John Fleck (footballer)

For other people named John Fleck, see John Fleck (disambiguation).
John Fleck

Fleck in 2007
Personal information
Full name John Alexander Fleck[1]
Date of birth (1991-08-24) 24 August 1991
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Sheffield United
Number 4
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2012 Rangers 41 (2)
2012 → Blackpool (loan) 7 (0)
2012–2016 Coventry City 162 (8)
2016– Sheffield United 17 (1)
National team‡
2007–2008 Scotland U17 9 (3)
2008–2010 Scotland U19 4 (0)
2009–2012 Scotland U21 4 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:29, 27 November 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 November 2011

John Alexander Fleck (born 24 August 1991) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sheffield United.

Early life

Fleck was born in Glasgow and was educated at Knightswood Secondary School.[2]

Club career

Rangers

Fleck began his career in the Rangers youth teams. He played in Rangers 5–0 Scottish Youth Cup victory over Celtic on 26 April 2007.[3]

On 12 July 2007, Fleck was called up to take part in the full squad pre-season tour of Germany.[4] Fleck was handed his debut for the first team against SV Lippstadt 08 on 15 July 2007, becoming the first 15-year-old to play for the first team since Derek Ferguson[5] in 1982. Fleck impressed and scored in a 3–1 friendly victory over Sportfreunde Lotte in the next friendly game.

On 25 August 2007, just a day after his 16th birthday, Fleck was included for the first time in the Rangers first team squad for a competitive match against Kilmarnock. He made his competitive debut on 23 January 2008 in the Scottish Cup game against East Stirlingshire[6] and made his league debut on 22 May in the final league game of the season against Aberdeen. Two days later, Fleck became the youngest ever player to play in a senior British Cup final,[7] by appearing as a substitute in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final against Queen of the South.[8] Fleck gained his first start for Rangers against Falkirk on 17 January 2009 earning the man of the match award for his performance.[9] Five days before this, The Times had placed Fleck seventh in their Top 50 Rising Stars of football list.[10]

Fleck scored his first competitive goal in a 2–0 league victory over Dundee United at Ibrox on 31 January 2009.[11] The goal was a 78th-minute penalty, awarded after Mihael Kovačević's challenge had brought Fleck to the ground. Fleck's talent, precocious performances, technique, vision and work-rate led him to be heralded as "Scotland's Wayne Rooney".[12] On 26 March 2010, Fleck signed a new three-year contract.[13]

With first team chances in short supply at Rangers, Fleck agreed to move to Sheffield United on a season-long loan at the end of the summer transfer window[14] but the deal subsequently fell through as the paperwork was not completed before the deadline.[15]

Fleck signed for Championship club Blackpool on loan in January 2012, despite renewed interest from Sheffield United.[16][17]

In June 2012, Fleck lodged an objection against his contract being transferred to the newco set up by Charles Green.[18] PFA Scotland had previously commented that players were entitled to become free agents if they objected to the transfer.[19]

Coventry City

On 4 July 2012, Fleck joined Football League One side Coventry City after he rejected his Rangers contract being transferred to the new company.[20] Rangers were reported to have a sell-on agreement, meaning they would be entitled to a percentage of any transfer fee Coventry subsequently received for the player.[21] Fleck scored his first Coventry City goal in a 4–1 loss away to Shrewsbury Town from the penalty spot on 18 September 2012.[22] He struggled to nail down a starting spot in the side during his first season at the club, particularly during the reign of Mark Robins, although he went on to make 35 appearances and scored three times.[23]

The arrival of Steven Pressley as Coventry City manager in March 2013 saw Fleck regain a starting spot in the Coventry City line-up, starting every game of the remaining 2012–13 season in a deep-lying central midfield role. Fleck remained first-choice for the following season which Coventry City played at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium[24] and played a key role in the side as they overcame a 10-point deduction to mount an unlikely play-off push for the first half of the season.[25]

Fleck struggled for form as the team's form collapsed in the remaining months of the 2013–14 season but started the following campaign well, putting in a strong performance as the team beat Gillingham 1–0 to mark the club's return to Coventry in September 2014.[26] Although his form was up-and-down throughout much of a campaign where the Sky Blues struggled for consistency, Fleck signed an 18-month contract extension in January 2015 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2016.[27] Between the start of the 2012–13 season and the end of the 2013–14 season, Fleck scored just one goal for Coventry City.

John Fleck saw another upturn in form at Coventry City in the 2015–16 season where under the management of Tony Mowbray he was encouraged to play a more forward-thinking role in the side, aided by the defensive support of midfield partner Romain Vincelot. Fleck's importance to the team was described by manager Tony Mowbray as being 'the oil in our machine' as the Sky Blues rose to the top of the League One table.[28] Fleck was rewarded for his improvement in 2015-16 by being awarded the club's player of the year award by both the fans and his fellow team-mates at the club's end of season awards.[29]

Sheffield United

Fleck signed a three-year contract with Sheffield United in July 2016.[30] Fleck scored his first goal for the club in a 4-1 win over Chesterfield on 13 November 2016.[31]

International career

On 12 September 2006, Fleck captained Scotland Under 16s to an 11–0 victory over Jersey Under 17s, scoring a hat trick in the process. He was the captain of the Scotland side at the 2006 Victory Shield competition. He also captained the Scotland Under 17 side throughout 2007 and 2008 and is a regular at Under 19 level. He made his debut for the Scotland U21 side on 29 March 2009.

