Wrexham had Steven Fletcher to thank for their win over Wigan Athletic at the weekend, but the striker shouldn’t start the next game.
Once again, Wrexham left it late to seal all three points, with Steven Fletcher bagging a fine goal in the 90th minute to defeat Wigan on Sunday.
Phil Parkinson praised Wrexham’s mentality to win games in the dying moments, and it was yet another thrilling victory for the fans at the Racecourse Ground.
With two winning goals in two games, it seems obvious that Fletcher deserves a starting spot in the next game, but that temptation should be avoided.
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Steven Fletcher is better-served as an impact sub
Yes, Fletcher has come on and changed the game for Wrexham against Wigan and against Blackpool on Boxing Day, too. But, there’s one key element of his outings that we need to remember here: he came off the bench both times and offered exactly what Wrexham needed at that time.
Just because Fletcher has entered the fray and delivered match-winning goals, that doesn’t mean he would have the same impact if he played from the start.
Quite the contrary, in fact. No, Fletcher is far better-suited to being the player Phil Parkinson can throw on in an emergency, when his team need to wrestle back control of a game, and his high level of experience and game management intuition are incredibly valuable assets to have on the bench.
| Statistics | Steven Fletcher | Paul Mullin | Ollie Palmer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes played | 460 | 1,190 | 1,698 |
| Goals | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Minutes per goal | 115 | 297.5 | 566 |
There’s also the talismanic impact of Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer to consider. Fletcher was ‘immense’ against Wigan, but Wrexham are a completely different proposition when they start with their trusty old partnership.
Fletcher may have a far better minutes-per-goal ratio than his fellow strikers, but that tells us everything we need to know about the nature of his goalscoring success; he’s incredible at coming off the bench for 15 minutes and putting the ball in the net, but he’s not a 90 minute player anymore.
- READ MORE: His assist helped Wrexham steal a win vs Wigan, but James McClean almost cost his team the game
Wrexham’s ability to win games from the bench is incredible
The fact Wrexham can call on ‘unbelievable’ substitutes like Fletcher is testament to the incredible strength in depth the Wrexham squad possesses.
Wigan boss Shaun Maloney commented on the ‘level of investment’ Wrexham have received over the years from Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, and it’s clear this has given the Red Dragons a major advantage.
If Parkinson can turn to his bench and bring on the likes of Fletcher and Elliot Lee, he’s always going to have a chance to turn a game on its head.
The partnership of Mullin and Palmer has to remain plan A for now, but Steven Fletcher is one hell of a plan B!