Mick McCarthy may have been adding his dour points of view to the BBC coverage of this World Cup as the “colour” commentator this summer, but he certainly hasn’t been resting on his laurels in between appointments on the South African gantries.
McCarthy – very much active in the transfer market – started off by snapping up Steven Fletcher from Burnley for a club record fee believed to be in the region of £6.5m – most notably fighting off competition from Owen Coyle at Bolton, the manager who first brought Fletcher to the Premier League from Hibs…
A brace away at West Ham as well as a finely taken goal against Chelsea were perhaps some of Fletcher’s most eye-catching returns of last season and McCarthy will be looking for more goals next term as he introduces another striker into the pack of his Wolves squad. As CEO Jez Moxey has said, that’s certainly not all Fletcher was signed for:
“He showed last season with Burnley, a team which were eventually relegated, that not only can he score goals in the Premier League but also achieve a consistent level of performance in his all-round game.”
The Statistics
Opinion…
SUPERIOR BEING
“Steven Fletcher arrives at the Molineux on the back of a quietly impressive season after bagging 8 league goals and 5 assists for relegated Burnley.
Many may overlook Fltecher‘s potential now he has joined last season‘s lowest goal scorers, however Wolves have strengthened this summer and the future return to fitness of Stephen Hunt and Michael Kightly promises more attacking football.
Already off the mark in the 3-0 pre-season win over Bohemians, Burnley‘s Players‘ Player of the Year could be a snip at just £5.5m.”
The latest Wolverhampton cohort began his career in the SPL rising through the youth ranks at Hibernian; during a five-year spell in the first team he managed to chalk up 43 goals in 156 appearances across a little over six season.
Those years served him in a good stead as he not only picked up awards but also attracted interest from clubs like Manchester City and Celtic as well as more than serious glances from continental giants Real Madrid.
It was eventually the aforementioned Owen Coyle who signed him at newly promoted Burnley where he scored 8 goals in 35 appearances, unable to help the club avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Prospects
After an inauspicious start while settling at Turf Moor, Fletcher eventually found his feet and became the pivotal figure of the Burnley strikeforce – a bright light in what proved to be disappointing season for the Lancashire outfit. With regards to how this translates into Fantasy Premier League (FPL) output, Fletcher finished the season on 118 points which was in keeping with his fellow budget strikers Bobby Zamora, Cameron Jerome and (new team-mate) Kevin Doyle.
Doyle perhaps helps to pose the biggest question to come out of this signing – how will Wolves now line up with these two strikers? Mick McCarthy previously dropped faltering striker Sylvain Ebanks-Blake and reverted to a 4-5-1 formation fronted by Doyle to “stay in games longer” half-way through last season so folks may be left scratching their heads as to how they will fit together, with both players seemingly too good – and too expensive – to sit on the bench.
Mick McCarthy has intimated recently that he may be looking to have another crack at 4-4-2 (or at least something of that ilk). This will be something for us to keep an keen eye on over the coming weeks – thank the heavens for our swanky new Pre-Season Form Guide then – but if these two can form a formidable partnership based on their talents, then this may very well be the start of a new Wolverhampton Wanderers, leading from the front.
Fletcher has been priced at £5.5m by Fantasy Premier League (FPL), the same price as last season. If he returns the same score as last term for that price, many a Fantasy manager will be more than happy.