Following the expiry of his contract with Manchester City, Micah Richards signed a four-deal with Aston Villa on a free transfer last week. The right-back sought the promise of first-team football, having recorded just ten appearances on loan at Fiorentina last term.
The History
The Birmingham-born Richards trained at Oldham Athletic’s youth academy for one year before making the switch to Manchester City at 14 years of age. After spending four years in their youth system, Richards earned his first senior appearance for the Sky Blues in 2005, replacing Danny Mills in a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal. He went on to make a further 15 appearances in all competitions that campaign, netting his first goal in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Richards established himself as a regular starter over the next couple of seasons, tallying 63 appearances and one goal in all competitions. His cachet rose as a result of his commanding performances at right-back, earning him consecutive nominations for the PFA Young Player of the Year award in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 campaigns.
Richards’ best season in the top flight arrived when City sealed the Premier League crown in 2012; the robust full-back was nominated for the Manchester outfit’s Player of the Year award and notched more assists (five) than any other defender in the league. From the 2012/13 season, however, Argentine international Pablo Zabaleta became the first-choice right-back at the club, demoting Richards to bench duties.
Having chalked up just nine league outings in the previous two terms, Richards joined Fiorentina on a season-long loan deal in September 2014, ending his City career with nine goals and 14 assists across 246 appearances. Unfortunately, the manager at that time, Vincenzo Montella, elected to employ three centre-backs in a 3-5-2 formation that season, limiting Richards to just ten Serie A outings.
Off the back of three appearances for the England U21s, Richards became the youngest defender (18 years, four months and 22 days) to start a match for the senior squad when he played in a friendly against Holland in November 2006. He went on to record 11 caps during Steve McClaren’s brief tenure as the Three Lions boss, before falling out of favour when Fabio Capello was at the helm. To date, Richards has registered one goal and two assists in 13 appearances for England.
The Prospects
Speaking to the club’s official website upon completion of the deal, Villa head coach Tim Sherwood cited Richards’ adaptability as a key factor in his acquisition:
“He is a player who can play in a number of positions. He can play right-back, centre-half and also in a three man defence so his versatility is another real positive. When I spoke with Micah it was clear how determined he is to get his career back on track and I’ve every confidence he will recapture the form and quality he displayed before he moved over to Italy. He had a lot of choices but I’m delighted he chose Aston Villa.”
In his last full season as starter, Richards notched one goal and six assists in 36 appearances across all competitions. Considering that he’s still only 26, there’s every chance that Richards could rediscover the form that had him earmarked as one of England’s top defensive prospects.
From a Fantasy perspective, Richards could well present an enticing route into Villa’s rearguard should he rediscover his best form under Sherwood. For all their failings last season, the West Midlands club still managed a reasonable ten clean sheets, so there’s scope to invest in a low-priced Villa defender when the fixtures are favourable.
In spite of the fact that Villa have two right-backs on their roster (Alan Hutton and Matthew Lowton), Sherwood preferred to deploy winger Leandro Bacuna in that role during the final stretch of last season. Although the Netherlands U21 international served as a potent attacking outlet – notching five assists in ten starts – his relative lack of positional training often left spaces for opposing offenses to exploit.
Certainly, Sherwood’s tactics afford his full-backs plenty of leeway in terms of attacking and given that Bacuna admitted last month that right-back wasn’t his “top position”, Richards’ rampaging runs down the flank could quickly become a feature of Villa’s play. Alternatively, he offers an option in the heart of the backline, though it’s fair to say that there are no shortage of centre-halves for Sherwood to choose from, with Ron Vlaar looking nailed-on, providing he remains injury-free.
Having conceded the third most number of goals last season (57), it’s likely that Villa’s defensive starters are likely to remain around the 4.5 mark. If Richards is placed in the same bracket and plays a prominent role in pre-season, Fantasy managers might be tempted to snap him up early, with the opening schedule smiling relatively kindly on Sherwood’s side. Aside from a home tie against Manchester United in Gameweek 2, the Villains boast a strong opening six fixtures (bou, MUN, cry, SUN, lei, WBA) that could allow them to hit the ground running in their first full season under the former Tottenham manager.
