Matt Ritchie

Matt Ritchie

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Thomas Ritchie[1]
Date of birth	10 September 1989[2]
Place of birth	Gosport, England
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Playing position	Right winger
Club information
Current team	Bournemouth
Number	30
Youth career
2002–2008	Portsmouth
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2008–2011	Portsmouth	7	(0)
2008–2009	→ Dagenham & Redbridge (loan)	37	(11)
2009–2010	→ Notts County (loan)	16	(3)
2010–2011	→ Swindon Town (loan)	16	(3)
2011–2013	Swindon Town	91	(23)
2013–	Bournemouth	118	(30)
National team^‡
2015–	Scotland	8	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 February 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:30, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

Matthew Thomas "Matt" Ritchie (born 10 September 1989) is a Scottish international footballer who plays for Premier league club Bournemouth as a right winger. He previously played for Portsmouth and Swindon Town before joining Bournemouth in 2013.

Born and raised in England, Ritchie qualified to play for Scotland through his Scottish father. He made his senior international debut on 25 March 2015 against Northern Ireland.

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.^[3] After signing his first professional contract with the club,^[4] and a positive 2008–09 pre-season campaign, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over hometown club Gosport Borough,^[5] After the match, Ritchie said scoring a hat-trick was 'unreal'.^[3]

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 loss at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur after making four appearances for Swindon. On 14 April, Ritchie made his debut for Portsmouth in the Premier League game at Wigan Athletic. He played 79 minutes but was then substituted for Frédéric Piquionne. After the match, Ritchie admits making his Portsmouth debut was a dream come true.^[6] At the end of the season, with Portsmouth's relegation from the Premier League, Ritchie signed a new two-year deal.^[7]

For the 2010–11 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.^[8] However, Ritchie soon found himself out of the Portsmouth line-up and, with the club having disbanded its reserve team, manager Steve Cotterill agreed to loan out the player for fitness reasons.^[9]

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 club Dagenham & Redbridge.^[10] He made his Football League debut against Rotherham United on 27 September 2008, coming on as a late substitute.^[11] He scored on his first competitive start for the Daggers in a 2–0 win over Rochdale.^[12] He scored again in his next match, a 2–0 win over Barnet.^[13]

Still has also made it clear he wishes to extend the loan deal of Ritchie until later on in the season.^[14] Dagenham announced on 30 December that Ritchie would remain with the club until the end of the current season.^[15] His impressive performances have seen him rewarded with a new two-year deal at Portsmouth,^[16] and their young player of the Season Award.^[17]

Loan to Notts County

On 28 July 2009, it was reported that Notts County, were on talks with Portsmouth over a six-figure fee for his services, believed to be £100,000.^[18] On 1 September 2009, he signed on a loan deal until 31 December.^[19] Though want to extend his loan deal,^[20]

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 had signed the midfielder on loan for the remainder of the season.^[21] He made his debut on 23 February against Stockport County after coming on for Danny Ward after 25 minutes.^[22]

After making brief appearance at Pompey and on 4 October, Ritchie was loaned again to Swindon Town, on a one-month deal.^[23] Two weeks later the deal was extended to two months.^[24]

On 7 January 2011, Swindon Town signed Ritchie on a two-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee. Ritchie added to his tally with the goal 2010–11 season against Bournemouth again in a 3–2 loss, 4–1 loss against Southampton, 1–1 draw against Hartlepool United and 2–1 loss against Notts County. Despite Swindon Town relegation to League Two, Ritchie was named the Robins' player of the season.^[25]

Under manager Paolo Di Canio in League Two, Ritchie retained his first team place in the starting eleven and scoring form with ten goals this season. During the season, Ritchie was linked with clubs in League One, with the likes of AFC Bournemouth.^[26] After Bournemouth's bid for Ritchie was rejected, manager Di Canio said that Ritchie was worth about £2 million.^[27] In March, He won the Football League Two player of the year for 2012.^[28] With team-mate Paul Caddis he was named PFA League Two Team of the Year.^[29]