Personal life

His uncle former Scotland international Robert Fleck played for Rangers and Norwich in the 1980s.[32]

On 31 January 2009, Fleck was involved in a late-night brawl in a nightclub in Glasgow's City centre even though Fleck was just 17-years-old at the time.[33] On 2 August 2009 it was revealed that Fleck had been dropped from the Rangers first-team after a training ground bust-up, with the then assistant manager Ally McCoist.[34][35]

Career statistics

As of 4 October 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rangers 2007–08[36] Scottish Premier League1020000030
2008–09[37] Scottish Premier League81101000101
2009–10[38] Scottish Premier League15130213[lower-alpha 1]0232
2010–11[39] Scottish Premier League13010102[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]0170
2011–12[40] Scottish Premier League4010000050
Total 412804150583
Blackpool (loan) 2011–12[40] Championship7010000080
Coventry City 2012–13[41] League One35320104[lower-alpha 3]0423
2013–14[42] League One43140101[lower-alpha 3]0491
2014–15[43] League One44000103[lower-alpha 3]0480
2015–16[44] League One40410101[lower-alpha 3]0434
Total 16287040901828
Sheffield United 2016–17[45] League One10000002[lower-alpha 3]0120
Career total 222101608115026011
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in Football League Trophy

Honours

Club

Rangers

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/01/2012 and 31/01/2012" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  2. ↑ "Victory Shield Squad for Wales" (Press release). Scottish FA. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Rangers U19 5–0 Celtic U19". The Herald. 26 April 2007.
  4. ↑ "Trio Miss Germany Trip". Rangers F.C. 12 July 2007.
  5. ↑ "Debut Double For McCulloch". Rangers F.C. 16 July 2007.
  6. ↑ "Rangers 6–0 East Stirlingshire". BBC Sport. 23 January 2008.
  7. ↑ Grahame, Ewing (January 15, 2010). "Rangers blow as John Fleck and Danny Wilson seek way out". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  8. ↑ "Queen of the South 2–3 Rangers". BBC Sport. 24 May 2008.
  9. ↑ "John Fleck has the talent to be a Rangers great, says Steven Davis". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 18 January 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  10. ↑ Dart, Tom (12 January 2009). "Footballs Top 50 Rising Stars". London: Times Online. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "Rangers 2–0 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 31 January 2009.
  12. ↑ Roddy Forsyth (1 February 2009). "Rangers teenager John Fleck hailed as Scotland's Wayne Rooney". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  13. ↑ "Fleck signs new three-year deal". BBC Sport. 26 March 2010.
  14. ↑ "Blades capture Rangers duo". skysports.com. 1 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Sheffield Utd drop bid for Kyle Hutton and John Fleck". BBC Sport. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  16. ↑ "Rangers midfielder John Fleck completes Blackpool loan switch". sport.scotsman.com. Johnston Press. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  17. ↑ "Sheffield United back in for Rangers midfielder John Fleck". BBC Sport. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  18. ↑ "Rangers: John Fleck eyes exit as Kyle Hutton stays with newco". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  19. ↑ "Rangers: Players free not to join 'newco' says law expert". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  20. ↑ "City complete Fleck capture". CCFC. 4 July 2012.
  21. ↑ "John Fleck joins Coventry after leaving Rangers". BBC. 4 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "Shrewsbury 4–1 Coventry". CCFC. 18 September 2012.
  23. ↑ "John Fleck Appearances and Goals 2012–13". Soccerbase. 27 April 2013.
  24. ↑ "Coventry City to play home matches at Northampton's Sixfields Stadium". Sky Sports. 8 July 2013.
  25. ↑ "John Fleck starting to hit the heights at Coventry after escaping weight of expectation at Rangers". The Daily Record. 9 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "Coventry City 1–0 Gillingham". BBC. 5 September 2014.
  27. ↑ "John Fleck: Coventry City midfielder signs new contract". BBC. 7 January 2015.
  28. ↑ "'John Fleck is the oil in our machine' – Coventry City boss knows how vital midfielder is". Coventry Telegraph. 20 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "'NEWS: John Fleck wins both CCFC's Players' Player and Player of the Season awards for the 2015/16 season'". Coventry City FC. 4 May 2016.
  30. ↑ "Sheffield United sign Jack O'Connell and John Fleck". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  31. ↑ "Chesterfield 1-4 Sheffield United". BBC Sport. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  32. ↑ "Smith relishes Rangers' 'biggest test'". FIFA.com. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  33. ↑ "John Fleck in Nightclub brawl". Daily Record. 2 February 2009.
  34. ↑ "Rangers drop Fleck after bust-up". BBC Sport. 2 August 2009.
  35. ↑ "Rangers fury as starlet John Fleck has bust up with Ibrox No.2 Ally McCoist" Sunday Mail. 2 August 2009.
  36. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  38. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  39. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  40. 1 2 "Games played by John Fleck in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  41. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  42. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  43. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  44. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  45. ↑ "Games played by John Fleck in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
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