Ritchie de Laet joined Portsmouth on loan in January, after already playing for Preston and Sheffield United on loan this season.
This week he has claimed that he’s really happy with the progress he’s made over the last few months on the south coast.
“This must be my best-ever season because I am playing that many games,” he said. “I’ve been playing here for 18 games in a row now and I’m enjoying it. I need the experience to get into that first-team squad of Manchester United, that is my plan. Portsmouth is giving that to me. I have a lot of big players around me that help me day in, day out in training sessions and in games and that has really benefited me. Being in the Championship, it’s fast and it’s hard for 90 minutes so it’s about trying to keep calm on the ball and when the pressure is on you. I feel I am more comfortable now. The confidence is there so that’s good for me as well. I just try to do my best every game. I am improving all the time and this season has been the best season for me.”
It’s good to see he is full of confidence but how do Portsmouth fans rate his performances?
Mark Allaway from The Offside Portsmouth:
Ritchie De Laet has been one of our many loanee defenders this season and has near enough made the right back slot his own. He’s played all the 18 games we’ve had him on loan for and he’s blended into the Pompey style well by getting forward from the full-back slot. He has made it very clear in the press that he wants his long-term future to be at United but would be willing to come back on loan next year and we’d love to have him back.
Strengths – De Laet is a good defender, but its the blend of defence and attack that brings out the best in him. Though he may not have scored it’s his general contribution to attacks that have seen him go down well with the Fratton Park faithful.
Weaknesses – I certainly wouldn’t say De Laet has been the best defensively of our players this season – but many people believe that is Ricardo Rocha and look what he’s done for us lately… I think many of De Laet’s defensive lapses are through inexperience and he’ll only get better.
Best moment – Hard to pick an outstanding moment but I would go for Ipswich away back in February. During our winning run, confidence was high and we were getting consecutive cleansheets, and Ritchie was a part of that. He also aided the attack and allowed the likes of David Cotterill and Jonathan Hogg to break forward from midfield and run out 2-0 winners.
Potential – Watching the likes of Rafael and Fabio I think De Laet can be a Manchester United full-back of the future based on what he’s shown at Pompey. For a recent signing he is also showing refreshing loyalty and ambition with United, at times he has said he feels ready to play at Old Trafford right now!
Ritchie has come into the side and done very well. He offers pace going forward and combines well with players when attacking from the wing. He has also shown that he has a cool head when defending, opting to pass the ball out of play or let it roll out for a goal kick instead of hoofing it out of play or straight back to the opposition.
I’m not sure if he’ll ever be good enough to become a regular for United as his defensive qualities aren’t what is required for a top Premier League team and he’s not as quick as Rafael either. If the transfer rumours are anything to go by, he could probably do a job in the top division, though, and I’d certainly like to see him back at Fratton Park next year if the loan option is available again.
Man Utd News 24/7
he played a few games for us last season i think, like the look of him seems fast and a decent tackler, with the season evras having just what we need for next yr
I think he’ll be a back up at best (make him the new JOS?), only due to the twins…..
If Paddy continues to play like he did against Newcastle (run and cross for Giggy’s missed sitter aside), Richie can’t come back soon enough.
Hes a RB tho and paddy is a LB !
Should there not be a thread on the FA Youth cup success?? Rather than one player out on loan?
manc_sam
Ritchie plays on either side.
he would still be better than the evra of the last few games, he needs to sort his head out
When did Pompey play Uruguay??
Not sure if Portsmouth fans are a reliable source on the progress of one of our players, hell I’m not even sure I’d trust the word of our fans!!!
agree fully pmcelevey1….. great result for the young lads last night! where is Will Keane from does anyone know? Pogba looks a future star!!
Drop the ‘T” from your first name, mate. It bothers me.
@gaz
will keane is from manchester.. a local lad alongside his brother micheal keane
great striker and he will definitely make it to the big leagues
Will Keane is from Manchester as far as a i know GAZ, if anyone saw the game last night, they saw two future stars in Morrison & Tunnicliffe. The progress Tunnicliffe has made this season has been to use a fergie description “Startling”. I think we could be looking at the new Bryan Robson / Roy Keane here. I know its a big statement, but that boy has everything, G Nev was positively frothing at the mouth watching him.
