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It is not the archetypal clip Matt Ritchie has heard the enactment suggesting helium should person been driving Newcastle’s open-top autobus erstwhile the squad paraded the Carabao Cup earlier 300,000 supporters betwixt St James’ Park and the Town Moor. “I’m not definite I could due to the fact that I deliberation it’s a antithetic licence for commercialized use,” helium says, smiling, alluding to the LGV Category C 1 helium obtained successful the past of his 8 seasons astatine the club.
There is nary haulage sideline but alternatively helium and his wife, Emma, who enjoys equestrian and showjumping, took the tests truthful they could thrust a horsebox. “It is casual … you conscionable person to instrumentality the corners a spot wider. I loved doing it due to the fact that it was retired of my comfortableness zone. The mentation trial was the hardest, hazard cognition … determination are tricks successful there. It was similar being a kid again: ‘I privation to get this right.’”
Ritchie passed archetypal clip and this period helium begins different qualification connected much acquainted ground, successful the crippled helium has dedicated his life, enrolling connected the Uefa A licence coaching course. The 35-year-old, whose declaration astatine boyhood nine Portsmouth runs until the extremity of adjacent season, is weighing up which determination helium volition marque erstwhile helium does telephone clip connected a vocation that has taken him from Privett Park, location to his archetypal club, Gosport Borough, to the Premier League. “My imagination present is coming to an end,” helium says. “You person to reinvent yourself. I’m starting to instrumentality the blinkers off, opening my eyes. What tin I learn?”
On a sunny time successful the New Forest, Ritchie is reflecting connected astir 2 decades arsenic a professional, from his debut connected indebtedness astatine Dagenham & Redbridge arsenic a teen and lessons from Paolo Di Canio astatine Swindon to scaling caller heights with Bournemouth nether Eddie Howe, Rafael Benítez’s tactical methods and marvelling astatine Elliot Anderson during seven-a-side astatine Newcastle training. But helium is looking forward, too, his appetite to research caller challenges and antithetic worlds clear.
“I perceive to Chris Voss, the celebrated [FBI] negotiator,” helium says. “It makes you funny and I deliberation if you enactment connected curiosity, you tin grow. We tin each speech astir doing this and that, but you person to instrumentality action.”
Ritchie is reasoning astir absorption but, for now, it is tiny steps, occasionally coaching Bournemouth’s under-15s and under-16s. Ten years agone this period Ritchie enjoyed 1 of his top days with Bournemouth, winning promotion to the apical formation arsenic champions. Ritchie jests helium needs 10 days to sermon what helium learned from playing nether Howe astatine Bournemouth and, much recently, Newcastle, comparing the mode helium has developed scores of players to pruning roses.
Ritchie has witnessed first-hand the hours Howe and his coaches person invested down the years. “I travelled backmost and distant from Newcastle to Bournemouth with JT [Jason Tindall] and Purchey [Stephen Purches] for 2 years. You’d get connected the plane: they’d beryllium connected the laptop. In the airport, connected the laptop, phone. ‘Have you seen this, Purch?’ You can’t power off. They are perpetually reasoning astir the adjacent game. ‘How tin we improve?’ I americium thankful for those experiences, I’ve sucked it each up. It has fixed maine a representation of what absorption mightiness look like.”
Ritchie remembers a squad gathering successful which Howe stated his tendency to triumph silverware. “We stayed up [in 2021-22] and the adjacent season, anterior to the archetypal League Cup game, helium said: ‘I don’t cognize however you’ve treated this contention before, but we’re present to win. There whitethorn beryllium rotation, but I judge we tin win.’ We got to the last [in 2023], mislaid connected penalties to Chelsea [in 2024], and past this year, they won it. The travel to winning started successful 2021, due to the fact that helium changed the mentality of the radical to say: it is unacceptable for this club, due to the fact that we were knocked retired successful the 2nd circular successful 4 of the erstwhile 5 years. It was axenic leadership. What I emotion astir him is that the sky’s the limit.
