Ritchie reckons Ryan will find Canadian club very much to his liking
Ryan Gauld has lived with hype and expectation since his teens.
That’s just as well as he begins a new adventure at Vancouver Whitecaps.
Gauld was dubbed “Mini Messi” seven years ago when moving from Dundee United to Sporting Lisbon.
Now he’s “The Perfect
10” that his needy new club has long been searching for, according to former Whitecaps assistant manager, Paul Ritchie.
The ex-hearts and Scotland defender admits he’s surprised by the swoop that took playmaker Gauld from relegated Farense in Portugal to big money in British Colombia.
Ritchie explained: “The Whitecaps ownership group doesn’t often spend a lot of money above their salary cap, so this is a big deal.
“They’ve gone down many different avenues to find this type of creative midfield player – South America, Africa, Central America.
“If Ryan is anything like the player they hope he’s going to be, scores goals and becomes that missing link, then it will be a great place for him to play.
“But he’s not going into a team renowned for keeping possession or winning multiple games.
“This team struggles most weeks. The Whitecaps are one of the poorest teams right now, and there will be high expectations of him and a lot of pressure.
“Ryan is the creative player they’ve been craving but never had, a position they’ve been looking for a number of years to fill – the perfect 10.
“He is a lot more than a luxury player because he works really hard – and he’ll need to.
“Ryan might be the final piece of the jigsaw for their coach, Marc Dos Santos, something they’ve been missing for the last while. “I certainly hope he can be.” The last time Vancouver featured a strong Scottish flavour, Ritchie was assistant to Martin Rennie in 2012 and 2013.
Kenny Miller and Barry Robson brought a veteran presence and Old Firm experience to BC Place.
They qualified for the playoffs in their first year, but failure in the following campaign led to Rennie’s departure.
Whitecaps have only reached the post-season twice since, and currently lie bottom of the Western Conference.
They are well adrift of Johnny Russell’s Sporting KC and Colorado Rapids, who feature ex-rangers defender, Danny Wilson.
Ritchie said: “Ryan is 25 and hopefully coming into his prime. Whitecaps should hopefully get the best out of him.
“The MLS is a really tough league to play in. The quality lifts year on year.
“It’s an athletic, physical league and it’s great to see quality like Ryan playing in it.
“Vancouver is a fantastic city, and the big plus for Ryan is he’s been away from Scotland from a young age so all that experience will hopefully help him settle.
“They’ve been based in Utah for a while because of pandemic rules, but will be back home in a couple of weeks and allowed to play at their own stadium.
“If Ryan does the job, I can see him being a huge fans’ favourite.”