Im getting pissed off with the continued Evra bashing on here, its not enough we abuse Carrick at every opportunity but now we have started on Paddy.
Paddy has been fucking tremendous for United and plays every single game without rest or injury worries and if anyone deserves support during a period when he may not be at his best then it is him.
He proper gets United and the fans, he knows what it takes to be a United player and even takes time to understand our history.
For suck sake every knocker on here get behind the lads that have delivered for us time and time again. We are top of the league and semi final of the European cup!
even tho pogba didnt have a blinder… i thought he had a very good game.. he set up the first goal… and generally bossed the chelsea players in 50-50 battles.. he is a strong lad and will be ready for the first time within 2 years, same goes for morrision, tunniclife and william keane
p.s
another striker we have is john cofie… he is currently injured but he is a MONSTER… he has loads of pace and can win any ball as he has true pace power grit and aggression… he can score goals for fun also.. he will be a big player for us also.. make sure u guys watch out for him once he returns from injury
fair enough giggs11 i’m more worried by his drop in form than anything else cos hes been the worlds best leftback in my opinion for us these past few seasons, cos hes been so good we notice more when hes playing bad, just the wrong time of the season to be off form
@giggs11gerrard0
Well said fella. Our number 3 is bang on and does not deserve the flack some “fans” give him on here!
I met Ritchie at a Portsmouth news event a couple of weeks ago. Basically it was a suck off David Nugent event until he signs a new contract (the whole night was bollocks) – Ritchie was a nice lad though
well said giggs11gerrard0, totally agree. Evra is having a dip in form, everyone has them
Well said fella. Our number 3 is bang on and does not deserve the flack some “fans” give him on here!
Paddys just tired, needs a rest in the summer and he’ll be fine.
hopefully matt, the world cup debacle must off taken a lot out of him
Yeah. Thought there may be summat on the young lads superb win last night.
lads, youth cup final is two legs? i didnt know that… thats pretty weird :/
Not going to start a Scholes slagging here but its illuminating that given his terrible performance on Saturday followed by a sending off that he has had relatively little stick while Carrick got spades of it.
Giggs11Gerrard0 – Hello mate and spot on . it s fucking piss take. Solid as fuck for four years and he “dares” to dip on form a bit and some are on his case like a rash. However on here lately wth some folk, I have come to expect it.
pmclevey – Yeah mate. Everyone raves about Pogba , who is good, BUT Tunnicliffe is a fucking beast. Hard as nails. Lung bursting runs. Grabs Morrison when he loses it. A real future midfield dynamo . A young Keano.
I think Fabio will be giving him a run for his money in the next year or two if he stays clear of injuries tbh. Age waits for no-one
eah in addition to the Paddy comment good to see him at the game last night with Obertan and Smalling.
King Eric
Hows it going mate! Agree on Tunnicliffe the boy is a class act and the future is bright with this kid.
King Eric yeah mate he has bundles of energy, to think he still has some growing to do makes you think what hel be like then. Yeah i saw him grab morrison last night when he was losing it a little. Good to see. But what a midfield 3, and theyre all different too. Gotta give larnel cole a mention too, a tricky wee customer he is
Think De Laet will always be at least third choice for United, but as someone above said, RLD can replace JOS – if SAF thinks to keep him. It was interesting when we bought him from Stoke without him really proving himself in England.
United Are Just Two Wins From Number 19
http://www.theunitedreligion.com/2011/04/manchester-united-are-just-two-wins.html
cheers lads great to see some local lads coming through! maybe some of them will get some game time in the carling cup next season! great to complete the treble over the Chavs also!
I will agree with Matt. Evra is tired physically and mentally in my opinion. He will back to his best next season. Heck, Irwin was still going strong at 32-33.
