Matthew Thomas Ritchie (born 10 September 1989) is a professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
winger for
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
club
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...
. Ritchie represented the
Scotland national team
The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...
from 2015 to 2018. Prior to joining Newcastle United in 2016, he played for
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...
,
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
and
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
.
Although born and raised in England, Ritchie qualified to play for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
through his Scottish father. He made his senior international debut on 25 March 2015, in a friendly match against
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
.
Club career
Portsmouth
Ritchie had been involved in Portsmouth's academy since he turned 13, previously playing football locally in Gosport, starting at the age of six.
After signing his first professional contract with the club, and a positive 2008–09 pre-season campaign, including a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...
in a 4–1 victory over hometown club
Gosport Borough, after the match, Ritchie said scoring a hat-trick was 'unreal'.
He went on loan to Swindon Town in 2010 but due to Portsmouth's mounting injury list, he was recalled in March and was named on the bench for their 2–0
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
loss at the hands of
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
after making four appearances for Swindon. On 14 April, he made his League debut for Portsmouth in the game against
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 193 ...
. He played 79 minutes but was then substituted for
Frédéric Piquionne
Frédéric Michel Piquionne (born 8 December 1978) is a Martiniquais former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Piquionne's former clubs are Golden Star of Martinique, Nîmes, Rennes, Saint-Étienne, Monaco, Lyon, Portsmouth ...
. After the match, Ritchie admits making his Portsmouth debut was a dream come true. At the end of the season, with Portsmouth's relegation from the Premier League confirmed, he signed a new two-year deal.
For the
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
season, Ritchie was handed the number 5 shirt and was selected in Portsmouth's starting XI for their first match of the season at
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...
. However, he soon found himself out of the Portsmouth line-up and, with the club having disbanded its reserve team, manager
Steve Cotterill
Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of side Shrewsbury Town.
Cotterill had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albion, Wimbledon, ...
agreed to loan out the player for fitness reasons.
Loan to Dagenham & Redbridge
Ritchie played reserve and academy football at Pompey until late September and continued to impress until he was taken on a one-month loan deal by
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...
club
Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...
. He made his Football League debut against
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around ...
on 27 September 2008, coming on as a late substitute. Ritchie scored on his first competitive start for the ''Daggers'' in a 2–0 win over
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
. He scored again in his next match, a 2–0 win over
Barnet.
Ritchie also made clear his wishes to extend the loan deal until the end of the season. Dagenham announced on 30 December that the player would remain with the club until the end of the current season. His impressive performances saw him rewarded with a new two-year deal at Portsmouth, and their Young Player of the Season Award.
Loan to Notts County
On 28 July 2009, it was reported that
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
, were in talks with
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...
over a six-figure fee for his services, believed to be £100,000. On 1 September 2009, Ritchie signed on loan until 31 December, although County wanted to extend his loan deal.
Loan to Swindon and permanent basis
After
Danny Wilson failed to secure Ritchie's services on a permanent deal during the transfer window, it was announced on 11 February 2010 that
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
had signed the midfielder on loan for the remainder of the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
. He made his debut on 23 February against
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
after coming on for
Danny Ward Daniel Ward may refer to:
*Daniel Ward (boxer) (born 1963), South African boxer of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s
*Daniel Ward (footballer) (born 1977), former Australian rules footballer with Melbourne Football Club
* Daniel P. Ward (1918–1995), Ame ...
after 25 minutes.
After making a brief appearance for Pompey on 4 October, Ritchie was loaned again to Swindon Town, on a one-month deal. Two weeks later the deal was extended to two months.
On 7 January 2011, Swindon Town signed Ritchie on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He added to his tally with goals against
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
in a 3–2 loss, a 4–1 loss to
Southampton
Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
, a 1–1 draw with
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded in 1908 as Hartl ...
and a 2–1 loss against Notts County. Despite Swindon Town being relegated to League Two, Ritchie was named the Robins' Player of the Season.
Under manager
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forwar ...
in League Two, he retained his first team place in the starting eleven and scoring form with ten goals that season. During the season, Ritchie was linked with League One clubs, with the likes of Bournemouth interested in signing the player. After Bournemouth's bid for him was rejected, manager Di Canio said that he was worth about £2 million.
In March, he won the Football League Two Player of the Year for 2012. With teammate
Paul Caddis he was named in the PFA League Two Team of the Year.
Ahead of a new season in League One, Swindon turned down a £900,000 offer from a League One club for Ritchie, insisting he would be sold for £2.5 million. Shortly afterwards he signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2014.
AFC Bournemouth
On 30 January 2013, Ritchie signed for Bournemouth on a three-and-a-half-year deal for £400,000. After leaving Swindon Town, he said that he was surprised to leave the club and that he had left with a "heavy heart". However, Di Canio claimed that the club sold Ritchie behind his back.
He made his debut on 2 February in a 3–0 win over
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. Th ...
. Ritchie scored his first goal for his new team on 23 March in a 4–1 win over
Bury. That win was the first of an eight match run of successive wins, including a brace for Ritchie in a 3–1 victory over
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
, that culminated in clinching promotion to the Championship.
