BBC Interview (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30248456)
He actually makes some interesting points about playing for England too early but I would question if he has actually improved that much since he was 19. Certainly his injuries have been his main problem over the last couple of years. It is easy to say the manager lost confidence but it is hard to rely on someone who is injured a lot of the time. He was having a very good season when we won the league the first time before he got injured and as he says Zabba did so well after that that it was hard to get back in. However I do find it funny that players like him and AJ never seem to mention how much their injuries affected their chances, just that they didn't get enough chance. You need to wait your chance and be fit and ready to take it when it comes, as Zabba did. There's a certain amount of luck in being fit but I don't think there should be many grumbles that they don't make it at City if they are not fit enough, often enough to take the chances when their competitor for position in the team is injured.
I think Richards was a guy who believed his own hype. Being the next big thing at 19. He seemed to bulk up considerably and lost that bit of pace he had. That and he started playing at centre back with Dunne didn't help his cause of being a right back. Just another English talent that came and went.
Yeh the fact he is built like a boxer rather than footballer can't help his injury situation.