Two wins, nah it aint as simple as that I wish it where, it takes us beating both Chelsea and Arsenal ans I’m not sure SAF will set up to go for that as he doesn’t need to and with the EC semis either side of Arsenal then followed by Chelsea, I think your simplistic theory whithers and dies, I hope Im worng and you’re right
simple maths for me regardless of who we play, we need ten points from the last 15 simple as that. Massive game on Saturday against Everton!
good morning King Eric, giggs11gerrard0, mattbw7 and all
king Eric, giggs11gerrard0
Regarding criticizing our own players, we have had lot of fans on both sides, by both sides I mean the clan which criticizes when the team and especially some players are not playing well and the other clan who turns blind eye to most of the negative aspects of the team’s/player’s performance,
whilst both are correct in their own manner, the problem and the thing which I’m not happy about is the constant bullying of each other irrespective of the topic & dishing out abuse
which is happening because some of the fans on both these sides cross the line occasionally and this in turn is making us go blind to valid and logical criticism/praise
as far as criticizing goes, It is a must if there is something genuine to criticize like bad performances or fitness levels or blunders it should be mentioned, but it shouldn’t be on the border of ridiculing the player however average he is and demanding to sell off players as though you are on some gaming console, rather it should confine to the game itself and it should be in such a way that the criticism should end on a positive note that whatever is the issue hope that it gets solved
and for those who mostly can’t see anything negative, when there is something wrong with a player’s/team’s performance it should be brought out and discussed to certain level rather than ignoring it and looking at only positive things, and please stop insulting some of the fans who put out valid criticism and try to put on a healthy debate
the match against everton is huge win that its all good again, not 2 worried about the arse game we should at least draw quite comfortablly with them, as for chelsea the lads should be well up for that seeing as how we jus beat them on their patch for the first time in 8 or 9 yrs
Can’t believe some people are grumbling that there is an article on DeLaet. It’s free – give your head a wobble lads.
Interesting, though; I always called him Ritchie TooLaet watching him at United.
De laet is brown’s replacement
@Ancha
Morning mate, in reply to your post:
I think you are being a tad sensitive there mate, the two camps you have banded is not true as they corss over all the time for things they defend and then things they will criticise.
Im not all positive and have many things to moan about but when I see comments that become a witch hunt against players like Carrick, Berba, and now Evra I like to throw a reality check post in there to say lets support our team, we are top of the league and in the EC semi. At no point was anyone insulted or individually cited it was a very generalised comment. The bullying comment is also a tad niaive as, as much as I have seen posts on here in the past get personal I have not seen anything certanly in this debate for you to warrant such a comment. Last I will add on this matter as I am not going to be made to post to defend posts made by myslef and others such as King Eric and Mattbw7 etc etc
I’m writing a small piece on last nights game if anyone is interested… I’ll post it in a minute.
Have to say looking at last night game, I’m wondering whether we need to spend big in the summer at all.
I hope Tunnicliffe – Pogba – Morrison – Keane – Cole all get a chance next term!
Norm187 says:
hopefully matt, the world cup debacle must off taken a lot out of him
________________________________________________________________________
Yeh. Those two games he played must have killed him.
@kanchelskis i was thinking more of the strike, being branded a national disgrace and dropped from the france team, good to see you keep up with the facts when our players play for their countries
ancha – Hello pal. Read my posts the other night. I have no problem with criticism, I do it myself. What I do not like is “Berbaflop” “Sheasy is shit” cliches coming out after EVERY point dropped. Infact aint heard anyone blame it on Phelan for a while. That was another old chestnut.
Giggs11- Yeah sound mate, looking forward to Everton. Hope you are well.
giggs11 and king Eric
i ain’t blaming you and i never said you guys did that, i’m sorry if the message got conveyed that way
and as far as i have seen in the last few weeks, whenever we have not played well the next 24 hours please observe those posts, there will be lot of what i’m trying to point out in my previous post and that’s the reason i’m not posting during that period and i wish its not that way
otherwise most of the time its an excellent place to be
I fucking love this guy, I don’t really know why. He’s been decent when playing and all that, but I think it’s because it was such a random transfer when he came and he has got an awesome name. Both first and last. It’d be great to see him become a backup at United, I don’t think he’s got it in him to take Rafael’s spot.
But a utility player, fuck yeah. Ctrl+Alt+De Laet ftw.
Norm187
I know exactly what happened mate.
