Right Winger of the Season: Newcastle United’s Matt Ritchie

It was him Newcastle were looking for – themag.co.uk

Should Newcastle United secure first place this season, Matt Ritchie will have been the most creative player in two of the Championship’s last three title-winning sides.

That achievement seems even more impressive considering the 27-year-old’s background. He played just seven games above the third tier in the first seven years of his career, starting it at cash-strapped Portsmouth.

Not long before his 14/15 title win with Bournemouth, Ritchie suffered from a long-term injury that saw him play no competitive games between April and November 2013. He scored and put in a man-of-the-match in his first start back against Brighton and has never looked back since.

Of Ritchie’s many strengths that have seen his career blossom, pace is not one of them. Perversely, if he did have the same level of pace as, for example, Newcastle teammate Mohamed Diame, he might not be the same player.

Others might cause alarm in opposing defences by sprinting into the box and attracting markers early on. Combined with those types of players, it can be useful to have others with subtler movement. Ritchie spots where the space is opening and then moves. He relies on intelligent timing of runs, clever passing and pinpoint shooting. Those things have seen him score nine goals and produce seven assists, with two key passes per game.

Ritchie has bossed the Championship – now, he must be ready to compete consistently with England’s elite.