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Matt Ritchie (now playing for Portsmouth)

Fenham Mag

by Fenham Mag
in Football

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geordiedean

geordiedean

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Hes a championship player end of story. He doesn't offer any goal threat in the premier league is far too slow to be a winger and cannot beat a man for shit.Eddie Howe probably seen that hes just not suited to this division in the year after Bournemouth were promoted hence him shipping him out here

 

He really needs to go in the summer

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tmonkey

tmonkey

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I just think it's telling that the criticism that has shifted to him coincides with us winning and previously criticised players like Perez, Hayden, Rondon etc have improved drastically to where Richie's now seen as the main weakness, probably rightly tbf. To me it shows that we're improving, because it wasn't long ago that he was imo the least of our problems. What I think it's worth considering from the criticism and then improvement of Perez etc, is that players can improve and go through peaks and troughs. Ritchie's been an important player for us, particularly in the Championship, often in high pressure situations, and while I understand that we should look to do better, Ritchie's the sort of player that brings guts, leadership and commitment, which although slightly pfm rhetoric shouldnt be undervalued and replacing that

either like for like or elsewhere, while also adding an improvement in football quality, within an Ashley budget, won't be easy.

 

I've been criticizing Ritchie since before the Championship season ended, as have a few others on here, so making out the criticism of him is only a recent thing isn't reflective of opinions that have been held consistently. Those opinions were based on the basics, i.e. the lad is a winger with no real pace, no dribbling ability/flair, can't really beat a man, doesn't stretch teams, has average stamina, floats one decent cross in every dozen or so attempts, and alarmingly bottles half decent shooting opportunities with regularity despite possessing good shooting technique (in theory) - why any of our fans rate him at all is beyond me. I mean he's not completely crap, he's capable of the odd decent performance in this league, but then most mediocre players can do so if given enough games (even Colback got an England call up). The shift to LWB masks some of those issues, but then exposes others, such as him not being a liability defensively and being reluctant to pass it to the wingers in front of him. Overall though I think he's better at LWB than he is a winger in this league.

 

Re: guts/commitment/leadership, I'm personally not convinced he offers anything beneficial to the team. I think if he does offer something it's experience, i.e. he's generally OK on the ball in general play in terms of controlling it confidently, laying it sideways, etc. But an actual leader? I think he needs to be performing at a much high level before his running around like a headless chicken getting knackered serves as inspiration for his teammates. I suspect some of his teammates secretly dislike him as he's arguably the worst/weakest player in the current team yet he's berating others - leadership normally comes from those who are established and good at what they do.

 

More importantly, how relevant is all of that pfm bollocks anyway? Look at it in context. No injection of pace and skill from Kenedy last season and we're probably in a relegation fight. No injection of pace and skill from Almiron this season and we're probably down where Cardiff are at the moment. How useful really is the "guts/leadership/commitment" of Ritchie given that it was doing nothing for us before we had to say "fuck it, lets bring some pace and skill in"? If anything it proves ability and athleticism matter more, certainly for wingers. Maybe it matters everywhere (remember people saying the same when Nolan was given the boot, losing our leader etc, yet Cabaye was infinitely better and so was the team as a whole).

 

In terms of replacing him, nothing is guaranteed, but I think it's going to be pretty likely we get an upgrade if Rafa gets decent money to buy a replacement. One way to get that decent money is to cash in on Ritchie whilst there's still a bunch of clubs/managers who think he's a good footballer, or more likely clubs who'll factor in that he was good in the Championship. There's always been good options for an upgrade, the most obvious one being Townsend (unfortunately that ship has sailed), but Rafa if he's still here will know.

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mighty__mag

mighty__mag

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Fucking joke he's getting such hatred. He's a right mid being asked to play left wingback and he's not very good at it, as soon as he switched to right mid second half and was back with yedlin where he feels comfortable, he could have had an assist before being subbed off, he put in a great cross that Dummett got in the way of both Ayoze and Rondon who were waiting to pounce.

 

I personally don't rate the wingback system, I prefer four at the back, and the last two fixtures when Rafas switched it when it's not working we have looked better in the second halfs when behind.

 

I can't blame Ritchie too much, and I'm sure prior to the pen miss hed scored our last 7 pens.

 

I also believe our new lad doesn't look great played on the left. He's a number 10.

 

Wouldn't be as fussed if Ritchie himself hadn't come out and said it's now his "preferred position" to play left wing back.

 

Someone else told me this, but was it actually Ritchie himself saying it, or did it come from the media? I'd like to see where he says it himself if he does.

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geordie jamie

geordie jamie

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Fucking joke he's getting such hatred. He's a right mid being asked to play left wingback and he's not very good at it, as soon as he switched to right mid second half and was back with yedlin where he feels comfortable, he could have had an assist before being subbed off, he put in a great cross that Dummett got in the way of both Ayoze and Rondon who were waiting to pounce.

 

I personally don't rate the wingback system, I prefer four at the back, and the last two fixtures when Rafas switched it when it's not working we have looked better in the second halfs when behind.

 

I can't blame Ritchie too much, and I'm sure prior to the pen miss hed scored our last 7 pens.

 

I also believe our new lad doesn't look great played on the left. He's a number 10.

 

Wouldn't be as fussed if Ritchie himself hadn't come out and said it's now his "preferred position" to play left wing back.

 

Someone else told me this, but was it actually Ritchie himself saying it, or did it come from the media? I'd like to see where he says it himself if he does.

 

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/17481235.newcastles-matt-ritchie-revelling-in-left-wing-back-role/

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Tiresias

Tiresias

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Yeah I think some are harsh on him, really not sure he's deliberately not passing to Almiron, just think he's not super bright and so isn't thinking about the pass when he should be. I think he's been fantastic for us over the last few seasons especially the championship but he is ultimately too slow to be a class premier league winger.

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Papavasiliou

Papavasiliou

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I think he gets a bit of a harsh deal on here, reminds me of the shit Jonas used to get. He's limited, but I reckon we'll miss him when he's not in the team with our current squad.

 

Completely depends on who replaces him.

 

I can see us missing him if we persist with WBs and Dummett is still our only LB by next season.

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Guest firetotheworks

Guest firetotheworks

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:lol: howeh. He'll end up in the Nolan category imo.

 

Odd comparison considering Nolan was a brilliant player for us when played off a striker. :lol:

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Guest firetotheworks

Guest firetotheworks

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I think it was a comparison that Ritchie and Nolan were both excellent in the Championship but have quite a lot of limitations playing in the Prem

 

Not as a second striker he didn't. 12 goals in the Premier League for us that season. Atrocious in midfield obviously.

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Pilko

Pilko

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I think it was a comparison that Ritchie and Nolan were both excellent in the Championship but have quite a lot of limitations playing in the Prem

 

Not as a second striker he didn't. 12 goals in the Premier League for us that season. Atrocious in midfield obviously.

 

Completely agree that Nolan was undoubtedly more effective for us in the PL, I was more making a comment of how he'll be remembered in years to come; i.e. "dragged us to promotion superbly, helped us consolidate, moved on as we looked to improve".

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Guest

Guest

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I think it was a comparison that Ritchie and Nolan were both excellent in the Championship but have quite a lot of limitations playing in the Prem

 

Aye that's what I meant :thup:

 

Brilliant comparison.

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