Talk of new contract for Richards a little premature

Rumours over the last day or so that full-back Micah Richards is to be rewarded with a new, big money, five-year contract has come as somewhat of a surprise. The false dawn of a good performance against a wingerless Arsenal side was followed up with a calamitous showing at Old Trafford, and his form, not just this season, but last as well, has been patchy to say the least.

To be fair to him, i thought he did quite well in a centre-half role at Wigan alongside the excellent Joleon Lescott, but with Vince Kompany nearing fitness again, and Nedum Onouha; faultless when he came in last season, a place in the right-back position remains his best hope, and with fan favourite Pablo Zabaleta nudging ahead for that place, and rumours of a possible arrival for Brazilian Maicon in January, i personally thought Micah was approaching a real crossroads in his career at the club.

I must stress that i'm all in favour of homegrown players remaining vital to the squad. Now that we have this obscene bottomless pot of cash we can quite easily replace players as and when we see fit, and although young local lads might get less of a chance in the future, new regulations mean some of them will still have a significant part to play, but form has to be the biggest factor, Micah's rarely at the races, and most fans seem to agree that he often proves our weakest link.

Perhaps i'm just out of touch with how these things work, but i'd rather new contracts, and given our situation now, probably pay rises, be reliant on what people are doing on the pitch. If Micah has a good season then award him for his consistency, otherwise the manager should be letting him know, in private at least, that he's falling short of the standards he previously set, and those we need to be at to have a real hope of pushing on.

Up until a couple of years ago the idea of losing Micah Richards was a pretty terrifying one to most fans. The possibility of a 'bigger' club snatching him now would sound quite far-fetched. Awarding him a new deal when he's already got three years left on his current one, and whilst he's not doing too much to earn salary as it is, well, simply doesn't strike me as a logical move.

I hope he can rediscover his old form, starting with a good performance against Fulham on Sunday. Zabaleta's suspension gives the lad a good opportunity to win his regular place back and prove to the manager that an expensive arrival when the window opens isn't necessary. I'm sure we'd all like to see him play a big part in the future of the club, but he really has to pull his finger out.