Micah Richards opens up on ‘panic’ in the Sky Sports studio after PUNDITS were forced to commentate Chelsea vs Aston Villa clash from Anfield – as he explains why he was left ‘floundering’ on live TV
Micah Richards has admitted he was left ‘floundering’ on live TV after Sky Sports’ pundits were forced to step in to commentate over Chelsea‘s match against Aston Villa.
A major technical hitch at Stamford Bridge led to the audio cutting out, scrambling host David Jones into an impromptu – and awkward – segment live on air.
Roy Keane, Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge – who were all at Anfield – also took to the mic during the first four minutes of the game while the broadcaster worked on a fix.
But the commentary from the stadium returned in the nick of time with Bill Leslie and Alan Smith calling the action when Nicolas Jackson scored the opening goal.
Presenter Jones apologised for the technical issues shortly after kick-off.
Now, one day later, Richards has opened up on the technical issues and admitted he was ‘absolutely winging it’ throughout his co-commentary cameo.
Sky Sports’ punditry panel commentated over the opening minutes of Chelsea v Aston Villa
Richards, pictured back in May, admitted he was left ‘floundering’ on co-commentary duty
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards explained: ‘Like you said, the sound went. You know what it’s like when you’re at a broadcaster. Everyone just panics!
‘Dave Jones says we’ve basically got to talk over the pictures and whatnot. Dave starts talking through the game, then he goes to me: ‘And Micah, what about Chelsea‘s system here?’.
‘Normally, on co-comms, you’re at the game and can see exactly what’s happening. There was talk of whether he was going to play three at the back or four at the back…
‘So I go on and say: ‘Oh yeah, they’re playing three at the back or four at the back’ but I can’t even see what’s happening! You know what my eyes are like!
‘The TV is about 20ft away, so I was just absolutely winging it. If that was ever an audition, I failed miserably!’.
Laughing alongside Richards on the podcast, Alan Shearer said: ‘It’s not easy that co-comms lark, is it Micah?’
Gary Lineker then said: ‘Especially if you’re not at the game! And you can’t see!’
Richards admitted he struggled to give a tactical analysis of Chelsea’s game when called upon
Richards responded: ‘There was no tactical angle or anything! I was floundering’.
The picture from the stadium cut out as the game got underway but returned after a few seconds – albeit without sound.
Viewers were still able to watch the early exchanges but without the scheduled commentary from the team in position at the ground.
Goals from Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer saw Chelsea win to move level on points with title contenders and local rivals Arsenal in second place.
