“He told me that I was a good player but that if I listened and learned he would turn me into a great player. Those words were really encouraging but I know that it is down to me to work hard.

“I keep saying it but I am still young. There are aspects of the game that only come with experience and I am gaining that all the time whether I am in or out of the side.

“I know I had a dip in form last season but I believe that I have been better this time around and in recent weeks I have done okay. All I am concentrating on at the moment is playing well, winning games and staying in the side when the injured players come back.”

Micah Richards has insisted that he wants to remain at Manchester City.
The England defender has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, but is happy to remain under new boss Roberto Mancini at Eastlands.
“He told me that I was a good player but that if I listened and learned he would turn me into [...]

Almost fantastic performance fit for the Champions League, only fault was the lapse in concentration towards the last 30 minutes of the match until Tevez sealed his third goal on the 90th minute.

For the first 60 minutes I was absolutely delighted on the edge of my seat, Carlos Tevez jabbing at Blackburns defence with his float like a butterfly, sting like a bee routine. A

Manchester City vs Blackburn 4-1, video highlights 11/1/10 is a post from: Soccer Updated

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Harry Redknapp has paid tribute to our recent defensive record that has seen us keep clean sheets in each of our last five games.
Since the home defeat against Wolves on December 12, our only reverse in nine Premier League games, our back line has been impregnable.
But the manager insists the run has [...]

Is it possible Harry wont buy anyone like he has been saying for a while, there is not a day goes by where Tottenham is linked to a player so will he wont he
Harry Redknapp, the master wheeler-and-dealer, hates the January transfer window and doubts if Tottenham will do any business [...]

Hype. Sometimes talking something up is far more exiting and interesting than the reality of how it turns out in the end. Take for example the weather. London was meant to be hit hard last night, instead we got a curve ball of snow that seem to travel …

Bad new Spurs fans Aaron Lennon is not expected to be fit for Tottenham’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday.
The Spurs winger injured his groin in the 2-0 victory over West Ham last Monday and had to be replaced just before the final whistle blew.

Boss Harry Redknapp stated at the time that he did not think Lennon [...]

Micah Richards is understood to have made Tottenham his preferred destination ifManchester City agree to sell him this month.
Richards is keen to leave Eastlands after becoming unsettled in the north west and, while Liverpool and Aston Villa are monitoring the situation, the England international has set his sights on a move to White Hart Lane.
He has [...]

Tottenham Hotspur are considering making a move for Manchester City defender Micah Ricards.
According to the Daily Express, Harry Redknapp is ready to offer £12million for the England international. 
Ironically, City are being linked with Sol Campbell of all people on a short-term deal if they fail to land Matthew Upson and Borussia Dortmund’s Neven Subotic.

TOTTENHAM are poised to make a £12 million January swoop for Manchester City’s Micah Richards.
Reported in The Express today was and article we published on the 26th November 2009 and has been reported for a third time England defender Richards’ place in the City team under Roberto Mancini could be under threat this month, with the new [...]

And if City decide to offload the versatile defender, then United are ready to bid for him.

Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson is a huge admirer of Richards and tried to sign him when he first broke on the scene.

Ferguson is considering his options at right-back with growing concerns about Gary Neville’s fitness and Rafael Da Silva’s ability.

Ferguson believes his strict man-management could control Richards and United are hoping to do business if City will sell to them.

>>mirror.co.uk

So this comes days after Hughes publicly stated Richards was not for sale; and then recalls him to the side.

Even if he was to give up on him and ship him out of the club, would a move to United really be sanctioned?

No prizes for the answer.

“Micah’s not going anywhere in January or at any time. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do here.”

“He’s still a very young man, and his football experience is great for someone of so few years. People sometimes don’t give him enough credit for what he’s achieved up to this point in his career.

“But he knows he’s nowhere near the finished article. There’s a huge amount of potential still to be tapped in to. It’s down to me and it’s down to my coaches to bring that out of him.”

“His physical attributes lend themselves to so many positions on the field of play. We have to make sure that he’s training and playing correctly and learning every day. Without a shadow of a doubt, he’ll grow and develop as an outstanding player.”

>>Mark Hughes on Micah Richards.

Manchester City will not be selling Micah Richards in January, Mark Hughes has confirmed.
The England international had been linked with possible moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, but is still thought highly of at Eastlands.
“Micah Richards is not going anywhere in January,” said Hughes.
“He is a big part of what we are trying to [...]

An interesting piece in yesterdays Mail, suggesting Tottenham could be set to move for Micah Richards:

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp hopes the chance to resurrect his England career will convince Richards to switch to White Hart Lane.

Tottenham had a £5million bid turned down for Richards three years ago and the player went on to sign a lucrative four-year deal at City.

He became England’s youngest-ever defender when he played against Holland at the age of 18 years and 143 days in 2006. But he has not featured under England boss Fabio Capello and is out of favour at City.

He did not even make the bench for last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Liverpool and City boss Mark Hughes is expected to let the youngster go in the January transfer window.

I always find it difficult to know what to make of rumours that appear in the press, primarily because I had a short spell writing the transfer rumour page for a news agency. The brief was very much ‘avoid it being obvious, but not too ridiculous.’

This one I suppose fits the bill perfectly. Tottenham, a club perenially linked with signing players and Richards, dropped from the side and now out of he squad completely. Rumours also persist of Richard’s supposed poor attitude and the coaching staffs displeasure with him.

