MX23RW : Saturday, November 9 01:57:29| >> :120:5008:5008:

Patrick Vieira: 'Micah Richards can still be big for England'

Vieira: 'Richards can still be big for England'
© PA Photos
Patrick Vieira thinks that Micah Richards can still be a part of England's future.

Manchester City football development executive Patrick Vieira believes that Micah Richards can still play a crucial role in England's future despite his Euro 2012 snub.

It is understood that the City defender turned down being placed on the standby list for the tournament after England manager Roy Hodgson called other players to inform them of their exclusion but didn't ring the 23-year-old.

Former teammate Vieira insists that, while his exclusion is a mystery, he can be a big player for the Three Lions later on in his career.

"We don't have all the answers in our hands to make a comment but not calling Rio Ferdinand or Micah Richards is a surprise, but at the end of the day it is the manager's choice and we don't know what is going on behind closed doors," Vieira told talkSPORT.

"I don't know any players who don't want to play for their country. I haven't spoken to Micah since the last game of the season and I know that he was quite disappointed not to be part of the squad and I can understand that because that was his target. He was working really hard for it.

"He's still young and I believe that in the future he can one of the key players for England."

Richards has 13 England caps.

ID:29768: cacheID:29768:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2479:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Rio Ferdinand
Read Next:
Ferdinand tweets England support
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!