After two years at Brighton, former Man United prospect Ritchie was brought back north in 1982 by Eddie Gray, who swapped Terry Connor for the England Under-21 international.  Though his first full season at Elland Road was unspectacular, Ritchie proved that he hadn’t lost the scoring habit in his second, hitting two hat-tricks.  But his lack of aggression prompted the purchase of Ian Baird.  The use of Baird as a target man saw Ritchie take a wider role; in the 1986/87 season, Billy Bremner’s most successful in charge, Ritchie played down the right wing.  A long-running contractual dispute saw Ritchie leave for Oldham at the end of that season for just £50,000.

Strange but true: Ritchie had scored a hat-trick against Leeds as an 18-year-old for Manchester United.