Micah Richards - Released

[Exeter 77]

Richards was a player we shouldn't have signed and he didn't exactly cover himself in glory while he was with the club either on or off the pitch but I don't hold him in anything like the contempt I reserve for Joelon Lescott.

[markeeeebeeee2005]

Tbf though he was right in that interview way back when. The players weren’t putting a shift in - iirc we were in the relegation zone.

[danno]

Tbf though he was right in that interview way back when. The players weren’t putting a shift in - iirc we were in the relegation zone.

He's captain! Surely he has other avenues open to him? Perhaps oh
I don't know... by leading by example? Or setting higher standards in training?

Instead he was washing his hands of any blame before Christmas. Im trying but these foreign lads...

[markeeeebeeee2005]

Definitely see your point on it Danno. I think the Telegraph article was ill judged although I can’t now read it to look at what he specifically said. But I don’t think he was bigging himself up particularly - forgive me if I’m wrong on that. 

I just don’t get that wound up by him and actually quite like the guy. I don’t think he could have done that much more performance wise as his knees were shot when we bought him. His knees were shot when he was made captain. I don’t begrudge him accepting either offer that we were daft enough to give him.

Did he make some poor decisions though? Yeah.

Does that make him awful? Not for me.

[brontebilly]

He was captain of the pitiful relegation team and arguably the worst 'regular' in that team. Absolutely useless.

[Allan C]

For me he was a truly dreadful signing when the club were truly dreadful. I didn’t rate him before his injuries and couldn’t believe it we signed him. I don’t think he’s any good as a pundit either but he’s part of our history like several others down the years I wished hadn’t pulled on the shirt. And that’s where I leave him, consigned to history

[BC Villain]

Perhaps better to move this thread.  We've got a lot of positivity and excitement swirling around the club at the moment.  Don't really see the point of raking all these bad memories up again

[N'ZMAV]

he is a skid-mark on the under-pants of a shitty few years.

[SoccerHQ]

Don't see issue with article.

Credit to DS. Of course Richards was finished by then but DS could've easily been dazzled by a big name and tried to get him out on the pitch like Bruce did for that Wolves game but instead he laid down the law and called it correctly.

[SoccerHQ]

I'm not a huge fan of the player (for us).  Or the pundit he has become.

But don't see a whole pile wrong with that interview. 

Aye, he says the club were wrong to get rid of Sherwood (I must have slipped into a parallel universe when this good football was played, mind).  But you'd expect that from one of Sherwood's men.

That Leicester game we were brilliant up to 70 minutes. Two cracking finishes from Carles Gil....and errrr....someone else and we should've been 4 or 5 up. Made Leicester look proper bottom 3 side which everyone expected them to be at that stage of the season before they did a bit better than that.

Wonder if there's ever been a more sliding doors type match for two teams early on in a prem season as for us and them that day? Tim did his terrible subs, we lost and the rest is history.

If we'd held on to win we'd probably have had just another Lambert type season. Bobbling around in bottom 6 with odd good result and Sherwood probably sacked around March but possible to stay up.

[CT Villan]

A sad tale

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10049971/MICAH-RICHARDS-love-play-Aston-Villa-team.html

As a work of fiction that is right up there with Steve Bruce's award-winning trilogy.

[TaxDodger]

Micah Richards was once an Aston Villa player. Tim Sherwood was once Aston Villa manager. Jesus Christ.

[LeeB]

Micah Richards was once an Aston Villa player. Tim Sherwood was once Aston Villa manager. Jesus Christ.

No I don't think he played for us, though his Dad did at centre half.

[KevinGage]

He's entitled to his own revisionism and POV as regards the merits of the worst Villa team most of us will hopefully ever see.

He was little more that a vastly overpaid court jester during his time with us by the sounds of it.  No argument at all from me on that one.

But it's interesting that he at least seems to feel bad about how it all turned out - and wishes he had a game or two for this current side to show his worth.

Compare and contrast to the likes of Platt, Keown and Ray Houghton.  Who achieved far more in a Villa shirt. But seem to view their time with us as a grind. On the rare occasions they ever speak about us at all.

[Matt C]

The bit that stands out to me from that interview is Smith coming in and calling it exactly how it is (was).