Flying winger Chris Humphrey spent four seasons with the Steelmen where he arrived an unknown quantity and left as one of the most feared wide-men in the Scottish top flight.
Born in Saint Catherine in Jamaica, Humphrey moved to the United Kingdom at the age of five. It was with his home-town team Walsall, and nearby WBA, Chris played his youth football before making his senior breakthrough with Shrewsbury.
It was from the Shrews that Chris joined ‘Well in 2009, one of a number of recruits from England, signed by new manager Jim Gannon. Having featured in Motherwell’s exciting Europa League campaign, Chris made his league debut in a 2-2 draw with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on 15 August ’09.
Injury and personal issues saw Chris miss a chunk of his first season at Fir Park but increasingly utilised by Gannon’s replacement, Craig Brown, Humphrey soon began to nail down a regular starting berth.
A typically unpredictable winger, it would be fair to say that whilst his delivery could sometimes be erratic, he was extremely productive. Yet even when not at the top of his game, Humphrey remained a constant threat for opposition defences. In the knowledge that in a split second his blistering pace could leave them for dead, opposition defenders often doubled-up on Chris, thereby creating additional space for his team-mates.
But the winger would continue to develop his game and greater consistency would come with it. His reward would be inclusion in the Jamaican international squad.
As well as providing regular assists, eventually Chris began to find the net himself and netted his first for the club in a 3-1 win over St Mirren on 2 October ’10.
Some memorable strikes would follow in his time at Fir Park – including a goal in a much celebrated win over Champions elect Celtic at Fir Park on 27 February ’13.
Dundee Utd also suffered at his hands, more than once in fact, including a quite sensational strike from 25-yards in a midweek victory at Tannadice.
His time at Fir Park coincided with games in the Champions League and Europa League, a Scottish Cup Final and Second and Third placed finishes. Humphrey was fortunate to play in an attacking team packed with creative talent and potency, but his team-mates benefited hugely from his presence also.
In the summer of 2013, Chris returned to England to join Preston North End but not before bringing the curtain down on his Motherwell career in fine style. In his final game for the club, the winger sprinted almost 75 yards before calmly slotting past the Ross County keeper to secure a 2-0 victory for Stuart McCall’s men.