Is Hughes ready to give up on him though? It won’t be the first time Hughes has made a big call in terms of ridding the squad of a player that doesn’t fit in with his ethos. Despite his struggles, I don’t think there would be any shortage of interest for Richards from sides in the top half of the Premier League.

I’m yet to be wholly convinced Richards is on the way out though. I may be wrong, but it would still be a huge call to give up on a player who does potentially have so much upside.

Manchester City’s Micah Richards is the latest player to be linked with Tottenham the rumour mill that never stops
This has got to be better news than the other unpopular one we had last week about Anton Ferdinand.
Richards however seems to have fallen out with club and country which is a shame because he is [...]

Tottenham want to sign Manchester City defender Micah Richards in the January transfer window, according to the Daily Mirror.
The 21-year-old right-back is said to be unhappy at being a regular in Mark Hughes’ side at Eastlands.
Richards faces a battle to force his way into Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad and is said to be aware [...]

After being left out of the sixteen for yesterdays draw at Anfield, the Mirror today suggests this could lead to a head to head between Richard and Mark Hughes:

Micah Richards will this week have showdown talks with Manchester City boss Mark Hughes after being axed from the squad to face Liverpool yesterday.

The England defender was stunned to be told he had been left out of the 16 players on duty for the 2-2 draw. And Sunday Mirror Sport has been told by a source close to the 21-year-old that Richards will this week demand assurances from Hughes that he remains part of his plans.

The source said: “Micah expected to be involved at Liverpool and feels that he is being unfairly blamed for some of the team’s defensive problems this season.

It is long rumoured that Richard’s attitude has not endeared himself to Hughes and the coaching staff and the return to fitness (and versatility) of Nedum Onouha has likely seen him drop even further down the pecking order.

With reports of Hughes unhappy with the options in this area and looking to strengthen in January, this could see Richards even further away from a recall to the side.

If (as also reported) he is offloaded, it would cap a huge fall from grace for a player who was a couple of years touted as England’s hottest prospect and set for a big money move.

After a very impressive start to the season, the recent three game winless run (although undefeated) has brought one or two frustrations from fans to the fore.

None moreso than the continued form of Micah Richards.

As rapid as his ascent was, coming into the side as a teenager and marking a first team spot as his own before catapulting himself into the international fold, his subsequent decline has been anything but.

After forging a solid looking partnership with Richard Dunne during the early days of Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2007/08, both he and Dunne suffered a dip in form over the remainder of that season. Such was Richards drop off that eventually he was moved back to his original position of right-back during 2008/09 as he struggled to recapture the precocious form of his early days.

Whilst he has shown some promising signs this season, he has yet to truly convince and lost his place in the side to Pablo Zabaleta – not before time in many fans opinion.

Amazingly, there is still talk of him forcing his way into the England reckoning for the 2010 World Cup, but this is at best fanciful thinking. Fabio Capello – who is a shrewd (and very good) judge of a player, clearly does not rate Richards and he hasn’t been anywhere near the senior side since the Italian took over from Steve McLaren.

An often remarked view that I get emails about is that Richards has simply ‘lost it’ – that somehow what propelled him to the heights he reached has deserted him, a lack of mojo and leaving him a redundant shell of the player he once was.

But is this the case? Can a good player simply become bad, or is that too simplistic a viewpoint?

My own thoughts on Richards are that he was never really a ‘true’ footballer, by that he doesn’t have the technique or ’smarts’ (concentration, positional awareness) that the top level defenders have. He possesses amazing physical traits of course (which better suits him to a central role) and a great deal of pace, both of which may well have glossed over his frailties during his career.

Concentration appears to be big issue for him. There has been more than one goal this season where Richards has been out of position, something you simply cannot afford at this level.

You cannot write a player off of course, and it would be foolish to do so with him – particularly with someone who has the ability and potential Richards has. Lest we forget he is only 21 years of age. But the financial restrictions at the club that helped initially propel him into the starting line up are no longer a constraint, which means that Mark Hughes can afford to be less patient and more ruthless.

Having served his suspension, I expect Pablo Zabaleta to slot back in at right-back and although Richards may replace the injured Toure tomorrow evening (personally I would like to see Vincent Kompany), Richards will likely enough find himself back on the outside looking in, and with a great deal of work required to force himself back into the line-up and to the heights he reached when he first burst onto the scene.

The hamstring injury which ruled him out of Argentina’s games during the current international break appears to be serious enough to cast doubt over his participation next Sunday at Wigan:

“He’s been with the Argentinian FA who have checked him out, as after the game last Monday he said that he had felt something with the last kick of the game.

“He’d felt a slight strain in the hamstring, but he needed to travel to Argentina to get it verified.

“It’s a disappointment for him. Argentina have two crucial games and he wanted to be part of that, but it wasn’t to be.

“He’s played very well of late and that was flagged to the powers that be in Argentina. It would have been great for him to get the recognition for his good form, but it is unfortunate that he’s going to miss out.

“He’ll be back today and once we get him scanned hopefully it will not be as bad as feared at the moment, but as it stands you have to say that there is a real doubt that he would be available for our game at the weekend.”

If he does miss out, it will be interesting to see the performance of Micah Richards, who will need to put in a big performance to wrestle the position back.