He was a key performer for Bournemouth during the 2014–15 season. His form helped the side to top the Championship and won him international recognition with
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. By April, he had scored 11 goals and provided 13 assists for his team. Ritchie's form saw him voted the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
's best player in a poll by ''
FourFourTwo
''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2.
In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had e ...
'' magazine.
On 19 September 2015, he scored his first ever goal in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, coming on for Bournemouth in a 2–0 home win against
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. On 25 October 2015, Ritchie scored his team's only goal of the game after just one minute, in Bournemouth's 5–1 drubbing by
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
.
Newcastle United
On 1 July 2016, Ritchie signed a five-year contract with newly relegated
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...
, becoming the third signing under manager
Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton.
Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...
.
He made his debut for the club in a 1–0 loss to
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...
, playing the full 90 minutes. His first goal, a penalty, came two matches later in a 4–1 win over
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. From then on, Ritchie would become the club's designated penalty taker and had a 100% success rate in all competitions, converting from the spot five times. He was involved in two penalty related incidents over the course of the season. On 25 October, he refused to hand the ball to
Aleksandar Mitrović, tucking it under his shirt, before scoring the third goal in a 6–0 win over
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...
. On 5 April 2017, against
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home gro ...
, Ritchie scored a penalty, but it was not awarded due to encroachment by
Dwight Gayle. However, referee
Keith Stroud
Keith Paul Stroud (born 12 August 1969
: the Football League official ...
awarded a direct free kick to Burton, rather than allowing Ritchie to retake the penalty. Ultimately, it did not matter as he scored the winner anyway, to keep Newcastle in the promotion hunt. Ritchie's season was ended by suspension, when he argued with a match official after a home draw with
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
. Ritchie scored sixteen goals in all competitions, with only Gayle having netted more than the Scotsman.
On 26 August, Ritchie assisted
Ciaran Clark
Ciaran Clark (born 26 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a central defender, central midfielder and left-back for Championship club Sheffield United, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United and the Republic of ...
for the second goal of the match, as Newcastle got their first win of the season, beating
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...
3–0. He was then credited with the assists for the goals scored by
Jamaal Lascelles
Jamaal Lascelles ( ; born 11 November 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and captains club Newcastle United. Lascelles previously played for Nottingham Forest, where he was developed through its youth acad ...
and
Christian Atsu
Christian Atsu Twasam (10 January 1992 – ) was a Ghanaian professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, although he was also deployed as an attacking midfielder or left back.
Atsu began his career with Porto, also spending a seas ...
in wins over
Swansea City
Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ...
and
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...
. On 28 November, he assisted both Newcastle goals from set-pieces in a 2–2 draw with
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...
. In the second half of the season, Ritchie scored three times, all in home wins over
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
,
Southampton
Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
and
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
.
On 11 August 2018, Ritchie set up
Joselu for the equaliser, in a 2–1 home loss to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
. He was taken off in the second half, much to his disapproval; his emotional outburst on the bench was captured on television cameras.
In August 2019, he injured his ankle and was expected to be out of action for two months.
In 2019–20, Ritchie celebrated goals by assertively kicking the corner flag.
[ On 18 January 2020, while celebrating ]Isaac Hayden
Isaac Scott Hayden (born 22 March 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Standard Liège on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United.
Hayden is a product of Arsenal's ...
's match winning injury time goal against Chelsea, Ritchie, following tradition, kicked a corner flag and the flag landed into a fans groin.
International career
Under FIFA eligibility rules
As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised internation ...
, Ritchie was eligible for the national teams of England, where he was born and raised, and Scotland, his father's native land. On 16 March 2015, he was called up to the Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...
for a friendly against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
and a UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
qualifier against Gibraltar. Ritchie made his debut against Northern Ireland on 25 March at Hampden Park
Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
, and took the 85th-minute corner which set up Christophe Berra's header for the only goal of the game. On 5 June he scored his first international goal, a 20-yard strike which was the only goal of a friendly victory over Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
at Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-large ...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. His second goal came in a European Championship qualifier against Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
at Hampden Park on 8 October 2015, for which he won "Goal of the Year" award from the Scottish FA
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
.
After being involved consistently for Scotland until the end of 2016, Ritchie withdrew from several subsequent squads due to injuries – either unable to play at all, precautions over recurrence or having to rest during international breaks to improve his condition – appearing just once in 2017 and once in 2018. In November 2018, he requested not to be considered for selection for the 'foreseeable future' for reasons not disclosed by Scotland manager Alex McLeish
Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
International goals
:''As of match played 29 March 2016. Scotland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ritchie goal.''[
]
Honours
Swindon Town
*Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...
: 2011–12
AFC Bournemouth
*Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
: 2014–15
Newcastle United
*EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
: 2016–17
*EFL Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...
runner-up: 2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
Individual
* Football League Two Player of the Year: 2011–12
* Football League One Player of the Year: 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
*PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...
: 2011–12 League Two,[ 2012–13 League One 2014–15 Championship
* SFWA International Player of the Year: 2015–16]
* North-East FWA Player of the Year: 2017
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Matt
1989 births
Living people
People from Gosport
English footballers
Scottish footballers
Scotland international footballers
Association football wingers
Portsmouth F.C. players
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players
Notts County F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
AFC Bournemouth players
Newcastle United F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
English people of Scottish descent