Greg’s Unsuspecting MOTM

Matchday 1 brought us plenty of talking points. A lot of players on Newcastle played well in the first half, not so many played well in the 2nd. But there was only one man, with the diverse skillset, the yelling at teammates, and the ability to not make a lot of mistakes that deserves this award. Matt Ritchie.

All kidding aside, he actually did have a pretty good match. Led the team with 3 key passes and finished with a whoscored rating of 6.42. But the impressive thing is his diversity. Take any winger on the field yesterday and move them to CM and I would argue that Matt Ritchie would be the best at it.

Photo by Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images

Let’s be honest, its not Ritchie’s fault he was put in at CM. He has a manager that doesn’t care for tactics, that’s who is at fault. But what we say from ole Matty boy was entirely new skill sets, tracking back, control the midfield, and he didn’t pull a Jetro Willems.

Matt Ritchie said afterwards that there were a lot of positives to take away from this watch. That’s probably because he discovered he can play in a new position. In a day where a lot could've went wrong, Matt Ritchie is my MOTM because he simply held it together.