagenham and Redbridge in a goalless clash.
Bournemouth
announced on 30 March 2010 that they would be renaming the North Stand after 'Big Fletch'. The new stand was unveiled as 'The Steve Fletcher Stand' at the home fixture against Bradford City Football Club on 3 April 2010.
On 10 May 2010, Fletcher accepted a new one-year Contract with Bournemouth
after their promotion to League One, having started or come on as a substitute in 45 of their 46 league games as they finished runners-up in League Two.
Fletcher became assistant manager of Bournemouth
in January 2011 following the departure of Eddie Howe
.
Scored his 100th league goal for The Cherries in a 3-3 draw away at Peterborough on 1 April 2011.
On the 1st of August 2011, Steve Fletcher joined Turkpenniless for a 250 coins. The move was widely criticized, some say he was too young for a move to such a big club. However Fletcher has proved his critics wrong by scoring an impressive 7 goals in 10 games, with one being a last gasp winner from a long throw from Jude Stirling to seal a trip in to the Confederation championships.
. Fletcher plays as a target man and as such does not possess a great deal of pace. It is his physical presence that threatens defences. He holds up the ball as team mates advance or 'flick-on' headering the ball on to fellow strikers. Due to his style, Fletcher has formed good partnerships with more prolific strikers including James Hayter
, Mark Stein, Jermain Defoe
, Jack Lester
and Brett Pitman
. He was voted Bournemouth's all-time Cult Hero by BBC TV's Football Focus viewers in 2005, and is famous for his unique "heading with both eyes closed" style which has made him a firm favourite with the North Stand faithful.
His grandfather, Jack Howe
also played professionally, and played three times for England
.
|-
!rowspan="2"|Season
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Division
!colspan="2"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
!colspan="2"|League Cup
!colspan="2"|F A Trophy
!colspan="2"|Play Offs
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|1990–91||rowspan="2"|Hartlepool United
||Fourth Division
||14||2||||||||||||||||||||
|-
|1991–92||Third Division
||18||2|||||||||||||||||||||
|-
!colspan="3"|Hartlepool United Total
!32!!4!!3!!0!!2!!1!!3!!0!!0!!0!!64!!0
|-
|1992–93||rowspan="15"|Bournemouth
||rowspan="10"|Division Two
||31||4||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1993–94||36||6||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1994–95||40||6||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1995–96||7||1||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1996–97||35||7||1||0||2||1||0||0||0||0||38||8
|-
|1997–98||42||12||3||1||2||0||6||0||0||0||53||13
|-
|1998–99||39||8||3||0||4||1||3||2||0||0||49||11
|-
|1999–00||36||7||3||2||5||0||0||0||0||0||44||9
|-
|2000–01||45||9||3||0||2||0||1||0||0||0||51||9
|-
|2001–02||2||0||1||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||1
|-
|2002–03||Division Three
||36||5||6||2||0||0||4||1||2||1||48||9
|-
|2003–04||Division Two
||41||9||3||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||46||9
|-
|2004–05||rowspan="3"|League One
||36||9||3||1||1||0||0||0||0||0||40||10
|-
|2005–06||27||4||0||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||29||4
|-
|2006–07||41||1||3||2||1||1||0||0||0||0||45||4
|-
!colspan="3"|Bournemouth Total
!496!!88!!33!!9!!30!!4!!!!!!!!!!581!!105
|-
|2007–08
||Chesterfield
||League Two
||38||5||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||39||5
|-
!colspan="3"|Chesterfield Total
!38!!5!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!39!!5
|-
|2008–09||Crawley Town
||Conference National
||21||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||21||2
|-
!colspan="3"|Crawley Town Total
!21!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!21!!2
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="4"|Bournemouth
||rowspan="2"|League Two
||21||4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||21||4
|-
|2009–10
||45||4||2||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||48||4
|-
|2010–11
||rowspan="1"|Football League One
||38||6||2||1||0||0||0||0||1||0||41||7
|-
!colspan="3"|Bournemouth Total
!114!!14!!4!!1!!2!!0!!2!!0!!1!!0!!123!!15
|-
|2011–12||rowspan="1"|Turkpenniless||Ultimate Team||11||9||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||11||9
|
|-
|-
701||113||41||10||34||5||'||'||'||'||805||133
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
who is currently in his second spell for Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
, the club where he has spent the majority of his career. He was also assistant manager of Bournemouth under former team-mate, Lee Bradbury, from January to November of 2011, when he quit the role to continue his playing career.
