Matt Ritchie (now playing for Portsmouth)

[Guest firetotheworks]

fucking embarrassing this like.

Choosing beggars.

[TRon]

I wouldn't be dropping Ritchie like. He's still one of our few players with genuine quality. He was playing effectively at full back today and whilst he made a few errors it's harsh to judge him too heavily on it imo. The whole team needs to find a bit more confidence and believe that we can attack sides and maintain pressure. When that's the case, Ritchie will begin to flourish again, I'm sure of it. Has plenty of assists in him but also goals, we just need to start getting in better, more advanced positions more regularly.

 

If he's in advanced positions, that leaves the full back exposed because there's no way Ritchie can get back, just look at the goals we conceded against West Brom.

 

He was more at fault for the Watford goals than the West Brom ones

 

Yeah I'm getting the games mixed up. In any case I would still consider him at LWB. He's not going to come up against Chelsea every week, he deserves another crack.

[joeyt]

Well he's got Mahrez to deal with next week if he stays there

[Dave]

He had an absolute shitter today and I don't think he'll need telling. The starting position he played didn't make much difference, they were basic errors that were clinically punished.

 

He's still one of our key players.

[Guest firetotheworks]

The guy that takes our set pieces us always going to be best assist maker.

We went something like four years without scoring from a corner, it's not at all a given.

[Guest neesy111]

The guy that takes our set pieces us always going to be best assist maker.

We went something like four years without scoring from a corner, it's not at all a given.

We had cabaye taking corners for 2 1/2 years who isn't exactly bad.

 

Shows where the the blame lies.....

 

But agendas and narratives...

[Guest firetotheworks]

 

 

The guy that takes our set pieces us always going to be best assist maker.

We went something like four years without scoring from a corner, it's not at all a given.

We had cabaye taking corners for 2 1/2 years who isn't exactly bad.

 

Shows where the the blame lies.....

 

But agendas and narratives...

 

Well that's another point really, I'm just saying that being the set piece taker doesn't necessarily get you the most assists.

[themanupstairs]

What p*ssed me off was the number of balls he played back or sideways which always seemed to allow them to press and it’s becoming infuriating him remonstrating with his own team mates for minor mistakes when he’s made quite a few today.

 

This is the crux of it for me. I don't blame him for being just an OK player. He's adequate I suppose for where we are, but he should really be accepting responsibility for his own mistakes especially when he's meant to be one of the more senior players.

[Ketsbaia]

We cant even drop Ritchie because an abnormal number of our goals come from set pieces.

[xLiaaamx]

I think its got a lot to do with Lascelles and Clark in the air. He doesn't need to be playing if Shelvey is too.

[geordiedean]

Ive come to the conclusion that hes a championship player. Had 2 great years in the championship for Bournemouth and Us last year, but was rotten for Bournemouth in their first season in the prem and this season has looked out of his depth

 

Another on the must replace list

[joeyt]

He wasn't rotten at all for Bournemouth in their first season in the PL

[Infinitely Content]

Ive come to the conclusion that hes a championship player. Had 2 great years in the championship for Bournemouth and Us last year, but was rotten for Bournemouth in their first season in the prem and this season has looked out of his depth

 

Another on the must replace list

 

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/z4awa4/matt-ritchie-scores-for-bournemouth-on-blistering-volley

 

[xLiaaamx]

That Bournemouth team wanted to play football and move it around more than we do. Of course he was better for them than he is for us.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I like him, he was great for us last season, and he’s obviously a good character. But when watching him lately he is so average and I’m starting to find irritating traits in his game and demeanour on the pitch which is starting to piss me off. He’s better on the right than down the left mind and he is no LB or wing back. When Atsu is fit Id drop him.

[Newcastle Fan]

He's an average winger, he will never be too good or too bad, today he was one of the main reasons we lost, but just a few days ago he was the main reason we got a point, hopefully we can improve on him but for now we don't have much choice.

