OPINION
The fall out from Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Leicester City was much worse than the actual result on the night. The Magpies crashed out of the cup after losing on penalties after Steve Bruce made a number of changes to the side that picked up all three points against Tottenham. One player who did stay in the side but in a different role was Matt Ritchie. Usually deployed as a left wing-back, the Scotsman was pushed further up the pitch by Bruce but was forced off after a rash tackle by Hamza Choudhary, and it was confirmed by the manager as quoted by Sky Sports, that the experienced wide-man will be out for two months with ankle ligament damage. Ritchie has been vital over the past couple of seasons, impressing in defence – averaging 1.7 interceptions and two tackles per game this season, as well as completing 2.3 key passes per outing, according to WhoScored. Ritchie will be a big miss for Newcastle, and many of their fans agreed when reacting to the news, with one even saying, “announce relegation.”
NothingButNewcastle have picked out some of the best reactions below:
