Man City fans slam Micah Richards and demand he's sacked after BBC comments
Micah Richards has sparked fury among fans of former club Manchester City after claiming there are 'no big teams' left in the FA Cup following the quarter-final draw
by Jacob Leeks · The MirrorManchester City fans have rounded on Micah Richards after he claimed 'all the big teams' are now out of the FA Cup.
The fifth round of the competition was held over the weekend just gone, with City beating Plymouth Argyle to reach the quarter-finals. Argyle had knocked out Premier League leaders Liverpool in the previous round, with Chelsea going out at the same stage.
Meanwhile Arsenal were dumped out in the third round by Manchester United, who were in turn knocked out by Fulham on Sunday. The Cottagers, City, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Brighton and Preston North End have booked their place in the last eight.
Nottingham Forest and Ipswich will face off in the final fifth round match on Monday night. Following United's defeat to Fulham, Richards insisted the FA Cup was now wide open, though admitted City were the strongest team left in.
He told BBC Sport: "It's very open now, what a chance for a team to go and win it. All the big teams are out, Manchester City are obviously the strongest team left in there. But this is what we wanted, teams to get a chance."
But that comment did not go down well with City fans, who have now demanded the club strip Richards of his ambassador role. Supporters made their anger with the former defender known on social media.
One wrote: "Petition to strip Micah Richards of the ‘club ambassador’ role and hand it over to someone who actually cares about Manchester City." A second said: "This is what Micah Richards just said on live television. I’m actually tired of this guy."
A third argued: "Personally I think Micah Richards misspoke earlier, I don’t think he was necessarily saying what he is being accused of. However it’s an error that he really shouldn’t be making as our club ambassador, he’s digging a hole every time he speaks at the moment."
A fourth fumed: "Absolutely hate Micah Richards. How is he still allowed to represent us." A fifth supporter concluded: "I must’ve forgot that the team that wins 4 in a row can’t be classed as big."
Richards spent 14 years with City and helped them to win the FA Cup in 2011. The competition now represents City's only chance of silverware this season and boss Pep Guardiola has insisted his focus is on winning the trophy.
“It’s quite new for us,” said Guardiola. In eight or nine years it never happened. That means we are not doing well. We are going to take time off to refresh.
"It’s about quality not quantity. We are going to do training [for a] really important game against Forest. We will refresh things and practice things. Lift the rhythm. Normally when you play every three days you cannot do that.”
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