Wednesday wonder fires Owls to the top of the Premiership with stunning goals

Aside from the superstar names such as Suarez, Rooney or Aguero, there is always one ‘unknown’ who rises to the top and hits the headlines.

But anyone who rises to the occasion this year, will have to go some way to beat the amazing introduction to professional football 15 years ago for an 18-year-old Ritchie Humphreys.

It was the summer of 1996 and Sheffield-born Humphreys was plucked from Wednesday’s youth team and taken by manager David Pleat on the club’s pre-season tour of Holland.

Injuries to main strikers David Hirst and Mark Bright meant that Humphreys was thrown into the first team – and promptly celebrated his ‘promotion’ by scoring three times in the opening two games.

Legend has it that after the second match against FC Utrecht, the onlooking Johan Cruyff – the Dutch footballing master was a guest of honour at the game – compared the teenage Owls striker to Marco van Basten.

High praise indeed, that maybe caught some folk by surprise, but Humphreys was soon to be the name on everyone’s lips as he made a stunning start to the new Premier League season.

Three goals in Wednesday’s first four games of the Premier League season had the Owls marching ahead at the top of the table.

The former Newfield School pupil – who was released at 13 by his boyhood club Sheffield United – scored on his Owls debut against Aston Villa.

His goalbound shot was recorded at 95.9mph and is still one of the hardest-hit goals in football history.

Humphreys followed that up with a goal at Elland Road against Yorkshire rivals Leeds United, and if that wasn’t enough, the teenager then produced one of the greatest individual goals ever witnessed at Hillsborough.

Leicester City were the visitors and Humphreys picked the ball up in his own half. He had Andy Booth and Hirst on either flank, but drove straight at the heart of the Foxes defence, before floating a delicious left-footed chip over the goalkeeper’s head.

He turned to celebrate in front of the Leppings Lane end and not too many would have argued that they were witnessing the birth of a new Premier League star. Leeds United were later linked with a £4m bid for the new hot-shot.

But his goal against Leicester was to be his final Premier League goal in the blue and white stripes of Wednesday that season. After loan spells at Cardiff City and Scunthorpe United, he was released by the Owls in 2001.

Now 33, Humphreys celebrated his testimonial year at Hartlepool United after 10 seasons with the north east club. In that time he has been named Player of the Century and racked up a record number of 480 appearances.

Many in the game feel Humphreys was unlucky at Wednesday, with the terrific team which included the likes of Chris Waddle and John Sheridan being disbanded by Pleat, and foreign talent like Paolo Di Canio and Benito Carbone being drafted in to nudge Humphreys down the Owls pecking order.

Former European Footballer of the Year Chris Waddle helped mentor Humphreys – capped by England at Under-20 and Under-21 level – in his early days at Hillsborough.

“I liked him a lot,” he recalled of their time together at Hillsborough, Humphreys then a teenager and Waddle in his mid-30s.

“A fair amount of rubbish gets thrown at you when you’re a kid coming through, but he just took it all in his stride and learned from it.

“I looked at him and thought ‘you’re all right – your attitude will carry you a helluva long way’ – he was a great kid to work with.

“He just took it all in – the praise and the criticism – and would work even harder the next day.

“All of a sudden Ritchie was centre stage. He came out of the blocks that season and everyone was saying ‘who is this kid?’.

“It all happened very quickly for him. He was in the England Under-21s and was scoring some very good goals in the Premier League.

“But it didn’t faze him as much as it would have done to others. He just took everything in his stride.”

As for this season, Humphreys says he is determined to carry on playing at Victoria Park, combining his duties as a registered player at Pools with a coaching role alongside first-team boss Mick Wadsworth.

“I want to do as much as I can as a player,” Humphreys said.

“Nothing replaces playing, and I really want to put myself in the manager’s thoughts for the season ahead.”