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Newcastle United: Lee Ryder criticises Matt Ritchie display
Lee Ryder has criticised the display of Matt Ritchie as Newcastle United drew 2-2 at home to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Lowdown: Disappointing day
While the North East club did manage to pick up their first point of the season at St. James’ Park, ultimately it ended in disappointment as they went 2-1 up in injury time through Allan Saint-Maximin, before giving away a needless penalty with one of the last kicks of the game which was scored by James Ward-Prowse.
Should Newcastle sell Ritchie?
Yes
No
While there were some decent performances in the famous black-and-white stripes, others failed to impress heading into the international break.
The Latest: Ritchie criticised
Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder was particularly critical of Ritchie, claiming that he ‘did not conjure up’ his usual supply line and was ‘unconvincing’ at wing-back.
The journalist gave the Scotland international a mere 5/10 overall rating for his performance, the joint-second worst out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch.
The Verdict: Justified
The criticism of Ritchie was certainly justified given his overall display, which was not convincing at all.
The 31-year-old lost out on five of his duels in the match, and also failed to record a single shot on goal or successful dribble (Sofascore).
He also failed to block any shots or make any interceptions or accurate crosses, and lost possession of the ball on no fewer than 14 separate occasions, the joint-third most out of any Magpies player (Sofascore).
Nonetheless, Ritchie will have to produce better performances if he is to stay in the team after the international break.
In other news, find out who NUFC are now ‘in talks’ to sign here!