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.^[30] Shortly after, Richie signed a new contract, keeping him until 2014.^[31]

Bournemouth

On 30 January 2013, Ritchie signed for Bournemouth on a three-and-a-half year deal for £400,000.^[32][33] After leaving Swindon Town, Ritchie said he was surprised to leave the club and he had left with a "heavy heart".^[34] However, Di Canio claims that the club sold Ritchie behind his back.^[35]

He made his debut on 2 February in a 3–0 win over MK Dons. He 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, that culminated in clinching promotion to the Championship.^[36][37]

Ritchie was key performer for Bournemouth during 2014–15. His form helped the side to top place in the Championship and won him international recognition with Scotland. By April, he had scored 11 goals and provided 13 assists for his team. His form saw him voted the Football League's best player in a poll by FourFourTwo magazine.^[38]

On 19 September 2015 Ritchie scored his first ever goal in the Premier League, coming for Bournemouth in a 2–0 win against Sunderland.^[39] On 25 October 2015, Ritchie scored his team's only goal of the game after 1 minute, in Bournemouth's 5–1 drubbing by Tottenham.^[40]

International career

Under FIFA eligibility rules Ritchie was eligible for the national teams of either England, where he was born and raised, or Scotland, his father's native land.^[41] On 16 March 2015, Ritchie was called up to the Scotland national football team for a friendly against Northern Ireland and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar. He made his debut against Northern Ireland on 25 March at Hampden Park, and took the 85th-minute corner which set up Christophe Berra's header for the only goal of the game.^[42] On 5 June he scored his first international goal, a 20-yard strike which was the only goal of a friendly victory over Qatar at Easter Road in Edinburgh.^[43] His second was a European Championship qualifier against Poland at Hampden Park on 8 October 2015, for which he won a "goal of the year" award from the Scottish FA.^[44]

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	5 June 2015	Easter Road, Edinburgh, Scotland	Qatar	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2.	8 October 2015	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Poland	1–1	2–2	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
3.	29 March 2016	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Denmark	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Career statistics

As of 13 February 2016

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Portsmouth	2008–09[45]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2009–10[46]	Premier League	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2010–11[47]	Championship	5	0	0	0	3	0	—		8	0
	Total		7	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	10	0
Dagenham & Redbridge (loan)	2008–09[45]	League Two	37	11	3	1	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	41	12
Notts County (loan)	2009–10[46]	League Two	16	3	2	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	19	3
Swindon Town (loan)	2009–10[46]	League One	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2010–11[47]	League One	12	3	3	1	0	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	17	4
Swindon Town			24	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	4
	2011–12[48]	League Two	40	10	4	1	2	0	6[lower-alpha 1]	0	52	11
	2012–13[36]	League One	27	9	1	0	4	0	0	0	32	9
	Total		160	40	13	3	6	0	10	0	189	43
Bournemouth	2012–13[36]	League One	17	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	3
	2013–14[49]	Championship	30	9	2	0	0	0	—		32	9
	2014–15	Championship	46	15	2	0	3	0	—		51	15
	2015–16	Premier League	25	3	2	0	2	0	—		29	3
	Total		118	30	6	0	5	0	0	0	126	30
Career total			285	68	19	3	14	0	10	0	325	76

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy

Honours

Swindon Town

• Football League Two (1): 2011–12^[50]

Bournemouth

• Football League Championship (1): 2014–15

Individual

• League Two Player of the Year (1): 2011–12^[51]
• League One Player of the Year (1): 2012–13^[52]
• PFA League Two Team of the Year (1): 2011–12^[53]

