Matt Ritchie
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Ritchie
Date of birth	10 September 1989 (1989-09-10) (age 20)
Place of birth	Gosport, England
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Notts County (on loan from Portsmouth F.C.)
Number	3
Youth career
2002–2008	Portsmouth
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2008– 2008–2009 2009–	Portsmouth → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) → Notts County	00 0(0) 39 (11) 13 0(3)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:40, 29 November 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Matt Ritchie (born 10 September 1989) is a English football player, who plays for Notts County via Portsmouth. A youth academy graduate of Portsmouth, Ritchie is a left-sided winger who occasionally plays in a more central attacking midfield role.

Contents 1 Career 2 Club career statistics 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Career

Ritchie has been involved in Portsmouth's academy since he turned 13. Before-hand he was playing football locally in Gosport. After signing his first professional contract with the club,^[1] and a positive 2008–09 pre-season campaign, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over hometown club Gosport Borough,^[2] Ritchie was taken on trial alongside fellow academy graduate Joel Ward by Bournemouth with a view to a loan move to help give the youngsters important first-team experience in league football. Ritchie was however kept at Portsmouth following a number of injuries to first-team midfielders. He was called up to Portsmouth's UEFA Cup squad as a home-grown talent and presented with the squad number 36. 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.^[3] He made his Football League debut against Rotherham United on the 27 September 2008, coming on as a late substitute.^[4] He scored on his first competitive start for the Daggers in a 2–0 win over Rochdale.^[5] He scored again in his next match, a 2–0 win over Barnet.^[6]

Daggers boss John Still has been hugely impressed with Ritchie's initial impact at the club. Speaking after the match against Barnet, Still had to say: "He's got a terrific leap. He showed that with his goal. He's come in and done very well. [He's] such a knob jockey. [The] Nicest kid in the world. Come down from a Premier League club. No big time about him. Harry Redknapp and Paul Hart speak ever so well of him. It's a pleasure to have him. He's got a smile on his face in training and loves being here."

Still has also made it clear he wishes to extend the loan deal of Ritchie until later on in the season.^[7] Dagenham announced on 30 December that Ritchie would remain with the club until the end of the current season. ^[8] His impressive performances have seen him rewarded with a new two-year deal at Portsmouth,^[9] and their young player of the Season Award.

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. On 1 September 2009, he signed on a loan deal until 31 December. ^[10]

[edit] Club career statistics

(correct as of 05 September 2009)^[11]

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Portsmouth	2008–09	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dagenham & Redbridge (loan)	2008–09	37	11	7	3	1	1	0	0	0	40	12	8
Portsmouth	2009–10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Notts County (loan)	2009–10	13	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	6	2	0
Career total		50	14	7	5	1	1	0	0	0	55	15	8

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Statistics at Soccerbase.com

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