Steven Fletcher

At 37 years old, Steven Fletcher has this physical status:

Club career

In a 3–0 Scottish Premier League win over Kilmarnock at Easter Road on April 10, Fletcher made his debut for Hibs on April 10, 2004, replacing Garry O'Connor for the final eight minutes. He made five appearances in his first appearance this season, starting on May 15th in the final fixture, a 4–1 loss at Livingston.

He was a first team regular in the 2004–05 season, playing 26 times and scoring five goals. His first goal came on October 16th, allowing O'Connor to lead Dundee United by 21-0 at home. Scott Brown's 61st-minute replacement for him in a 4–1 win at Dunfermline Athletic on Thursday, he scored twice in a 4–1 victory, while also assisting in one of Derek Riordan's braces.

Fletcher scored ten goals in just 1,966 minutes on the pitch in 2005–06, which was close to a goal in every other game. Since Hibs had sold star strikers O'Connor and Derek Riordan, he took on a more prominent role in the 2006-07 season. In Hibernian's 5–0 Intertoto Cup victory over Dinaburg, Fletcher scored in a 5–0 victory and continued to play regularly throughout the league season. In the 5–1 victory over Kilmarnock in the 2007 League Cup Final, the highlight of the season for Fletcher and Hibs was when he scored two goals in the 5–1 victory over Fletcher and Hibs.

During the 2007-08 season, Fletcher was Hibs' top striker. In a 4–2 win over Gretna and earned the Scottish Football Writers' Young Player of the Year Award, he earned his first professional hat-trick. Due to Madrid's scouts following him, Fletcher was a candidate for a move to Real Madrid. Manchester City was reported in November 2008 that Fletcher was interested in signing Fletcher, but the Daily Record announced on January 1 that Middlesbrough is "preparing" a £2.5 million bid. Hibs turned down a Celtic proposal early in January's transfer window. Fletcher then pleaded with Hibs to agree a contract with Celtic, saying "for the growth of my career, it is time to move to a bigger club" but Hibs refused to sell him. Fletcher finished the season by being named Scotland's Young Player of the Season once more.

Burnley's Fletcher was paid £2.75 million on June 26, 2009. Hibs accepted a £3 million compensation based on Burnley's appearances. Fletcher completed his transfer when he decided on a four-year deal with the Lancashire club, where he paid a club record transfer fee to obtain his services. Keith Wright, a former Hibs striker, wondered if Fletcher was able to play in the Premier League after the transfer was completed. Burnley's first competitive goals came when he scored a brace in a 2–1 League Cup victory over Hartlepool United on August 25th. On October 3rd, he scored his first goal in the Premier League against Birmingham City. During the 2009–10 season, Fletcher was Burnley's top goalcorer, but the club was kicked out of the Premier League. He was named Burnley Player of the Year for the season.

Fletcher began a four-year deal in Burnley, with the possibility of a fifth year. Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated to the Championship on June 3, 2010. He was sold for about £6.5 million, which was equal to the Wolves' record. On his debut for Wolves, Fletcher defeated Stoke City 2–1 on the first day of the season at Molineux. He scored five goals in five league games for the club near the end of the season, including two against West Bromwich Albion in the Black Country derby, giving his team a 3–1 win over their local rivals and pushing them out of the top three.

In the opener day victory over Blackburn, Fletcher scored a headed goal in the 2011-12 Premier League. Despite scoring 12 goals in the league season, the Wolves were forced to be banished from the Premier League. After media reports linked Sunderland with the player, Fletcher submitted a transfer request on August 8, 2012.

Wolves accepted Sunderland's £12 million bid on August 22, 2012. Fletcher has been with Sunderland for four years. In a 2–0 victory over Morecambe in the Football League Cup, he made his first appearance for Sunderland. In his Premier League debut for Sunderland, a 2–2 draw at Swansea City, Fletcher scored his first two goals. In each of his next three league matches against Liverpool, West Ham United, and Wigan Athletic, he scored once. For September, he received the Premier League Player of the Month award. After a string of games without a win, an injury while playing for Scotland in March 2013 has barred Fletcher out for the remainder of the 2012-2013 season.

For the 4th of the League Cup, Fletcher was given the number 9 shirt for the 2013–14 season and returned to the bench for a 4–2 victory over Milton Keynes Dons. In the 3–1 loss to Crystal Palace on August 31, he returned from the bench to score after a lengthy stretch of time out injured. Fletcher was ruled out for "four to six weeks" weeks with a shoulder injury during the previous week's match against West Brom. In a 2–1 victory over Newcastle United, Fletcher scored his second goal of the season on October 27, 2013, netting the first. It was also Sunderland's first victory of the season. In a 2–2 draw against Cardiff City on December 28, 2013, Fletcher scored his third goal of the season on his third goal of the season. He did not score again in the 2013–14 season, when Sunderland reached the League Cup finals and showed a late run of form to avoid relegation.

In a 3-1 victory over Stoke City on October 4, 2014, Fletcher netted twice and assisted Connor Wickham. Fletcher was back on the double nearly a month later when he netted twice against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. In a 1–3 loss away to Chelsea on the last day of the season, his fifth goal of the season came on the last day of the season.

