29 years ago, on September 24, 1994, Paul Scholes played for Manchester United for the first time in the Premier League event, opening his 19-year Red Devils career. Not only did he become a Manchester United legend, but he also became an idol of a very fan. This midfielder highly praised by players also had his own idol when he was a child. He was Manchester United's youth training product, and later went to Oldham to play for striker Andy Ritchie. What is the appeal of this Mr. Andy Ritchie to get Paul Scholes's attention? Let's review his deeds together.
The young Andy Rich was just a playful nature for football. At that time, he seemed to have a better chance to become an rugby athlete, but after being spotted by former Manchester United captain Johnny Carey in an amateur event and recommended it to his parent team, Andy Rich signed to become a Manchester United apprentice. As a result, this youth training forward who was fast and able to shoot both left and right feet was promoted to the first team in 1977. On the same year's Boxing Day , 17-year-old Andy Rich may have received the best Christmas gift, and he got his first chance to represent Manchester United on Everton . However, after getting the chance to play for four games in a row, Andy Rich had to wait 11 months before playing for the first team. On December 9, 1978, Manchester United faced Derby County at Old Trafford. Andy Rich started again. This time he took the opportunity firmly in his hands. Although Manchester United fell behind 0-1 in just 3 minutes, Andy Rich scored one goal in the first and second half, not only gained his first goal at Manchester United, but also helped Manchester United win 3-1.
Soon after Andy Rich had a better performance. On March 24, 1979, Manchester United played against Leeds United at home. Andy Rich was originally listed as a substitute, but when the starting lineup was warmed up before the game, Joe Jordan retreated due to injury, and Andy Rich got the opportunity to start. In the 18th minute of the game, Andy Ricci had already scored two goals on his head and kicked, leading 2-0 for Manchester United. He scored another goal in the second half to complete a hat-trick, winning 4-1 for Manchester United. At the age of 18 and 118, he became the youngest player to score a hat-trick for Manchester United at Old Trafford. This 43-year record has not been broken yet.
is inseparable from one another. A year later, Andy Rich scored a hat-trick in front of Old Trafford fans again. On April 12, 1980, in Manchester United's league match against Tottenham Hotspur , Andy Rich, who wore the No. 10 jersey, shot three goals in 40 minutes, and once again assisted Manchester United to defeat his opponent 4-1. Before he was 20 years old, Andy Ricci had already scored two hat-tricks for Manchester United, seemingly preparing to usher in a brilliant Manchester United player career. Unfortunately, coach Dave Sexton reused the experienced forward combination Joe Jordan and Jimmy Greenhoff. By October 1980, Manchester United acquired England international forward Garry Birtles from Nottingham Forest for £1.25 million of a transfer fee record. In order to get more opportunities to play, Andy Ricci transferred to the team with Brighton's transfer fee record of £500,000.
However, in Brighton's first 6 games, Andy Ricci failed to open the goal record and did not score until the 7th game. The opponent was the familiar Manchester United, but the team still lost 1-4. But just like he played for Manchester United, Andy Ricci also scored two hat-tricks in more than two years at Brighton, and became the team's chief scorer and best player in 1982. However, Andy Ritchie chose to switch to Leeds United in March 1983, and therefore missed the FA Cup final against his parent team Manchester United.
In 1987, Andy Ricci transferred to Oldham, who is also in the second division. This time he had the chance to meet Manchester United in the FA Cup, and almost ruined Ferguson's good things. Manchester United's poor performance in the league in 1990, and Ferguson was under pressure to put his hopes on the FA Cup. Manchester United met Oldham in the second division in the semi-finals and thought he would have a good draw, but Andy Rich and Dennis Elvin made Manchester United suffer.In the end, the two sides made a reconciliation 3-3 after overtime. In the rematch, Andy Ricci scored an equalizer for Oldham in the 81st minute, forcing Manchester United to decide the winner again in overtime. Ferguson was able to defeat this tenacious opponent 2-1 with another Manchester United youth forward Robbins shooting a goal. The finals later became Ferguson's history.
Finally Andy Rich played for 10 years in Oldham. During this period, he not only led the team to the semi-finals of the FA Cup twice (both eliminated by Manchester United), but also reached the 90s League Cup final for the first time for his historic first time. The most important thing is to win the second division championship in 1991 and win the upgrade qualification, and be one of the 22 teams in the first year of the Premier League in 1992. After retiring, Andy Ritchie also served as the team's head coach for a total of three years, so he has a very high status in the minds of Oldham fans including Paul Scholes as a child.
