Micah Richards thinks that allowing future Newcastle United star Kieran Trippier to leave was Manchester City’s “biggest mistake ever.” Since returning from a championship-winning tenure with Atletico Madrid, the England international has established himself as one of the Premier League’s most consistently impressive performances.
Trippier was given permission to leave City permanently in 2012 after a loan stint at Burnley, however he never made a senior game for City. The future right-back for the Magpies assisted the Clarets in winning promotion to the Premier League, and he went on to have a great four years at Tottenham.
After Trippier’s most recent outstanding performance in Newcastle’s convincing victory over Crystal Palace, Richards looked back on the defender’s history at City, remembering how they both went through the academy and battled for a spot with Pablo Zabaleta. The pundit detailed how Emmanuel Adebayor, the club’s £25 million acquisition, “absolutely destroyed” him during a training session.
“I just remember in training, we were doing this session of attack versus defense, you might have four defenders versus three attackers or vice versa,” Richards said to the podcast The Rest is Football. He was facing Adebayor, who, as you may recall, always swung to the left, held it up, and displayed various talents.
“Every time Adebayor had the ball, Trippier was utterly demolished in a one-on-one match. The best aspect of the manager’s game at the time—I believe it was Mancini—was moving forward, but this was something that everyone was unaware of. They were ignoring his strengths in favor of taking advantage of his flaws.
I recall all the guys stating that allowing him to go to Burnley was the biggest mistake they had ever made. Once he fills out a little bit, send him out on loan for a few seasons. What will stick out is his technique, timing, passing, and level of dedication. He’s going to be a top player, I thought.
“He plays for Burnley and sets a record for assists in the Championship, then he excels at Spurs.” Because Kyle Walker was there at the same time, it was a little more challenging. After that, he moves to Atletico Madrid and wins the league there.
“He returns and carries out his duties for England. Because of the caliber of players we have in Walker, Trent, and Reece James, I just believe he is the most underappreciated fullback. This is the best football I’ve ever seen him play, and he’s two years younger than me, if you need someone who will be reliable. He is amazing.