Will certainly open the door for one of the other Mids/HBFers. With Thomson and Hislop coming on board and others like Collins and Raines in the wings it could be hard for Richie to hold his place. Look what happened to Pettifer. Dropped and Morton took his place, Petts found it impossible to regain the position. Possession is 9/10th of the law they say. If Richie misses a few matches to injury or doesn't start the season in the firsts, unless he's obviously a level above one of the other players, he could be stuck in the twos for a wee while.