Ritchie Humphreys - Hartlepool United

Hartlepool United

Hartlepool United manager Chris Turner then offered Humphreys the chance to train with the club. Shortly after Humphreys signed a new contract with the club, much to the dismay of Cambridge fans who wanted him to stay and described him as "a big loss". Humphreys started the 2001–02 season partnering Kevin Henderson up front for the first 9 league games. However after a bad run Humphreys was dropped and replaced by new signing Gordon Watson. However, Humphreys would force his way back into the team and replace Henderson to partner Watson instead, these two players were already familiar with each other from their days at Sheffield Wednesday. Despite not scoring many goals Hartlepool manager Chris Turner was pleased with his performances. Humphreys was then moved into central midfield due to the injury of Tommy Widdrington and after impressing played there for the remainder of the season. Humphreys' first season at the club would end in disappointment as he missed the decisive penalty in the play-off semi final defeat to Cheltenham Town, which cost Hartlepool a place in Division Two. The penalty struck the woodwork twice and stayed out. Humphreys' miss would send him to tears and he was photographed by Frank Reid, a photograph that would prove to be one of the most memorable images of Reid and Humphreys' career. After his miss Humphreys was devastated but he was cheered up by Chris Turner and the players who rang him and told him to keep his head up. Humphreys also received lots of letters of support from the Hartlepool fans.

When Humphreys returned to pre-season training for the following season, he was playfully teased over his penalty miss. Humphreys took the motto "that anything that doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger" and was determined to come back stronger. Humphreys started the 2002–03 season with a goal against Carlisle on the opening day of the season. Throughout the course of the season, Humphreys would be played prominently as a left winger. Humphreys finished the season as an ever present in the Hartlepool squad, adding 11 goals to his name in the process and helped Hartlepool gain promotion to Division 2. His performances won him the Player of the Season award from the supporters. During this season it was revealed that Humphreys had been writing a diary, which he published and named it "From Tears to Cheers", in reference to his tears at Cheltenham.

The following two seasons once again saw Humphreys as an ever-present in the Hartlepool side under new manager Neale Cooper. In the 2003–04 season, Hartlepool once again made the play-offs, only to go out after conceding two last minute goals to Bristol City, a memory which Humphreys described as more painful than Cheltenham. Due to the injuries of Michael Barron, Humphreys began regularly captaining the side.

In the 2004–05 season, Humphreys helped Hartlepool once again make the play-offs. During the play-off semi-final against Tranmere, Humphreys had the task of taking a penalty for Hartlepool in sudden death. This was the first time Humphreys had taken a penalty since his crucial miss at Cheltenham. This time he scored and sent Hartlepool through to the play-off final against his old club Sheffield Wednesday. This helped to erase the memories of Cheltenham. However, Hartlepool lost the play-off final to Sheffield Wednesday. Humphreys believes that of all the play-off defeats he has suffered that the controversial loss to Wednesday was the hardest to take. Before the end of the season Humphreys extended his contract by a further two years.

The following season, 2005–06, saw Humphreys become the first player to make 200 consecutive league appearances for Hartlepool. For this season Humphreys' moved to left back due to Hugh Robertson being injured. Unfortunately Hartlepool and Humphreys suffered relegation. Despite this Humphreys was named the Supporters and Players' Player of the Season as well as the North East Football Awards Football League Player of the Season.

For the 2006–07 season, Danny Wilson was appointed the new manager, Wilson had previously managed Humphreys at Sheffield Wednesday. On 22 August 2006, Humphreys was dropped for Hartlepool’s match against Hereford United. After making 230 consecutive appearances, this was the first time Humphreys had not played since October 2001. Shortly after that match, Humphreys joined Port Vale on a month's loan. This was the third time that Danny Wilson had loaned Humphreys out during his career, the only times Humphreys had ever been loaned out. Port Vale tried to extend Humphreys' loan deal by at least another month, but Hartlepool refused and Humphreys returned. Humphreys later stated that he had no intentions of leaving Hartlepool.

After a bad start to the season, Hartlepool were struggling near the lower reaches of the table. However, this changed against Accrington Stanley when Humphreys scored a spectacular last minute winner. This sent Hartlepool on 23 match unbeaten streak. During that streak, Humphreys scored another spectacular goal against Walsall to give Hartlepool the lead in a victory that sent them into second place. Hartlepool would remain in the top two for the remainder of the season and secured promotion, narrowly missing out on the title. Humphreys performances earned him a place in the League Two PFA Team of the Year. Humphreys was also awarded the Monkey Business Achievement Award for this contribution to the season, and had a street in Hartlepool named after him. However these awards proved small in comparison to when Humphreys was honoured by the Queen for making a "significant contribution to local and national life" earlier on in the season.

At the end of the 2007–08 season, Humphreys was voted Player of the Year, Player of the 2000s and Hartlepool United's Player of the Century. He continued to be a key player in 2008–09, making a total of 54 appearances. He was a key figure once again in the 2009–10 season, missing just nine games as a central midfielder. On 26 February 2011, Humphreys replaced Joe Gamble after 82 minutes to play his 473rd game for "Pools". This broke the record previously held by Watty Moore for over half a century. Over the course of the 2010–11 season he played 29 games. On 2 August 2011, Humphreys was given a testimonial game against Premier League Sunderland to mark his ten years at Hartlepool United. Sunderland won 3–1, though the 5,757 fans present at the Victoria Park were reported to be very vocal in their appreciation of the veteran player. On 7 January 2012, Humphreys replaced Luke James 90 minutes into a 2–0 win over Rochdale to make his 500th appearance for "Pools". He signed an "undisclosed extension to his contract" in May 2012. He made 33 appearances in the 2012–13 campaign, as Hartlepool were relegated into League Two.