AFC Bournemouth Fan View: Do Cherries miss Matt Ritchie?

As an AFC Bournemouth fan, I’m in the middle of a lovely two-week break from football. It gives me more time to stew on our 4-1 battering at the hands of Huddersfield Town. Which is a joy, obviously.

Naturally, my mind has therefore wandered onto various subjects during this footballing dry spell. One of them has been Matt Ritchie, and whether we did well to sell him to Newcastle United when we did – or whether we miss him.

Considering our next game is against the north east club, the time seems right to look at the Scotland international in a little more detail.

We’ve (not) got Matt Ritchie…

Saying that we sold Ritchie is perhaps a little mischievous though, as he actually forced a move away from us.

He was tempted to drop down a level to the Championship in July 2016 by Rafa Benitez and Newcastle United, and so far the move has gone fairly well for him. The Magpies were promoted the following season and look like they have just enough to survive in their first season back in the top flight.

Despite being a huge part of Newcastle being promoted in 2017 – I know all too well how effective he can be in the Championship – he’s not quite lit up the Premier League, however.

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Lack of pace

This isn’t hugely surprising considering how he performed for us once we got promoted. Although naturally we struggled in many games against better opposition in the top tier, Ritchie was too often anonymous in matches.

Because although he has a great touch and range of passing, he lacks any real pace or physical strength. To be consistently effective in the Premier League, you really need both of those attributes.

So although Ritchie recently made the headlines by scoring the winner against Manchester United, that was actually his first Premier League goal for Newcastle. He’d had 43 shots before that goal without hitting the back of the net as well.

With five assists, he’s still one of the Magpies’ more important players, but he’s still struggling to really impress at the top level.

Better off

So, do we miss Matt Ritchie? No, not really. I can’t say I wouldn’t have him back, of course, as I think he was an excellent player for us – but rose-tinted nostalgia can often be a terrible thing.

There are Bournemouth fans that would like Tommy Elphick back, for example. Sometimes, it’s just best to remember the good times, rather than exhuming them unnecessarily.

I also think Eddie Howe has got a stable of wingers that fits the style of play he prefers. Namely, attacking with precision and pace. Although Ritchie could manage the former, he could never quite pull off the latter.

With Jordon Ibe, Ryan Fraser, and Junior Stanislas, we have wingers that have both, though – finding the best formation to host them all is something that still needs work, but we’re getting there.

So, I genuinely don’t think Ritchie would get into our first team. Hopefully, we can show him this coming weekend that he’s not missed, too.

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