[tmonkey]

Wasn't convinced with Ritchie earlier on in the season, despite him being "in form", and wanted to see more of him at this level to make a more informed opinion - so this isn't knee jerk. But imo, given the performances in the past few months (in addition to his entire career with NUFC so far), I think it'd be fair to conclude that whilst he's a very good player in the Championship, he's borderline severely lacking in the Premiership, with a couple of half decent performances and mediocre set piece assists being the few straws to clutch at that might suggest otherwise. The lack of pace is the real killer, as a winger he just can't do anything on the flanks and is overly reliant on the full back doing all the penetrative attacking for him. The lack of pace plus dribbling ability puts alot of pressure on the team as we can't exploit space or fortunate breaks, or carve out chances. Ultimately it's like nothing is coming from his flank for huge periods of a game, and all too often the entire game.

 

On top of the lack of pace/dribbling, whilst we know he can strike a ball well and has the reputation for being a sweet hitter, he has consistently flopped good shooting and crossing opportunities. If it was the case that "yes, he's slow and won't beat players, but 3 out of 6 crosses and 1 out of 3 shots are going to be absolute pearlers" then there'd be no issue because they'd compensate for him not tearing fullbacks up or wasting counter attacking opportunities. But this entire season so far he's frequently shown that he's the opposite of clutch when it comes to making the most of decent or promising situations. If he gets into a good crossing position once in a blue moon I'm certain he'll float it in poorly, and it's more of a surprise when he does put a rare decent cross in (from either flank).

 

To be brutally honest, I reckon he's the type of player Keegan would have ruthlessly moved on at the first opportunity, like David Kelly or Scott Sellars. Good in a lower division, heart in the right place and really does try hard, capable of decent performances in the top flight now and again, but overall just not good enough if we have any ambition. Fans would wonder and question why the sale was made, but then forget about the player when it turns out the replacement is in a different league.

 

Whilst we have considerably worse players in the team that are a priority to replace, the thing with Ritchie and "priorities" is that this team badly needs an injection of pace and quality, neither of which Ritchie provides, and yet Ritchie is probably one of the most valuable and saleable assets we have because of this "he has genuine quality" aura. His reputation alone will mean some desperate team in the Championship or lower end of the Premiership will be willing to pay good money for him (like us with Alan Smith for example). If it's the case that we can sell to buy a winger of e.g. Townsend's calibre, then we be stupid not to cash in on Ritchie and just have Jonjo taking corners or more free kicks or something (probably slightly better at them anyway). In that situation the only reason not to is the possibility of needing him next season if we're back in the Championship.

[Greg]

I stopped reading at "mediocre set piece assists". Without them we'd be bottom of the league.

[Pilko]

Some crucial assists but a lot of shite in between. Bit like Geremi under KK.

 

He was dogshit today and he's got some front bollocking other players for his own shortcomings - but we're going to need his corners, free kicks and crosses if we want to stay up.

[tmonkey]

I stopped reading at "mediocre set piece assists". Without them we'd be bottom of the league.

 

When I say "mediocre" I'm going by the dictionary definition of distinctly average. And I view his set pieces as average because I'm judging by what I see when it comes to technical execution of e.g. corners - I think he floats it more than he whips it, at a higher trajectory that makes it harder to score and easier to defend. Better set piece takers can whip the into an area at a trajectory/pace that causes far more problems.

 

Stats wise I recognize that Ritchie will look good at set pieces, and because he's decent/average as opposed to being s*** at them we will continue to get the odd goal from his set pieces, but that's more because those on the end of the corners are making the most of average balls into the box, plus set piece routines have considerably improved under Rafa. My point with Ritchie's set piece assists is that I don't think they're good enough to compensate for his flaws in open play. Sort of like Ryan Taylor (who was several degrees better than Ritchie when it came to dead balls).

 

With regards to the bold point above, I'm fairly certain if we stuck Shelvey on all set pieces we'd have a similar amount of goals from them. Sometimes when Ritchie has been taking poor corners and Shelvey is playing we've seen him take them, and they're at a similar standard if not slightly better.

[Greg]

I stopped reading at "mediocre set piece assists". Without them we'd be bottom of the league.

