Richards, what has got into him?

[GStar]

And perhaps you should "folla" what i'm saying rather than putting words in my mouth, it would help an awfull lot. I've never defended Micah's performances in this thread, and the fact he was "8ft from Giggs" (which i'm not so sure about, since Giggs was ina CM position, but then, within seconds making a challenge on Owen as he scored kind of backs up my point that Micah can indeed "run".

i may not be correct (sure someone on here will confirm...) but i remember it being SWP that got back to "nearly" get the challenge in on Owen.

nit-picking i know but worth pointing out.

Could have been, not sure... Micah is out of position when a team breaks and he's been involved in our attack... But i've never debated that fact, nor that Micah performances have generally been average at best since half way through Sven's reign.

 

[Rammy Blue]

I think I must be blind here.

yep.

if you think Micah is improving you most certainly are.

 

[Damocles]

I think I must be blind here.

yep.

if you think Micah is improving you most certainly are.

You think Micah was better last season than this?

Oh, and RB and CB are different positions.

 

[Fat Chance]

"Also your cardio isn't directly related to your other muscle sizes... so you can be huge with a great engine, or like a marathon sprinter; with a great engine".

Pardon me Fella, i can't carry on with this...least not after ^^^^ that.

 

[GStar]

"Also your cardio isn't directly related to your other muscle sizes... so you can be huge with a great engine, or like a marathon sprinter; with a great engine".

Pardon me Fella, i can't carry on with this...least not after ^^^^ that.

Your heart is a muscle, so depending on how hard you train your heart depends on how advanced your cardiovascualr system is.

Doing bench presses doesn't make your cardio increase or decrease.

Carrying extra weight means your body has to work harder, but if its been trained sufficiently you should be ok.

So, tell me where i'm going wrong...

 

[goat boy]

Now then, our lad Mica. I want to see him do well. I always thought Stevie would come good, and I used to think Mica would become a truely great player. I'm not sure anymore, I have doubts. Touch not great, always seems a bit slower in thought than most, as already noted here. If he'd have stayed at Oldham and developed in a similar way he'd have been the best defender in that league by a country mile, and he'd already have moved up the leagues through reputation. His athleticism would have counted for him a little less, but his awareness, speed of thought and application wouldn't have been a problem. In the PL, speed is of the essence and I don't just mean pace. Ultimately, that's the major difference down the leagues, I think- certainly for a defender, there are lots of nippy, quick thinking and tricky players, you can't be out-smarted, and Mica seems to be easy meat, all too often.

The root cause of his issues, imo, boils down to attitude. I don't know Mica personally, and he seems like a good well-meaning lad in interviews, so I guard my comments with the recognition that all I've done is observe him on the pitch. However, something worried me specifically on Sunday, and it was this- Kolo Toure appears to have been given a task, perhaps as part of the captaincy, to keep talking to Mica to help him get his job done and ultimately to teach him the game. At points in the first game, Mica appeared to have seen his arse with being shouted at, and to be sulkily ignoring Kolo shouting at him.... If he doesn't want to learn, how will he ever get it together? When Zamora broke through, it was Mica that played him on, but also Mica shouting the odds at Kolo and Lescott for letting the player break through the line. Pretty frustrating, that, for me.

I certainly won't write Mica off just yet. I'm not sure he'll have the great career we hoped for, a few seasons back, but he'll be a regular PL player for many seasons to come, even if it's not at City.

 

[Anonymous]

ive followed city and played football since i was 5 years old, held a season ticket for 7 years, played many sports competitively, and i have an a level in P.E so id say i know a bit about sports in general. sports psychology is also huge in sports, a huge part of the game. i dont like to be insulted. maybe thats because im a girl.

Sometimes things need saying blunty, imo, the "Micah is fat" and "Micah can't run because he's too big" is absolutely ludicrous.

I tend to agree with your posts on most occasions but we'll have to agree to disagree on this one!
The main physical difference between the likes of Christie,Bolt etc and Micah Richards?

Mobility.

Plain and simple.
Micah Richards,for whatever reason,IMO in the last 12 months has simply become too big to be mobile enough to play in his position at the top level.
A sprinter doesn't have to make quick adjustments to direction or follow a ball.Just run as quickly as possible on a pre-determined path.A totally different discipline to a professional footballer.
To be a top level defender you have either got to be quick enough to get yourself out of trouble if your positional sense lets you down (Ferdinand),or three yards "faster in the head" than the forward,like Hypia or Terry have been over the years.
At the moment,Micah is neither.
I hope he comes back to form,but I'm not sure if he ever will,or if it's even within his power to re-capture his reputation as the most proimising young defender in England.
Just as the willowy 15 year old kid at school playing on the wing suddenly becomes a powerhouse centre back at 18-I think that Micah will have to re-think his game.

 

[GStar]

Sometimes things need saying blunty, imo, the "Micah is fat" and "Micah can't run because he's too big" is absolutely ludicrous.

I tend to agree with your posts on most occasions but we'll have to agree to disagree on this one!
The main physical difference between the likes of Christie,Bolt etc and Micah Richards?

Mobility.

Plain and simple.
Micah Richards,for whatever reason,IMO in the last 12 months has simply become too big to be mobile enough to play in his position at the top level.
A sprinter doesn't have to make quick adjustments to direction or follow a ball.Just run as quickly as possible on a pre-determined path.A totally different discipline to a professional footballer.
To be a top level defender you have either got to be quick enough to get yourself out of trouble if your positional sense lets you down (Ferdinand),or three yards "faster in the head" than the forward,like Hypia or Terry have been over the years.
At the moment,Micah is neither.
I hope he comes back to form,but I'm not sure if he ever will,or if it's even within his power to re-capture his reputation as the most proimising young defender in England.
Just as the willowy 15 year old kid at school playing on the wing suddenly becomes a powerhouse centre back at 18-I think that Micah will have to re-think his game.

I agree... But i'd still say that Micah's physical make up isn't the sole reason he's being caught out of position. I don't think Micah is "too fat" or "too big" to be effective at RB.

Perhaps his calfs are still troubling him and effecting his mobility, perhaps he really just can't be arsed, perhaps he thinks he's "made it".

I still don't buy the argument on Micah's size, he's not that big... its just the likes of Evra, Cole, Alves etc are all whisps and for all thier attacking ability, they generally aren't the best defensive blockades.

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed-let's just hope he finds whatever it is he's missing at the mo and proves us all wrong.
We need our "home grown" lads to prosper.
As much as I love the fact we can afford the best I still buzz off the likes of SWP,Ireland,Nedum etc.playing in a top City side on merit.

 

[GStar]

Agreed-let's just hope he finds whatever it is he's missing at the mo and proves us all wrong.
We need our "home grown" lads to prosper.
As much as I love the fact we can afford the best I still buzz off the likes of SWP,Ireland,Nedum etc.playing in a top City side on merit.

Spot on. None of Toure/Lescott/Micah have particularly shined yet this season... and Bridge has been a revelation. I think defence takes longest to gel and get right.