“I person loved seeing the occurrence helium and the nine has had, winning the Cup. He is simply a leader successful Newcastle for ever. I cognize however Sir Bobby Robson is thought of successful Newcastle. After a week there, I was like: ‘Wow, they emotion Sir Bobby here.’ After a year, I understood it was much than love. Eddie Howe will, successful my opinion, beryllium up determination with Sir Bobby Robson, and deservedly so. Newcastle were successful a existent pickle erstwhile the gaffer came in. He and his unit created this synergy: it’s america against the satellite and unneurotic thing is possible, which is the nine motto astatine Bournemouth.”
Ritchie tin vouch for that. He acknowledges Di Canio is simply a much Marmite quality but looks backmost fondly connected his clip with the Italian; adjacent 54 consecutive days of treble oregon triple sessions successful pre-season but, particularly, his attack to nutrition. Di Canio banned butter, sauces, sugary drinks – and crystal cubes, to minimise the dispersed of bacteria. “He made maine alert that if you privation to beryllium a apical player, you request to cognize what you’re eating and wherefore you’re eating it. It made maine inquisitive … truthful alternatively than eating Skittles connected the mode to a game, I changed to having a vessel of porridge. He got maine arsenic acceptable arsenic I’ve ever been. I didn’t cognize my assemblage could propulsion itself truthful far. Without that acquisition and the pre-season I had with Paolo Di Canio, I wouldn’t person had the vocation I’ve had.”
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Ritchie ever wanted to instrumentality to Portsmouth. He made his Premier League debut arsenic a substitute successful 2010, astatine the extremity of a play successful which they entered administration. “The emotion of playing astatine Fratton Park was thing I ne'er truly conquered, due to the fact that I played with truthful overmuch fearfulness erstwhile I was there,” helium says of his archetypal spell, recalling a League Cup location decision by Leicester.
“I retrieve the infinitesimal similar yesterday. I chopped inside, close foot, and I should’ve taken different interaction and I would’ve been wrong the 18-yard box. But I changeable from astir 22 yards … I thought: ‘What americium I doing?’ If that was successful a youth-team crippled oregon connected indebtedness astatine Dagenham, you would’ve driven astatine the defender, got successful the box.’ But I tensed up. I consciousness passionate astir passing that connected to young players. I was surviving my imagination and I didn’t afloat grasp it. You don’t lose, you larn – a celebrated Simon Weatherstone, ‘Tinners’ [Newcastle first-team coach] saying – and it’s truthful true.”
Ritchie was Portsmouth skipper erstwhile they secured their Championship status connected Easter Monday, his nine-year-old son, Harry, and six-year-old daughter, Olivia, walking retired with him arsenic mascots. A longtime friend, a Pompey fan, messaged Ritchie expressing pridefulness successful the travel of a lad who ever bled blue.
“It made maine instrumentality a measurement backmost and think: ‘You cognize what? He’s right.’ Imagine if idiosyncratic had said to maine astatine 16, erstwhile I was grooming with the archetypal squad – with Papa Bouba Diop, Kevin-Prince Boateng, David James, Sol Campbell, these players I grew up watching – that 1 time you’re going to beryllium the skipper astatine Fratton Park and having what is regarded arsenic comparative success.”
On his instrumentality to the southbound seashore past summer, his vocation coming afloat circle, helium walked into a loft afloat of aged boots. It is not thing Ritchie volunteers but helium decided to donate respective pairs to Bournemouth’s women’s team, precocious promoted to the 3rd tier. “I surely don’t privation immoderate thanks,” helium says. “Being fixed boots for free, I kept them all. A lad from Gosport, you don’t expect to beryllium fixed anything. If you privation something, you spell and enactment for it. If I tin springiness a small backmost to the crippled that has fixed maine truthful much, it’s the slightest I tin do. I’m truly thankful for each of the experiences I’ve had – I’ve travelled the satellite playing the crippled I love.”
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