 

When I say "mediocre" I'm going by the dictionary definition of distinctly average. And I view his set pieces as average because I'm judging by what I see when it comes to technical execution of e.g. corners - I think he floats it more than he whips it, at a higher trajectory that makes it harder to score and easier to defend. Better set piece takers can whip the into an area at a trajectory/pace that causes far more problems.

 

You must be blind or partially sighted. We're probably the best we've been for 15 years + at attacking set pieces and a lot of that is down to the delivery from Ritchie. So far this season it is his one redeeming feature.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Keeping him in the side because he takes good set pieces is like arguing Shola should have always played because he took good penalties. You have to weigh up different things. Are we over reliant on set pieces for our goals? If we don’t get enough corners or free kicks does that mean we will be less likely to score? At what point do we say his inclusion in the team is to the detriment of the team? And would we score less from set pieces if he wasnt on the pitch? It’s too easy to say well he has to play because he takes a good corner or a free kick. Bring back Ryan fucking Taylor and Shola...

[Guest NobbyOhNobby]

Think he needs a break from the side. He's either been directly responsible for, or contributed to, us conceding five goals in the last week. He's only contributing set-penises at the mo, the rest of his general play is poor. He's not the only one, but he's standing out for the wrong reasons

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Wasn't convinced with Ritchie earlier on in the season, despite him being "in form", and wanted to see more of him at this level to make a more informed opinion - so this isn't knee jerk. But imo, given the performances in the past few months (in addition to his entire career with NUFC so far), I think it'd be fair to conclude that whilst he's a very good player in the Championship, he's borderline severely lacking in the Premiership, with a couple of half decent performances and mediocre set piece assists being the few straws to clutch at that might suggest otherwise. The lack of pace is the real killer, as a winger he just can't do anything on the flanks and is overly reliant on the full back doing all the penetrative attacking for him. The lack of pace plus dribbling ability puts alot of pressure on the team as we can't exploit space or fortunate breaks, or carve out chances. Ultimately it's like nothing is coming from his flank for huge periods of a game, and all too often the entire game.

 

On top of the lack of pace/dribbling, whilst we know he can strike a ball well and has the reputation for being a sweet hitter, he has consistently flopped good shooting and crossing opportunities. If it was the case that "yes, he's slow and won't beat players, but 3 out of 6 crosses and 1 out of 3 shots are going to be absolute pearlers" then there'd be no issue because they'd compensate for him not tearing fullbacks up or wasting counter attacking opportunities. But this entire season so far he's frequently shown that he's the opposite of clutch when it comes to making the most of decent or promising situations. If he gets into a good crossing position once in a blue moon I'm certain he'll float it in poorly, and it's more of a surprise when he does put a rare decent cross in (from either flank).

 

To be brutally honest, I reckon he's the type of player Keegan would have ruthlessly moved on at the first opportunity, like David Kelly or Scott Sellars. Good in a lower division, heart in the right place and really does try hard, capable of decent performances in the top flight now and again, but overall just not good enough if we have any ambition. Fans would wonder and question why the sale was made, but then forget about the player when it turns out the replacement is in a different league.

 

Whilst we have considerably worse players in the team that are a priority to replace, the thing with Ritchie and "priorities" is that this team badly needs an injection of pace and quality, neither of which Ritchie provides, and yet Ritchie is probably one of the most valuable and saleable assets we have because of this "he has genuine quality" aura. His reputation alone will mean some desperate team in the Championship or lower end of the Premiership will be willing to pay good money for him (like us with Alan Smith for example). If it's the case that we can sell to buy a winger of e.g. Townsend's calibre, then we be stupid not to cash in on Ritchie and just have Jonjo taking corners or more free kicks or something (probably slightly better at them anyway). In that situation the only reason not to is the possibility of needing him next season if we're back in the Championship.

 

Good analysis, but don’t be surprised to see it ignored or glossed over because he whips in a mean corner every so often...

[Guest firetotheworks]

 

 

Keeping him in the side because he takes good set pieces is like arguing Shola should have always played because he took good penalties.

 

 

It's not though is it. Teams generally get corners and free kicks in every single match, and can go months without getting a penalty.