RITCHIE’S ROLE
Former PFA chairman Ritchie Humphreys on his new challenge
“The guarantee is, we’re all going to be ex-professionals at some point.”
After a career spanning more than two decades, which included four seasons in the Premier League, a League Two title with Chesterfield, more than 700 senior appearances and a brief stint as a caretakermanager, Ritchie Humphreys has dived headfirst into his post-career life.
Late last month, Humphreys’ four years as PFA chairman came to an end – with Swindon defender Ben Purkiss replacing him – but he has moved into a new fulltime role with the association as a delegate liaison executive.
The 40-year-old, who was voted Hartlepool’s ‘player of the century’ at the end of the 2007-08 season and is also the club’s record appearance-maker, now deals with players of all ages from 16 different clubs across the Premier League and the EFL.
From advising current pros on disciplinary and contract issues to helping retired players embark on a life away from the game, via numerous educational programmes, Humphreys is channelling his wealth of experience into aiding hundreds of PFA members.
It’s a far cry from the mudon-boots action the former Sheffield Wednesday man grew up with.
But Humphreys is now challenging himself like never before, even if he’s unsure if he’ll be lured back into coaching, to add to the two games he racked up as Chesterfield’s temporary boss at the start of 2017.
Badges
“I feel really, really fortunate that I got to play until I was 39, so my transition to life after football has been really smooth. “It doesn’t always happen like that,” he said. “I did my coaching badges and got my UEFA A licence a long time ago and, for a long time, thought that would be the route I would go down. “You never say never. I suppose I don’t know how much I’ll miss the day-to-day of being in a football club, but I’m certainly relishing working for the PFA and I’m learning as well. “This is a proper job – nine-to-five and totally different to being a footballer – but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. “I’ve got players from 16 clubs that I look after, but what helps me is that I’ve just come out of a changing room and I’ve been in one for 20 years. So, it’s just about building relationships and being a familiar face to them, letting them know I’ll be there at the end of the phone.
“I’ve played over 700 professional games. A long time ago at Hartlepool, I broke the all-time appearance record.
“I managed to finally play in a cup final at Wembley for Chesterfield (the 2014 Football League Trophy final, which ended in a 3-1 loss to Peterborough) and got a couple of promotions, so it was all a great experience.”
After leaving Chesterfield at the end of last season, Humphreys achieved his long-held dream of playing for Non-League Sheffield, the world’s oldest club, for whom his grandad, Ernest Humphreys, once ran out.
Legend
He even featured against Hallam, another historic Sheffield club, where his dad John also once played.
Now, though, the Hartlepool legend is one of the many former players assisting countless footballers to make the most out of their lives, and Humphreys is savouring everything that comes with that.
He added: “My life is different now.
“I have my weekends with the children and it’s just a really different kind of working life.
“When the fixtures come out, your life is planned for you as a footballer from August to May.
“Now, I think this will be my first Christmas off since 1993!”