Alan Shearer suggested that Newcastle winger Matt Ritchie was probably at home after a fan asked where the player was in the pundit’s latest Premier League Team of the Week.
The Magpies legend revealed his latest Team of the Week simultaneously on his personal Twitter and Instagram accounts and the only member of Rafa Benitez’s side that made the cut was defender Paul Dummett.
This prompted one fan to ask Shearer where Ritchie was, probably due to the fact the 29-year-old scored a stunning goal in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, but the pundit sidestepped a direct answer by issuing a cheeky four-word response.
Presenting @alanshearer's #PL Team of the Week
Do you agree with his selections? ? pic.twitter.com/VTufqiE0yc
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 18, 2019
“Maybe in his house,” responded Shearer on his Instagram.
OPINION
Ritchie scored a goal worthy of any highlight reel against the Cherries, but aside from that did he really do enough to feature in Shearer’s TOTW? Probably not. The midfielder was his usual hard-working self but that wasn’t enough to justify his inclusion. While one fan clearly believes Ritchie rescuing a point at the death against the Cherries should be enough to get him in the Team of the Week, Shearer made the right call. At the end of the day while fans do question Shearer’s selections, that will always be the case as supporters wants to see as many of their own team making the cut. The pundit clearly gets frustrated at his Team of the Week being questioned every week, but he handles it in the best way possible by making cheeky comments. As for Ritchie, if he is able to build on scoring such a feel-good goal after the international break, who knows he may make Shearer’s next TOTW as he certainly has the ability to wow the club legend.