Career
Fletcher began his career at Hartlepool UnitedHartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...
before leaving for Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
in 1992 for £30,000. He spent 15 years with Bournemouth, recording more than 600 appearance caps and 100 goals. He holds the Bournemouth club record for most league appearances, having played 514 league matches for the club at the end of the 2008-09 season.
Fletcher was released by Bournemouth, then managed by Kevin Bond
Kevin Bond
Kevin Bond may refer to:*Kevin Bond , former footballer and assistant manager at Tottenham Hotspur*Kevin Bond *Kevin Bond , Grammy Award winning sound engineer...
, at the end of the 2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
season. He subsequently joined recently-relegated League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
side Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
, where he became a Spireites fan favourite.
At the end of the 2007–08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
season, Fletcher turned down a contract renewal with Chesterfield due to family commitments.
On 23 May 2008 he signed for Crawley Town
Crawley Town F.C.
Crawley Town Football Club is an English football club based in Crawley, West Sussex. They won the title of the Football Conference, by a record 15 point margin on second place, and with it promotion to The Football League, in April 2011.-1896–2009:...
on a Bosman
Bosman
Bosman is a Dutch surname, and may refer to:* Dick Bosman , American baseball player* Herman Charles Bosman , South African writer and journalist* Jean-Marc Bosman , Belgian footballer...
free transfer, before being released from his contract on 22 January 2009 to re-sign for Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
in a deal that would take him to the end of the 2008–09 season.
On 24 February 2009 he made his 500th league appearance for Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
against Dagenham and Redbridge in a goalless clash.
Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
announced on 30 March 2010 that they would be renaming the North Stand after 'Big Fletch'. The new stand was unveiled as 'The Steve Fletcher Stand' at the home fixture against Bradford City Football Club on 3 April 2010.
On 10 May 2010, Fletcher accepted a new one-year Contract with Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
after their promotion to League One, having started or come on as a substitute in 45 of their 46 league games as they finished runners-up in League Two.
Fletcher became assistant manager of Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
in January 2011 following the departure of Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe
Edward "Eddie" Howe is an English former footballer and manager of Burnley. A defender before retirement who spent much of his career at Bournemouth, he was the youngest manager in the Football League when appointed Bournemouth manager in January 2009.-Playing career:Howe began his professional...
.
Scored his 100th league goal for The Cherries in a 3-3 draw away at Peterborough on 1 April 2011.
On the 1st of August 2011, Steve Fletcher joined Turkpenniless for a 250 coins. The move was widely criticized, some say he was too young for a move to such a big club. However Fletcher has proved his critics wrong by scoring an impressive 7 goals in 10 games, with one being a last gasp winner from a long throw from Jude Stirling to seal a trip in to the Confederation championships.
Playing style
Despite never being prolific in front of goal, Fletcher has had a long career, particularly with BournemouthA.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
. Fletcher plays as a target man and as such does not possess a great deal of pace. It is his physical presence that threatens defences. He holds up the ball as team mates advance or 'flick-on' headering the ball on to fellow strikers. Due to his style, Fletcher has formed good partnerships with more prolific strikers including James Hayter
James Hayter (footballer)
James Edward Hayter is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Doncaster Rovers.-Bournemouth:...
, Mark Stein, Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Colin Defoe is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national football team....
, Jack Lester
Jack Lester
Jack William Lester is an English professional footballer, currently playing for English Football League One side Chesterfield. He plays either as a striker or an attacking midfielder...
and Brett Pitman
Brett Pitman
Brett Douglas Pitman is a Jersey-born footballer who plays for Bristol City. He signed for Bournemouth as a 16 year-old after being spotted playing for Jersey league side St. Pauls and went on to become a regular in the Bournemouth first team. In August 2010, he moved to Championship side Bristol...
