Manchester City are beginning their 2024/25 Premier League campaign – and Micah Richards has spoken about the 115 charges that are hanging over the club.
Pep Guardiola is seeking to get off to a winning start at Stamford Bridge.
City only welcomed back Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones at the start of the week, and Rodri still hasn’t trained yet after being the final player to return.
But Pep should still be able to put out a strong team today.
Sadly, Oscar Bobb – a player many City fans were so excited to watch – will not be featuring, as he sustained a fractured leg in training earlier this week.
Ahead of today’s game, there was some talk on Sky Sports about the 115 charges, with the case to be answered very soon – and Micah Richards spoke about how the players will be feeling at the moment.
Micah Richards shares how the Man City squad will be feeling about the 115 charges
The 115 charges against Manchester City are due to be heard next month.
An independent disciplinary commission will hear the alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, with some dating back to 2009.
Everyone is in agreement that the situation needs to be resolved for the good of the league, and City are thought to be confident they will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
Today, ahead of City’s game with Chelsea, the case was mentioned and Richards spoke about how the players will be feeling in this movement.
Asked about ‘the elephant in the room’ by presenter Kelly Cates, he said on Sky Sports: “I don’t want to speak for the players but I think, us as players, what’s happened outside the field, really you can’t control.
“If I was in that dressing room now, because City have pleaded their innocence, you just take every week as it comes. It wouldn’t affect me in the slightest, if I’m being totally honest. Just because I know the hard work they’ve put into it.
“There is a big question mark and it needs to be sorted. For Man City, the Premier League and for all the teams involved. It needs to be sorted sooner rather than later.”
Daniel Sturridge added that the players would only start to think about the case ‘once we know what’s going to happen’.
City players will be focused
There is probably little chance of the City players thinking too much about the upcoming case.
Richards is right. Ultimately, they are powerless to do anything right now and there is little point in stewing on things they cannot control.
Maybe once a verdict has been reached, and if City are hit with a guilty verdict, then some will start to think about their own personal situation.
But for the time being it remains something in the background, and they will be focusing on what they can control, which is their own performance on the pitch.
