Fletcher - Incapable, incompetent or in a mood!

I'm not one for over criticising our players because they all have good and bad games but l keep waiting for Fletch to give us at least a glimpse of something as a professional footballer but I’m afraid it looks like it’s never going to happen. He’s had numerous chances now and its just not happening either for him or the team and last night was as bad as it gets for the short time he was on the pitch.
 
The thing is, he has a really good touch as a footballer and then somehow manages to make himself not look like a footballer within two seconds. Strangest player we've had. Looks like he has all the ability in the world and is yet extremely useless. Weird. I'd expect someone of his size to not have a powder puff shot on him.
 
It’s rare for me not to support our players, but this guy’s a donkey. When he and Thompson came on I honestly thought ‘that’s it, we’re going to throw another win away’.
 
tombone said:
The best day of the season for CJ was when Ash Fletcher signed, knowing there was a new scapegoat in the club for the baying mob to pile on!
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To be fair I’ve defended him, but his effort level is appalling. When things aren’t going well, the very least you can do is work hard. He doesn’t, he casually closes down, no pace or pressure. He pulls out of challenges and is poor in the air. His performances v Liverpool u21 and Harrogate were beyond poor.

When he came on last night it was dreadful. It’s not about piling on him, we can’t ignore the lack of effort.

I’m sure he had talent, but he is clearly out of love with football. He’s going through the motions and he needs a complete attitude change.

Someone mentioned Joe Nuttall, he always put a shift in, and has done at various clubs. Good to see him doing well in a good Altrincham team.
 
BFC4EVA said:
Can’t work out why so called fans are against. Thomson he has pace and gets forward and played well when he came on last night. Fickle fans springs to mind
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Thought Thompson did well and we need his pace and energy. It’s L1 and players make mistakes, Evans makes plenty, but doesn’t get stick.

If players are giving their all then it’s 100% support.
 
Husband gave him a right bollocking for hiding behind a Rovers player when he wanted to aim a throw him at him to try and get up the pitch. He refused to make a move into space. And it was taking so long he risked a yellow for timewasting because of it. Onomah had a forward pass option to him late in the game and just ignored it.

Wigan fans the other week were chanting Couldn't Score in a Brothel at him. In the first half. Usually that's a cardinal sin as the opposition crowd but they KNEW.

It worked last night as even his lazy fouls to avoid having to do something with the ball if he got it helped disrupt an opposition who were playing like 11 Ashley Fletchers anyway.

He's Ali Dia and I claim my ten pounds: https://www.skysports.com/football/...ampton-misfit-ali-dia-we-knew-he-was-hopeless
 
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tombone said:
The best day of the season for CJ was when Ash Fletcher signed, knowing there was a new scapegoat in the club for the baying mob to pile on!
Click to expand...
not a baying mob at all. Just people with an honest assessment of what they see. If you wish to defend him then go ahead and do so and tell us what you think of him as a player and what he brings to the team/squad. This is an internet messageboard where all matters bfc are discussed. Being pretty new to the board i suggest if you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen.

Oh and to quote your own words. Under-performance invites criticism.
 
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tombone said:
The best day of the season for CJ was when Ash Fletcher signed, knowing there was a new scapegoat in the club for the baying mob to pile on!
Click to expand...
He's not a scapegoat though is he?
Tell me one thing that Ashley Fletcher is remotely good at on a football pitch!!
I'm 61 and would genuinely give more effort.
He's been a waste of space ever since he arrived at the club.
 
TimperleyTangerine said:
To be fair I’ve defended him, but his effort level is appalling. When things aren’t going well, the very least you can do is work hard. He doesn’t, he casually closes down, no pace or pressure. He pulls out of challenges and is poor in the air. His performances v Liverpool u21 and Harrogate were beyond poor.

When he came on last night it was dreadful. It’s not about piling on him, we can’t ignore the lack of effort.

I’m sure he had talent, but he is clearly out of love with football. He’s going through the motions and he needs a complete attitude change.

Someone mentioned Joe Nuttall, he always put a shift in, and has done at various clubs. Good to see him doing well in a good Altrincham team.
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I disagree. I thought he did ok when he came on. Some good touches, won a lot of headers too.
 
One of his better performances last night.
Sadly not good enough needs to be shipped out. Questions need to be asked regarding his recruitment- bungs or incompetence?
 
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You only have to look at his history.
There was a player in him however since 2021 he has only scored a couple goals.
His goal against Crawley was off his backside!
 
He’s clearly a player whose confidence plays a big role in his performance. He’s also clearly weak mentally (something Bruce suggested in his conversation regarding strength of character in the team).

His early season form was poor and he looks shor to pieces and this really shows. He’s hiding from challenges or making key runs. Most definitely he cannot be trusted with a bench place and is a liability when he comes on. In fact he’s worse than bringing on a player out of position in that role who might at least show fight if not aptitude.

At minimum he needs loaning out in Jan. The main issue for me is that you cannot resolve his weak character and hope he regains confidence. That’s a weakness in recruiting. Clearly not enough effort put into looking at a players mental capacity versus looking at show reels where he was once in form.

Contrast that with Dom Thompson. I don’t think DT has the ability that AF has (in those brief moments where we’ve seen a deft touch or finish) yet he is committed and wants to do well. I just think with Thompson he’s not technically good enough, prone to major errors and again not a good recruitment.

If I had to choose one of them for the bench though, it’d be Thompson. At least he will run around and show willing even if the end product is rarely good enough.
 
I cannot believe there are worse players of his ilk in League 2, Conference or even Conference North & South that we could have brought in for "pennies", whereas our crack recruitment team deem him worthy of (I would very conservatively guess) £3-4k p/w.!

The guy needs shifting on or just getting replaced/rid of as soon as the January window opens.
 
tombone said:
The best day of the season for CJ was when Ash Fletcher signed, knowing there was a new scapegoat in the club for the baying mob to pile on!
Click to expand...
Baying mob?? A little over the top no?
All it is is he has been sussed out as an inept footballer, Bruce knows it but he has little else to bring on, hopefully first out of the door in Jan.
 
tombone said:
The best day of the season for CJ was when Ash Fletcher signed, knowing there was a new scapegoat in the club for the baying mob to pile on!
Click to expand...
Footballers get paid thousands a week for kicking a ball when in the real world some people have to work 3 hard jobs just to be able to heat their homes, put some food on the table and wear clean clothes .

There are people saving lives and earning far far less .

As such professional footballers need to work hard and put a full shift in to justify wearing the shirt and taking the wages.

Like in most workplaces slackers get exposed .

The working class folk paying footballers wages want to see hard work and effort and if they don’t they quite rightly get called out . Its not a baying mob.

There was clearly a decent highly rated footballer in there at some stage valued at millions. Not sure what's happened only he knows but hopefully he can sort it. We need him.
 
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I think what irks me the most about him is that we have a striker in the team in Joseph, who quite clearly had a tough start but has won the fans around through sheer hard work and having a first rate attitude. So the evidence is staring him in the face that attitude matters and hard work pays dividends. But there doesn't seem to be any willing to show the same application.
 
I've stuck up for him but lost it after his display against Harrogate... when subbed and 2 nil down he walked slowly off the pitch whilst others subbed sprinted off.. for me that was final straw... not arsed at all.

As for his cameo last night..jesus... even Bristol comms 1st comments were "very poor control from Fletcher". But he looked slow, couldn't control ball nor head it and that shot outside the box he had 🤣

Real shame bondo wasn't on bench as would have been great game for him to come on last night as no pressure etc... instead we got the mighty fletch 🙄
 
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