Ritchie is just a very limited player, looks good in the championship but he’s not PL calibre......that’s why Bournemouth let him go.
Seems to get out of position more but then that is probably because the system has gone to **** and we are playing higher up the pitch and leaving ourselves vulnerable to the counter attack. Could do with a rest but who are you going to replace him with? Maybe bring Aarons in for a game but I'm guessing he's injured again since he wasn't on the bench today?
Chronicle reckon Rafa was screaming at Ritchie about 20 mins in because he wasn't tracking back enough and left huge gaps to counter attack on four occasions. He subbed yhim aswell which seems to be a sign his patience is wearing thin with him. Like you say there's not alot of options, but if we have two wingers who are capable of tracking back in Murphy and Atsu it may be worth a go to retain some kind of defensive shape. Wish Ritchie would be tried at AM so his renegade runs won't be as catastrophic, but he probably doesn't have the right brain for that position. Everyone knows I'm up Rafa's arse but this Aarons thing is pissing me off. He comes in and produces more positivity in 10 mins than a full 45 from Murphy generally but just doesn't seem to be favoured at all, don't get it.
I just don't understand Rafa's attitude. Even if he carries petty feuds surely he'd be better off just saying "fine, you think you can do better Aarons/Mitro/Mbemba, here's your chance". What he's doing gives him everything to lose, what he could try gives him everything to gain. It's beyond any comprehension my tiny mind can conjure up. I personally think we'd be better off with Aarons and Atsu and NO no.10. We just don't have the players. However, if we did insist on doing it yet again, I'd go with Murphy there. I think he's useful in the middle and its not an alien position to him. Atsu/Aarons are comfortable on the flanks, Murphy comes central quite a lot anyway. Whatever the situation, Ritchie is pi$$-poor and needs some time out - but we've all said that about the likes of Joselu, Manquillo, Perez, Diame yet they all keep playing more often than those who we all think could make a difference. Either way persevering with this dogsh!t is stupid.
I'm a big fan of Rafa's and he's definitely the right man to take us forward but we really to get back to a solid system and make ourselves hard to beat again. He'll sort it out but I just hope it's not going to take him too long for the penny to drop.
Ritchie has had a dip in form. As soon as he has the Yedlin issue has been exposed. I like Ritchie though overall. Good squad player. Problem is he is expected to carry us. He’s not good enough to do that in the PL. Murphy needs time and is not wholly convincing yet, Aaron’s looks talented but is always injured and Rafa doesn’t seem to rate him, Perez is very limited, Atsu is just half decent. We really lack quality in that attacking midfield area which is so critical in the modern game and certainly with how Rafa plays. To be honest if I was looking at our side I think only Lascelles and Merino stack up. Mbemba, Aarons, Mitrovic all look to have some quality but Rafa isn’t keen on any of them. Ritchie and Clark are solid players. After that I’m struggling a bit. Yedlin is quick but not much else. Manquillo is a complete liability. Dummett lacks quality. Lejeune looks dodgy. Hayden doesn’t really offer much at this level. Shelvey flatters to deceive. Diame is turd. Colback is turd. Gayle is Championship. Joselu is ****e. You look at it and maybe Lewis Gibson was moving no matter what but if we didn’t offer him the left back slot, and didn’t offer Abraham a guaranteed start, you’d have to question why given who we have and how we’ve gone about it.
Think he's only missed maybe one game all season and probably needs a break. The current formation isn't exactly benefitting him either as he's almost having to fill in two positions. If we return to 4-5-1 I think he'll be a lot better