. He was voted Bournemouth's all-time Cult Hero by BBC TV's Football Focus viewers in 2005, and is famous for his unique "heading with both eyes closed" style which has made him a firm favourite with the North Stand faithful.
His grandfather, Jack Howe
Jack Howe (footballer)
John Robert "Jack" Howe was a former professional footballer who gained 3 caps for England in the late 1940s....
also played professionally, and played three times for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
.
Club
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"|-
!rowspan="2"|Season
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Division
!colspan="2"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
!colspan="2"|League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
!colspan="2"|F A Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
!colspan="2"|Play Offs
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|1990–91||rowspan="2"|Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...
||Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
||14||2||||||||||||||||||||
|-
|1991–92||Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
||18||2|||||||||||||||||||||
|-
!colspan="3"|Hartlepool United Total
!32!!4!!3!!0!!2!!1!!3!!0!!0!!0!!64!!0
|-
|1992–93||rowspan="15"|Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
||rowspan="10"|Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||31||4||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1993–94||36||6||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1994–95||40||6||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1995–96||7||1||||0||||||||0||||0||||
|-
|1996–97||35||7||1||0||2||1||0||0||0||0||38||8
|-
|1997–98||42||12||3||1||2||0||6||0||0||0||53||13
|-
|1998–99||39||8||3||0||4||1||3||2||0||0||49||11
|-
|1999–00||36||7||3||2||5||0||0||0||0||0||44||9
|-
|2000–01||45||9||3||0||2||0||1||0||0||0||51||9
|-
|2001–02||2||0||1||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||3||1
|-
|2002–03||Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
||36||5||6||2||0||0||4||1||2||1||48||9
|-
|2003–04||Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||41||9||3||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||46||9
|-
|2004–05||rowspan="3"|League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||36||9||3||1||1||0||0||0||0||0||40||10
|-
|2005–06||27||4||0||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||29||4
|-
|2006–07||41||1||3||2||1||1||0||0||0||0||45||4
|-
!colspan="3"|Bournemouth Total
!496!!88!!33!!9!!30!!4!!!!!!!!!!581!!105
|-
|2007–08
2007–08 Football League Two
The Football League 2007–08 , was the sixteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2007 and concluded in May 2008, with the promotion play-off finals....
||Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||38||5||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||39||5
|-
!colspan="3"|Chesterfield Total
!38!!5!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!39!!5
|-
|2008–09||Crawley Town
Crawley Town F.C.
Crawley Town Football Club is an English football club based in Crawley, West Sussex. They won the title of the Football Conference, by a record 15 point margin on second place, and with it promotion to The Football League, in April 2011.-1896–2009:...
||Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
||21||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||21||2
|-
!colspan="3"|Crawley Town Total
!21!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!21!!2
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="4"|Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
||rowspan="2"|League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||21||4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||21||4
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 A.F.C. Bournemouth season
The 2009–10 Football League One was A.F.C. Bournemouths second consecutive season in League Two. This article shows statistics of the club's players in the season, and also lists all matches that the club has played during the 2009–10 season.-Legend:...
||45||4||2||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||48||4
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 A.F.C. Bournemouth season
The 2010–11 A.F.C. Bournemouth season is the club's first season back in Football League One after a two year absence. During the 2010–11 English football season, Bournemouth will participate in League One, the Johnstones Paint Trophy, the FA Cup, and the Football League Cup...
||rowspan="1"|Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||38||6||2||1||0||0||0||0||1||0||41||7
|-
!colspan="3"|Bournemouth Total
!114!!14!!4!!1!!2!!0!!2!!0!!1!!0!!123!!15
|-
|2011–12||rowspan="1"|Turkpenniless||Ultimate Team||11||9||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||11||9
|
|-
|-
701||113||41||10||34||5||'||'||'||'||805||133