References

1. "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
2. "Premier League Player Profile Matt Ritchie". Barclays Premier League. 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
3. "Ritchie in dream land". Portsmouth News. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
4. "Portsmouth Football Club :: News". Portsmouthfc.co.uk. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
5. "Sky Sports | Football | News | Pompey see off Gosport". Skysports.com. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
6. "Ritchie: It was a dream come true". Portsmouth News. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
7. "Ritchie set for Pompey stay". Sky Sports. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
8. Coventry 2 – 0 Portsmouth
9. Cotterill: Ritchie has a Blues future
10. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Dagenham & Redbridge | Daggers bring in Ritchie on loan". News.bbc.co.uk. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
11. "BBC SPORT | Football | League Two | Dag & Red 1–1 Rotherham". News.bbc.co.uk. 27 September 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
12. "BBC SPORT | Football | League Two | Rochdale 0–2 Dag & Red". News.bbc.co.uk. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
13. "BBC SPORT | Football | League Two | Dag & Red 2–0 Barnet". News.bbc.co.uk. 10 October 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
14. "Daggers boss keen on Ritchie stay". Teamtalk.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
15. "Daggers extend Ritchie loan spell". BBC News. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
16. "Pompey offer Ritchie new deal". Sky Sports. 1 May 2009.
17. "Hat-trick of honours for Johnson". Portsmouth News. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
18. "Magpies plan Ritchie raid". Sky Sports. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
19. "Magpies swoop for Ritchie". Sky Sports. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
20. "Ritchie wants Magpies stay". Sky Sports. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
21. Town land Ritchie
22. "Swindon 4–1 Stockport". BBC News. 23 February 2010.
23. Ritchie loaned to Swindon
24. Portsmouth winger Matt Ritchie extends Swindon loan
25. "Matt Ritchie wins Swindon Town's player of the year". BBC Sport. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
26. "Bournemouth fail in bid for Swindon Town's Matt Ritchie". BBC Sport. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
27. "Di Canio puts £2m price tag on Swindon Town's Ritchie". BBC Sport. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
28. "Ritchie scoops League Two honour". Portsmouth News. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
29. "Robins duo earn PFA recognition". Sky Sports. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
30. "Swindon Town turn down new bid for Matt Ritchie". BBC Sport. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
31. "Matt Ritchie signs Swindon Town contract extension". BBC Sport. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
32. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21265257
33. "League One: Bournemouth have signed winger Matt Ritchie from Swindon" Sky Sports. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
34. "Matt Ritchie: Swindon exit saddens Bournemouth winger". BBC Sport. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
35. "Paolo Di Canio: Swindon Town manager 'considers future'". BBC Sport. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
36. "Games played by Matt Ritchie in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
37. Mitchener, Mark (20 April 2013). "Bournemouth 3 – 1 Carlisle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
38. Cusick, Aiden (1 April 2015). "Bournemouth's Matt Ritchie Tops Four Four Two's Football League Top 50 Poll". 90 Minutes. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
39. "Bournemouth 2–0 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
40. "Bournemouth 1–5 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
41. "Matt Ritchie: Bournemouth winger's joy at Scotland call-up". BBC. 16 March 2015.
42. "Scotland 1–0 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
43. Lamont, Alasdair (5 June 2015). "Scotland 1–0 Qatar". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
44. "AFC Bournemouth's Matt Ritchie wins Scotland Goal of the Year from Scottish FA". Daily Echo. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
45. "Games played by Matt Ritchie in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
46. "Games played by Matt Ritchie in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
47. "Games played by Matt Ritchie in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
48. "Games played by Matt Ritchie in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
49. "Games played by Matt Ritchie in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
50. "AFC Bournemouth: Matt Ritchie deal is sign of club's ambition says Neill Blake". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
51. "Matt Ritchie: Bournemouth sign Swindon Town winger". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
52. "Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie named League One Player of the Year". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
53. "Robin van Persie named PFA Player of the Year as Tottenham's Kyle Walker scoops young player gong". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2015.

External links

• Matt Ritchie career statistics at Soccerbase