| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Mark Fletcher | ||
| Date of birth | 26 July 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Hartlepool, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Bournemouth | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1992 | Hartlepool United | 32 | (4) |
| 1992–2007 | Bournemouth | 493 | (88) |
| 2007–2008 | Chesterfield | 38 | (5) |
| 2008–2009 | Crawley Town | 21 | (2) |
| 2009– | Bournemouth | 115 | (14) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:43, 16 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Steven Mark Fletcher (born 26 July 1972) 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.
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Fletcher began his career at Hartlepool United 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.[1] He subsequently joined recently-relegated League Two side Chesterfield,[2] 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.[3]
On 24 February 2009 he made his 500th league appearance for Bournemouth against Dagenham and Redbridge in a goalless clash.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
Scored his 100th league goal for The Cherries in a 3-3 draw away at Peterborough on 1 April 2011.
Despite never being prolific in front of goal, Fletcher has had a long career, particularly with Bournemouth. 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.[7]
| Season | Club | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | F A Trophy | Play Offs | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1990–91 | Hartlepool United | Fourth Division | 14 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 1991–92 | Third Division | 18 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Hartlepool United Total | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | Bournemouth | 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 | 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 | ||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Crawley Town Total | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Bournemouth | 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 | League One | 38 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 7 | |
| 2011–12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Bournemouth Total | 115 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 15 | ||
| Career total | 702 | 113 | 42 | 10 | 34 | 5 | ' | ' | ' | ' | 807 | 133 | ||
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