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14th August 2023
09:40pm BST
Former footballers, now banter merchants, Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards made a half-time appearance during Manchester United's Premier League opener against Wolves, at Old Trafford.
Redknapp and Richards were filming the 'bit' for the new and upcoming season of Sky's 'A League of Their Own'. The pair had a penalty shoot-out in front of a hostile but contained Stretford End.
Up in the stands, Alex Ferguson and former United captain Michael Carrick must have been asking what the hell was going on.
While Redknapp stood up to the pressure to put away his kicks, Richards had a nightmare. Serenaded with 'You're just a sh** Gary Neville' by the United fans in attendance, the former Manchester City defender missed all three of his penalties.
With Micah Richards missing his three kicks, Jamie Redknapp calmly slotted in his third to win the shoot-out 3-0, shushing the United fans that had heckled them both throughout.
Richards then took off his City jersey to reveal an under-top with the phrase 'Why Always Meeks?' upon it, a reference to Mario Balotelli's 'Why Always Me?' top displayed during a thumping league win over United.
It is staggering, to fans of the older school persuasion, that a former Manchester City and Liverpool player could come out at Old Trafford, in their club kits, and whoop it up for a TV comedy show without there being a full-blown insurrection.
Perhaps the tepid fare of a goalless first half, between United and Wolves, lulled fans into a sense of aggrieved acceptance. Football as a gargantuan and beastly entertainment business, and it getting hammered on all our heads on a regular basis, is more likely the reason while this piece of TV passed off without incident.
Gone are the days of Will Mellor, Christopher Ecclestone, Mick Hucknall, Tom Brady or even Stormzy being brought on for a half-time natter or wave.
You start to wonder why United would sign off on such a stunt, until you remember this is the team that recently travelled to Dublin with their second string on a cash grab. Sad to see, but that's the way football is going now.
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