In the Tyne-Wear derby against arch-rivals Newcastle in a 3–0 victory, Fletcher scored the third and final goal of the game.

Fletcher joined Marseille on loan until the end of the season on February 1, 2016. He made his team debut six days later in Le Classique, defeating Michy Batshuayi in a 2–1 loss to rivals Paris Saint-Germain in Le Classique. Fletcher made his full debut in a 2–0 Coupe de France victory over fourth-tier amateur side Trélissac on Sunday, putting up Romain Alessandrini for the first goal before netting himself in the 87th minute.

On March 6, Fletcher scored his first league goal against Toulouse, equalizing in a 1-1 home draw, and his second strike for them against Troyes on May 14th, defeating the team's last game of the season, winning a penalty that was saved by Matthieu Dreyer. He began in the 2016 Coupe de France Final at the Stade de France, losing by 4–2 to PSG a week later.

Following his release from Sunderland, Fletcher joined Sheffield on a free transfer on July 1, 2016, ending with a four-year deal. He made his EFL Championship debut on August 7th, leading to his 1–0 home victory over Aston Villa, in which he was forced to miss the first half due to a head injury from a collision with Tommy Elphick. He scored his first goal for the Owls on September 10th, giving them a 2–1 victory over Wigan at Hillsborough.

In a 2–1 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion on January 20, 2017, replacement Fletcher was one of three players sent home for headbutting Dale Stephens. He was banned for three games due to a three-match suspension. Wednesday defeated Rotherham United in their first strikes since December, with both goals scoring on April 4th. Fletcher scored the goal that gave them the lead in the semi-final against fellow Yorkshire team Huddersfield Town on Wednesday, but they were forced to cancel on penalties before losing on penalties.

It was revealed on June 24, 2020, that he had agreed to a new deal and would leave the club on June 30.

On August 14, 2020, it was revealed that Fletcher had signed a deal with Stoke City, joining ex Sheffield Wednesday teammate Morgan Fox. In a 2–0 victory over Luton Town on October 17, he scored his first goal for Stoke. In 2020–21, Fletcher suffered with injuries, which prevented him from participating in matches. Stoke finished in 14th place, with Fletcher scoring nine goals in 42 appearances. In the 2021-22 season, Fletcher was primarily used as a backup by Michael O'Neill. Fletcher made 40 appearances, scoring three goals against Blackpool and Cardiff City, with three of them being back-to-back games. At the end of the season, Fletcher was released by Stoke.

In July 2022, Fletcher signed for Dundee United on a two-year deal.

International career

Since the age of 10, Fletcher was eligible to represent England, his hometown, or the country of his father. Fletcher was the top scorer in Scotland's under-19 team, losing to Spain in the final of the 2006 European Championships. Fletcher was named as one of the "ten to watch" in Scottish sport during 2007, despite the success of the under-19 side. In the 2004–2005 season, Fletcher made his debut for Scotland under the age of 21.

In March 2008, Fletcher was called into Scotland's squad for the first time. In a 1–1 draw, Fletcher started the game and assisted Kenny Miller in scoring the equalizer goal. Due to injury, he was forced to leave at halftime. In September 2008, he was dismissed from the under-21 squad but was immediately recalled to the full squad after scoring twice against Slovenia under-21s. In a 2–1 victory over Iceland on April 1, 2009, Fletcher scored his first full international goal.

Fletcher has publicly chastised head coach Craig Levein after being left out of Euro 2012 qualification matches against the Czech Republic and Spain. Fletcher was then dropped out of the next Scotland squad, but Levein said it was because Fletcher had not been playing regularly for his club team. When Levein tried to select him for the squad in February 2011, Fletcher sent a text message saying that he did not want to join the team. The feud rage raged through the remainder of 2011, with Levein stating that if Fletcher wanted to return to the team first. In November 2011, Mick McCarthy, the club's manager, announced that Fletcher wanted to play for Scotland and that the situation should be dealt with.

Levein warned the Scottish media that he would not pick Fletcher again after the 2011-2012 season. Following Fletcher's departure to Sunderland in August 2012, Levein re-iterated that Fletcher would not play for Scotland again while he was the boss. Levein also slammed Sunderland's transfer fee as "quite obscene" and said that Fletcher had no intention to rejoin the national squad. After Fletcher's good showing for Sunderland and Scotland, who both scored once in their first two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, the issue came into sharper focus. On his Twitter page, Fletcher said he would be able to play for Scotland. Fletcher had made an effort to reconcile with Levein in September 2011, according to his handler, but no one had given specifics about how they could meet. Fletcher was called to the Scotland squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Belgium on October 2nd, 2012.

In a 6–1 European qualifier victory over Gibraltar at Hampden Park on Sunday, Fletcher scored a hat-trick for Scotland, becoming the first player to score three in a match for the country since Colin Stein scored four against Cyprus in 1969. He scored another treble in a 6–0 win on October 11th, when facing the same opposition with both teams still out of contention. He became Scotland's fifth player to reach more than hat-trick, with RS McColl (3), Robert Hamilton (2), Hughie Gallacher (3), and Denis Law (3).

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