Matt Ritchie will leave Newcastle United this summer but will always be welcome back to the North East. Signed from Bournemouth back in 2016, he’s been a consistent performer who left nothing on the pitch.
Signed by Rafa Benitez, Ritchie was an integral part of the side that was promoted from the Championship in 2017. Benitez assembled an honest group of players that season who possessed the ability to get the club back into the Premier League, and Ritchie proved to play a vital role with his twelve league goals that season and overall competitive play. £12 Million was seen as a big fee for the player then, but that season alone dividends was rewarded with Premier League status regained, with Ritchie also winning the North-East FWA player of the year award in 2017.
Newcastle achieved a very respectable 10th placed finish in the top tier after their return. Benitez maintained full faith in Ritchie with him starting thirty two league games, despite the arrival of wingers Jacob Murphy and Kennedy. Although he only scored three goals that season, they were big goals. The most notable being his first of the season against Manchester United in a 1-0 victory which got St. James’ Park shaking. His other two goals were against Southampton and Arsenal, again two big wins on home soil which led Newcastle to that crucial 40+ point tally and finish mid-table.
Once again Ritchie was a consistent figure in the starting eleven, with only Martin Dubraka making more league appearences during the 18/19 season. Again only contributing three goals that season, his two league goals were critical. His first a penalty in a 2-1 victory against league champions Manchester City, and his second against his former club Bournemouth, a superbly taken volley in the last minute at the Vitality stadium. Newcastle once again secured a mid-table finish with Ritchie proving to be a reliable asset.
After Benitez left, Ritchie’s form was never quite the same, and his first season under Steve Bruce was injury hit after damaging his ankle and was side-lined for two months. The covid hit season was one of normality for Newcastle in regards to their league position, once again finishing middle of the pack. Ritchie’s most memorable moment that season was performing his usual celebration by kicking the corner flag with ecstasy after Isac Hayden’s last minute goal against Chelsea in a 1-0 victory. However on this occasion, a member of the crowd was on the receiving end of this with the flag hitting him in an area where it would hurt for all men. The good news was that it was Ritchie who was the culprit, so was let off the hook swiftly.
As Bruce’s era went on Ritchie was continuing his new role as left wing-back which Benitez first made him adopt. However with the arrivals of Danny Rose on loan in Bruce’s first season, and Jamal Lewis on a permanent in his second, it was evident Ritchie’s position was under threat. It was also clear that both player and manager did not see eye-to-eye, with Ritchie labelling Bruce a coward after the manager accused the player of not passing on tactical information when he was substituted on in a 1-1 draw against Wolves in 2021. There were also rumours both Ritchie and skipper Jamal Lascelles were unhappy with the lacklustre approach Bruce had to training and made this clear to the coaching staff.
October 2021 the bright light shone on St. James’ Park as the new owners arrived and Bruce was relieved of his duties. In came Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall who worked with Ritchie at Bournemouth for three years. A strong relationship was already there, however it was clear the wing-back’s time on the field would remain limited with the arrival of Matt Targett and Dan Burn that winter window in 2022. Ritchie was seen as a valuable member of squad and played his part in domestic cup competitions since. Used as a sub more frequently towards the latter stages of the games, he would come on with energy and be as vocal as ever.
When both Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall were signed there was consensus amongst the fans Ritchie would leave in the summer, with former club Bournemouth strongly linked. Howe however had other plans and wanted him to stay and remain part of the leadership group. His last goal for the club was a romantic one, scoring a stoppage-time equaliser against former club Bournemouth, his first goal since 2020.
Having recently passed his lorry-driving test, you never know what his next stop could be. What would be a shame is if the 34 year-old was to hang up his boots, as there would be a few Championship clubs that could do with a leader of his manner in their changing rooms.
'Simon Says' 
Simon,
Relatively new fan of the Magpies and I really appreciated the great piece on Matt Ritchie. Nicely done. I did want to ask you about a phrase that you used. In speaking of Matt you said he ” left nothing on the pitch”. Now it could well be that there it is a common phrase there…though I can’t remember seeing it or it didn’t catch my attention before if I had read it previously. And as I am in America, and it might have been stated differently here.
I think here, we would say that he “left it all on the pitch” or “he left the pitch with nothing else to give”. I was just curious if leaving nothing on the pitch is the common usage there?
Thanks again for the great article.
Chip
LikeLike
Hi Chip,
Thanks for your feedback and your comment. It’s a good point raised, it’s a phrase used quite commonly in the UK referring to having no regrets when leaving the pitch in terms of your work rate. Effectively stating that the player has worked himself into the ground.
Hope that makes sense.
Simon
LikeLike