The Chronicle’s Newcastle United journalist Lee Ryder believes that manager Steve Bruce made a mistake in leaving Matt Ritchie out of his starting XI against Crystal Palace, per Everything is Black and White (February 22nd, 3:28).
What’s he said?
The Magpies lost 1-0 to the Eagles at the weekend, leaving them 14th in the Premier League, though they remain seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Ritchie has made just five starts in the league this season and played a mere 19 minutes against Roy Hodgson’s side, having played a quarter of an hour against Arsenal the week prior.
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He has been primarily deployed as a full-back this season, and Ryder believes that he is the glue that holds the Magpies together.
He said: “I mean, for me, it was a big call to leave Matt Richie on the sidelines for the second game running and I think he holds Newcastle together.
“I think he's the man who makes them tick.”
Stats don’t support this
Newcastle have won two games with Ritchie in the side.
They beat Tottenham Hotspur in August and Chelsea in January; Ritchie, of course, has struggled with injuries, missing 18 games as a result of an ankle injury.
While he was out, the Magpies won six games.
Indeed, this season, Ritchie has not scored a goal nor has he provided an assist.
He has averaged 1.8 key passes per game but, other than that, one has to feel that Ritchie is not the man to instantly turn Newcastle’s form around.
Indeed, looking at the cold, hard fact that they simply aren’t stringing wins together with him in the side, one has to feel that Bruce had a justifiable reason for his decision.