‘Not up to speed’ – Matthew Upson slams West Ham flaw that trails behind London rivals
West Ham have training facilities that are a long way behind some of their Premier League rivals’, according to former Hammer Matthew Upson.
The Irons spent almost £76 million on transfers last summer, as per Transfermarkt, and are now in their fourth season at the London Stadium.
But Upson believes there are other areas that still need attention.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate, as quoted by Claret and Hugh, the ex-England defender said: “It’s not just what you spend on players, it’s the infrastructure of the club as well.
“I think that is another thing the supporters go ‘hang on a minute, our training ground is not up to date, it’s not up to speed to Tottenham’.”
Host Geoff Shreeves added: “Let’s be honest, there are Championship clubs with better training facilities than West Ham. It is a million miles off the likes of Tottenham.”
Upson then replied: “It has barely changed. It has recently changed for the Academy with a new building in the last 18 months but in terms of where the players are, it’s just not at that level.
“It’s those kinds of things that supporters want to see invested in as well.”
Is Upson right?
At the end of the day, Upson spent an awful lot more time at the facilities in east London than the rest of us ever will, and so if he says they’re not up to scratch, then the chances are that they are lacking.
It’s all very well shelling out on players and moving to a fancy new ground, but there has to be a decent infrastructure behind the scenes too.
Ultimately, that’s where the players spend the majority of their time, and if you want to be seen as a properly big club, then you have to consider pouring money into those areas too.
West Ham can’t afford to be papering over cracks and cutting corners.
In other news, Sullivan admits West Ham ‘regrets’.