My point is 180 minutes of football doesn’t exhaust you physically, as people saying ‘he needs a break’ seem to be implying.
If he’s got the psychological steel to become a top footballer, he should be able to put an experience like that behind him.
That’s good news. When I started reading that, I feared the Portsmouth fans’ views wouldn’t match up to his own, but it’s good to know he’s doing well.
Not sure he’s slower than Rafael though. His pace struck me most when I saw him play towards the end of the season before last. Rafa’s shorter legs probably make him faster over shorter distances but Ritchie looks like a real sprinter. He’s getting bigger too. Didn’t he play Central as well? Can’t remember. Anyway, a fast, direct and aggressive runner who has great balance. Like the twins, he’s an entertaining defender.
Good to hear he’s doing well.
Noticed young King is taller these days. He was tiny this time last year. All good.
Kanchelskis, its clear that Evra is knackered, I haven’t offered a reason for it but your conjecture is just that and nothing more. Not everyone is superhuman either physically or emotionally and I like your attempt at psychology “If he’s got the psychological steel to become a top footballer, he should be able to put an experience like that behind him” Why, maybe he was pissed at having been made a scapegoat to mask over the ineptitude of the coaching set up in the national team, I haven’t a clue to be honest and neither have you, try getting behind a player who’s suffering for a change.
DeLaet is not outstanding, but he is versatile. Can play across the back four, and would be one to own a place on the bench, if he is satisfied with that. May even do better than JOS as the utility man. He likes to pass and bring the ball up, so he could probably do alright in the midfield role. We don’t have that many defenders when compared to midfielders, so I’d like to see him come back next season.
kanchelskis i agree, but to be fair its just took rooney a yr to get over his ‘problems’ and injury not everyones the same, he prob jus needs the summer off to clear his head abit, with everthing thats happened to him in the last yr i’m not surprised.
Not trying to have a pop at him hes one of our best players and with the run in we need him fit and firing
hammons @ 10:34: “Think De Laet will always be at least third choice for United, but as someone above said, RLD can replace JOS ”
More likely, he’d be a squaddie replacing Wesley Brown.
RyanDunny @ 11:23: “I’m writing a small piece on last nights game if anyone is interested… I’ll post it in a minute. ”
Why are we waiting ? Any video ? – worth a thousand words.
Story from 4-4-2. I see 7-10 1st team players gone through retirement,1st team play, and SAF mixing it up for the next great Man Utd team. Hargo, Neville and VDS gone with Kuzack and Brown as well and who else? Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to cut his losses and sell club-record signing Dimitar Berbatov this summer.
The former Bulgaria international may currently be the top scorer in the Premier League with 21 goals, however, half of those have come against just three teams, while the Scot is said to now favour Javier Hernandez as Wayne Rooney’s first-choice strike partner.
And, with Berbatov having just one year remaining on the four year-deal which he signed when joining the Red Devils from Tottenham Hotspur for £30 million in the summer of 2008, United have decided to cash in on the 30 year come the end of the season, a part of the manager’s job that Ferguson says he has never been afraid to do.
“It’s a horrible thing to say, but you can’t be sentimental in this job,” said Ferguson. “I love the players that I’ve had and I’ve been very, very fortunate to have had great players who have come through my career with me”My job is to manage United, to produce results and I’m no different from any other manager.
“I’ll not be regarded in the same way if I’m not successful. Everything to do with me is black and white.
“If it’s on the football field and I see something that I feel is a retrograde step for the club, I have to act and make decisions, which is something that I have always been good at.
“I can make quick decisions and I am lucky that way. In management, you have to be able to make decisions. Sometimes you’re not right, but that doesn’t concern me too much because the important thing is being able to do it.”
This young group seam to have some world class talent, AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SAF will give them a run in the Carlin Cup, the ones who grab there chance. He is ready to let the young guns run!!!!!
Agree that Paddy is tired, I think he should be given an extra month off. Hes played about 130 games in 2 years.
I think RDL can be a great RB for Utd. Even though Utd got RDS, RDS can be pushed up to winger just like during match against Arsenal for FA Cup (sad didn’t win that). With RDS as a winger n RDL support him on the back, it would be a good combination.