Matt Ritchie (now playing for Portsmouth)

[TRon]

I think he single handedly turned what was heading to be 5 or 6-0 into 4-1.

[OverThere]

He drives what he wants, he drives what he wants, Matt Ritchie, he drives what he wants....

[Ronaldo]

I don’t know where the great servant thing comes from mind. Was excellent in the Championship but that was 7 years ago. He’s always been shit in the PL and has been paid a lot of money to barely contribute anything on the pitch for 3 years.

[huss9]

47 minutes ago, Superior Acuña said:

I love him, couldn't give a fuck about him giving away a corner at 4-0 up, was gutted he didnt' score.

me too.

[Gazzaschicken]

Premiership years 2033/34: final day drama as Newcastle need a win to snatch the title from city. 1 nil up with 2 of the 18 minutes of added time to go at home. Eddie Howe brings on 44 year old Matt Ritchie who puts one in the back of his own net then proceeds to celebrate like he won the league but only to be told by his teammates they are shooting down the gallowgate end.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2024 by Gazzaschicken

[Kid Icarus]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo said:

I don’t know where the great servant thing comes from mind. Was excellent in the Championship but that was 7 years ago. He’s always been shit in the PL and has been paid a lot of money to barely contribute anything on the pitch for 3 years.

Bollocks. He was excellent (relative to our ceiling) under Rafa in the PL. I don't believe in the 'servant' thing for any player tbh, but I wouldn't single him out for exclusion from it, they all should be when they're earning an annual wage every week.

[Ronaldo]

Excellent? Have a word. 
 

Again though, Rafa left 5 years ago. He’s been here since then because no one else was daft enough to pay his wages.

[Dr.Spaceman]

18/19 was his peak, he was good for us. All downhill from there though.

[Menace]

Good signing at the time, his time was a long time ago. Club ownership mismanagement and current manager knowing him for a long time means that he's essentially got a lot of coin out of us for not much return to be honest.

[Kid Icarus]

42 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

Excellent? Have a word. 
 

Again though, Rafa left 5 years ago. He’s been here since then because no one else was daft enough to pay his wages.

 

Yes, excellent, again relative to our ceiling at the time, as were the likes of Rondon, Perez, Diame who weren't excellent in the grand scheme of things but were relative to our ceiling under the restrictions Ashley put on Rafa's side. 

 

For the second part, yes, but you could say that for loads of players in our squad, so not sure why Ritchie needs to be singled out when he contributed far more than most in that era, effectively putting in the performances that clinched our promotion and then clinched our survival. 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2024 by Kid Icarus

[Ronaldo]

I just don’t agree. I saw a supposed winger with no pace, no goal threat (in the PL) and zero real ability to make things happen away from set pieces. Just a poor footballer who like so many before him benefited from our huge lack of ambition and lack of focus on targeted upgrades. I know your attitude is ‘well he’s only on the field for 10 mins, who cares?’ But to me, and admittedly I occasionally get irritated by daft things, it just screams ‘club not there yet / woeful academy’ when he’s coming off the bench every game. He doesn’t belong anywhere near a club with any ambition, let alone our ambitions.

[High Five o]

I see absolutely no point in bringing on Ritchie like. Why not give the youngsters a run out. Strange like!

[Newcastle Fan]

1 minute ago, High Five o said:

I see absolutely no point in bringing on Ritchie like. Why not give the youngsters a run out. Strange like!

 

This has been mentioned a few times and i agree, felt like a pointless change and would've rather gave Joe White more time at this level.

[Joelinton7]

It really is a throwback having this HGV relic come on for us in big old 2024. His time as a player here is done now though.

[SiLvOR]

Shouldn't be getting on the pitch ahead of youngsters when we're cruising 4-0 up. Hopefully stays on as a coach due to the amount of praise he's getting behind the scenes.

[Dokko]

If we see him again after this season, ffs.

