Ritchie can bring the best out of Tokelo

There was a big cheer at Dean Court when Matt Ritchie stepped back onto the pitch last Saturday. It was his first taste of the Championship and he had to come into a game against one of the better teams at home. That Matt performed well in the half hour he had should perhaps not be a surprise given his talent and skill, but I hope the fans are patient with him because he will take time to adjust to the league and he could spur on others like Tokelo.

While most fans seem to feel that Ritchie played amazingly when he came on I still would have liked to see him getting in the box himself a little more. His crossing is excellent and he does have a flare that few other players in the team have, like the outrageous back heel he did to set Simon Francis on his way down the line, shortly after coming on in the Derby game.

If Ritchie, Pugh, Coulibaly and Fraser are available to Howe then the wing positions will suddenly become one of the strong areas for AFCB after being down to the bare bones for so long. The need for AFCB for Ritchie to have a good run in the team is very evident and it is something that us fans have been waiting for. The only reservation I have is that Ritchie does not over do it too soon and builds his performances. We also need to let him settle back into the team.

There was quite a heated debate on Twitter yesterday among a couple of readers of Cherry Chimes as to whether Grabban and Tokelo were the best striking combination to play up front? I don't yet feel that Tokelo has had the team playing to his strengths and with Ritchie in the team I expect him to feed Tokelo the ball more often. Rantie makes a lot of runs during a game and it will be key to see how he and Grabban perform with Ritchie. This game is about combinations and I believe Eddie Howe has finally got the front two and two wingers that he always wanted to start games with this season. Eddie always wanted to play a set way and I hope that Ritchie can bring the best out of other players like Rantie.

Talent on show: Ritchie could bring the best out of Rantie.