During his lengthy and taxing battle with ulcerative colitis, Manchester United missed Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher's tenacity on the pitch, but the man who worked his way up from the club's academy could regularly be seen in with the away fans when Manchester United were on their travels.
Now, he is the first name on the teamsheet for Tony Pulis at West Brom, and has played every minute of every game this season apart from a half-time substitution against Southampton in January. With his illness seemingly well behind him, many Manchester United fans are wondering if there was not a way to keep Fletcher at the club, but as he was hungry for regular first-team football which he now has, they will have to settle for his comments on how much he loved mixing with the supporters.
Speaking to Tubes of Soccer AM, Darren Fletcher was asked what kind of fan he was in the stands, and his answer will raise a smile on the face of every United fan:
I was proper Green Street, giving it large.
I'd missed football, I was out for a while and I wanted to go. Man United away fans are special, they're very good, and I wanted to join them.
I wanted to experience the derby in amongst the fans and I tried to keep my head down obviously, tried to go unnoticed. It's not easy but I put a hood up and went pretty much unnoticed, until near the end.
It has since gone on to become somewhat of a trend for injured United players to endear themselves to the fans by getting involved for the big games.
Phil Jones, Michael Carrick, and Marcos Rojo all enjoyed Manchester United's win at Anfield in the Premier League back in January:
And although their playing days had long since passed, Anfield again played host to Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister, and Andy Cole in the Europa League last week:
It never fails to improve your standing with the supporters.
You can watch Darren Fletcher's full interview with Soccer AM below:
