Kristian Fletcher at Swansea City (olf DC United)

dude is too good for the u21s.....gtting a bit embarassing for the club, imo

 

Apparently the issue here is Swansea have exceeded their maximum allowable loanees. They'd have to sign him on a permanent deal if they want to play him w/ the 1st team.

Which I think they should, but maybe the original plan was to send him back to DC at the end, not expecting him to have this much success. They'd bump him up to fill holes (which apparently they have) at minimum if they could do it on a whim, but they can't.

They'd have to determine this is the next right long-term step for his development. Again, I think it is. They may not agree.

 

Not happy but content that Levien ownership failures aren't restricted to DC United.

 

Fletcher was born in Maryland and grew up in a soccer family with a father born in Scotland but with both parents raised in the Caribbean. Naturally, he grew up with the sport in his family and everyone was an Arsenal supporter. Also, soccer was frequently played among family members.​

http://www.americansoccernow.com/ar...her-eyes-ambitious-goals-for-club-and-country

(Just re-upping the link from earlier since I couldn't recall seeing the detail about his European heritage before.)

 

Echoing posts from above, but this is a waste of his time. He is not growing as a player at a crucial time in his development. He would have been better off being loaned back to DCU or somewhere else that could play him at their top team (i.e., not the reserves or U-21). If in fact Swansea can't move him to their top team because they are at the max # of loanees, why did they bring him in in the first place? And why did he/his representation reject this loan deal? The fact that Swansea was at its max # of loanees was a known fact, or at least, should have been known. Reminds me of when Landon went to Germany but Leverkusen put him with their reserves in the 3rd (or 4th) level but at least there they quickly moved him up after they realized he was scoring for fun.

 

I'm not sure I would say this is a waste of time. There has to be other teams scouting these games so he could get a move to another Championship team. He's proven he is a 1st team player somewhere

 

Needs to get a shot at the 1st team. What does Swansea have to lose at this point?

 

Unreal run for the kid.

I don’t think it’s a waste of time either, assuming it leads to some action in 2024. If he didn’t go to Swansea, he’d have seen spot minutes with DCU and then sat for a few months. The level is obviously not great, but now he’s shown to be well above it and probably has drawn a lot of eyeballs.

 

Their co-owner wants him to go back to DC. He says he'll consult with Fletcher and the prospective clubs, but at the end of the day it's not their call.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport.../tonights-swansea-city-news-fletcher-28211782

It's an unnecessary time waste. He could play for Swansea's 1st team in January already. It's probably a matter of, in a pro-rel league w/ a lot of $ at stake, not thinking they can trust an academy guy who's not established in a league competitive with theirs like MLS. So they hope a new coach, unlike Rooney, will integrate Fletcher on the basis of his English reserve league performance. Then maybe he makes the in-house transfer or goes to a bigger club if he really kills it. I wish he'd just stay there where he's clearly always been motivated to play.

 

"We want him playing first-team soccer."

Got a few words from Jason Levien and Ally Mackay today about @dcunited young'un Kristian Fletcher as he continues to ball out for Swansea City's U-21s on loan... and the value he may have for #DCU's next coach.https://t.co/hG7QJtjNQI

— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) November 29, 2023

not hard to read between the lines here:

fletcher is only at swansea due to shared ownership between the clubs.

Swansea football people dont actually want fletcher there

doesnt matter how well he does with u21s, he wont play for their first team

yeah duh he should be playing first team football

UK yet again showing soccer management isnt their strong point

 

If DCU gets a manager who wants rates him and plays him, that's fine. He just needs first team minutes.

Also, he needs to take a big role with the U.S. U-20 team this cycle

 

The Swansea fanbase is begging for him to get promoted FWIW. As one if my friends who supports the team days "He's too good for the u 21s and we aren't going anywhere this year."

 

Only scored once today before being subbed off