Maybe next time try safety first, Roy?

WE got an email criticising a story we ran on our website (www.a-love-supreme.com) on Friday suggesting Roy Keane shouldn’t play Kieran Richardson against Liverpool the following day because we’d probably lose anyway.

Richardson had just recovered from a hamstring injury and having watched him in training last week, we felt he should be given another seven days and then return for the much more winnable and crucial relegation six-pointer against Wigan this weekend.

It was just an idea and not one we thought Keane would take any notice, or be aware of. Sadly he didn’t because Rico pulled up 90 seconds into our televised game at Anfield and will now be out for another couple of weeks. The team had to be reorganised and the system the players worked on all week was thrown out of the window within two minutes of kick off. It does, however, beg the question that if an average fan can spot that a player is simply going through the motions on the training ground and not quite pushing himself as hard as the others, why can’t the manager and coaching staff? Or did Richardson declare himself fit? Whatever the answer, we’re without one of our best players again. This is his third absence through injury this season.