Crystal Palace's captain for the 2006/07 season, the Welsh international was signed from West Ham United for a fee of £400,000 in the summer of 2006 and made such a good impact on the team and squad in his early weeks at the club that he was picked out by Peter Taylor as the ideal leader for his squad.

Fletcher has a good reputation within the game as a reliable holding midfielder player with a good range of passing and the ability to get forward and shoot at goal, whilst he can also fill in a variety of other roles if needed, most notably in central defence.

He originally made his name with AFC Bournemouth, after breaking through the youth ranks at Dean Court and making his debut in February 1998. The Camberley born star soon became an important player for the Dorset club and was named as their captain in 2002 as he continued to flourish in the lower leagues. The fact that he was captain of the club at such a young age showed just how well he developed during those early years.

After over 200 appearances for the Cherries, he was signed by the Hammers for a fee of £275,000 in the summer of 2004. He went on to make over 30 starts for the Upton Park side, but largely found his first team chances limited by the excellent form of Nigel Reo-Coker and former Palace player Hayden Mullins. However, he did start in the FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in May fo 2006 and netted in the final game of the Premiership campaign of that season as West Ham beat Tottenham Hotspur at Upton Park.

Faced with the choice between sat in the stands or on the bench with West Ham or leading out the Palace team every week though, Fletcher made the decision to move on and will be hoping to add another promotion experience to his CV with the Eagles.

He proved to be a popular figure in his first season with the club, after battling back from an ankle injury in the earlier stages of the season. His form in the second half of the campaign in particular saw him lead by example and put in some sterling displays both at Selhurst Park and on the road and he has also gone some distance to further establishing himself in the starting line-up for Wales.

Fletcher's first team chances were reduced following the appointment of Neil Warnock in the 2007/08 season, but the midfielder has remained on the international scene.