New Deal for Richie Humphreys

By Albatross
May 21 2005

Richie Humphreys, scorer of the crucial penalty against Tranmere and ever-present for the last four seasons, has agreed a new contract with Hartlepool United. Hopefully one or two other key players will also be signing new deals soon....

Humphreys will now stay at Pools for at least one more year, and that will give him the chance to extend a run that has so far seen him play in 184 consecutive League games for Pools. In fact I think the only game he hasn't played a part in during his entire career at Victoria Park is the LDV tie at Tranmere during the Promotion Season when Chris Turner picked a reserve side.

Richie's career at Pools didn't get off to the greatest of starts though. Originally brought in as a striker, he seemed able to do anything but score - it took him until December of the 2001/2 season to finally get off the mark. However a move into the centre of midfield seemed to suit him down to the ground, and when he missed the fateful penalty against Cheltenham there was more than a little sympathy - as much as any player he'd taken us into them in the first place after some inspired performances.

The following season was undoubtedly his best - but it also saw a change of position again. With Paul Smith spending much of the season on the sidelines, Richie spent most of his time out on the left wing - and was absolutely devastating. Our best player that year by some distance, he was a nightmare for any full-back and after beating one hapless opponent at the Vic he even found time to wave to the crowd!

Since then however times have been tougher for Humphreys. Whether moving up a division meant he'd found his level, the often inexperienced full backs behind him needed more help, or some other reason, it's not been that often over the last couple of years that we've seen Richie in full flow, beating defenders for fun and causing endless problems. This has divided opinions somewhat; and the arrival of Thomas Butler has caused a few more questions to be asked about his place in the side.

However Humphreys continues to be a regular - and successive managers obviously value his contribution highly, with him frequently skippering the side as well when Barron is unavailable. He must be doing something right to stay in the team every week.....

The next question for Pools is whether some of our other out of contract players will sign new deals in the near future. Particularly important are Chris Westwood and Joel Porter: both are key players, and if we can get them signed up it will be a real boost.