[Kid Icarus]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo said:

I just don’t agree. I saw a supposed winger with no pace, no goal threat (in the PL) and zero real ability to make things happen away from set pieces. Just a poor footballer who like so many before him benefited from our huge lack of ambition and lack of focus on targeted upgrades. I know your attitude is ‘well he’s only on the field for 10 mins, who cares?’ But to me, and admittedly I occasionally get irritated by daft things, it just screams ‘club not there yet / woeful academy’ when he’s coming off the bench every game. He doesn’t belong anywhere near a club with any ambition, let alone our ambitions.

 

Have you ever known him to come on when 1. There have been better players available and/or 2. The game hasn't already been wrapped up? That's why it's a 'who cares?' - if we were 1-0 down and he's coming on with better players on the bench, my reaction is nearer to yours, but because that's never happened it isn't. Ritchie coming on at all reflects our injury situation, same with Dummett. 

 

You're taking it too seriously and going hyperbolic imo, if I may say so something that's not uncommon with you once you've made your mind up and started spinning yourself a yarn about a player. I haven't made that switch from him being the personification of the triumph over adversity Rafa-era player (if you ever did) to the personification of the lowest form of ambition under Ashley, post Rafa. Admittedly I tuned out in the Bruce-era, but if life's taught me anything it's that success and ambition really are a personally motivated thing and we have no idea how he measures it, some it'll be money, others game time, others a settled family etc. We have no idea what Ritchie's is, but it's never once been obvious to me that his effort for the club has waned for whatever his motivation is. 

 

And again, I think we've gone through this before, but we really don't know just how much of an impact he has behind the scenes. I'm not advocating paying tens of thousands a week under FFP for a cheerleader long-term, we apparently had that with Alan Smith in 09-10 and I absolutely hated him, but I had to admit that if the players kept saying it (as they do with Ritchie) that it was probably a net positive not really worth kicking up a fuss over in the short term. Whatever you think of him, it seems that within the group he's seen as someone who is professional and keeps the standards high, even if it's only with his personality and not his own performances. He's over the hill, that's obvious, but I fucking loved him for a good few seasons and I don't think I'm alone on that one. 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2024 by Kid Icarus

[Superior Acuña]

Didn’t he score the winner (from open play) in wins against Arsenal and ManU in that Rafa period .

 

 I feel like Eddie Howe knows a bit about what he’s doing, and if  he has valued having him around, then he’s been valuable 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2024 by Superior Acuña

[toon25]

He's stolen a living for two years. Like him as I do, he's essentially been running around a training pitch without an iota of pressure earning upwards of 30 thousand pounds week

[El Prontonise]

3 minutes ago, toon25 said:

He's stolen a living for two years. Like him as I do, he's essentially been running around a training pitch without an iota of pressure earning upwards of 30 thousand pounds week

 

Aye, I hate this he might be good having around etc.  This is professional sport we are talking about, should be nowhere near the playing side of the club if he's staying.

[Kid Icarus]

2 minutes ago, toon25 said:

He's stolen a living for two years. Like him as I do, he's essentially been running around a training pitch without an iota of pressure earning upwards of 30 thousand pounds week

 

Loads of them are, arguably all of them are, and some more than others. Yet for some reason Ritchie is singled out, then on the other side of the argument with the likes of Mark Gillespie it's 'best job in the world' or they're just not even brought up at all, it makes no sense. 

[Kid Icarus]

7 minutes ago, Superior Acuña said:

Didn’t he score the winner (from open play) in memorable wins against Arsenal and ManU in that Rafa period 

 

He was instrumental in 18/19, 2 goals and 8 assists for a relegation battling team. This rewriting of his peak era with us is just daft. 

[Ronaldo]

2 goals from a penalty taker is a cracking return, to be fair. Take it all back.

[Dr Jinx]

Not about to start shitting on him. Everything that’s been posted are known knows. If these are his final acts in the shirt, so be it. He’s given us a bunch of years and a big part of why we came back up.

 

Our whole setup now is totally different and he’s just relic of those previous times. He’s a good lad and am sure he’d be playing better with a run of games which he’s not had at all.

[Kid Icarus]

Neither of them pens.  Half his games were at left back as well.

 

As reductive as ever, never change. 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2024 by Kid Icarus