So after the weekends abysmal result against Aston Villa I was surprised to hear that the West Ham team were of to Dubai for training without distractions or disruptions with the weather. Sam Allardyce said that he hoped the break would rejuvenate his West Ham team and help them get back to winning ways in the closing months of the season. However Wellington Paulista has turned down the chance to go the sunshine in Dubai to stay in England and focus on his fitness and to play for the development squad on Friday against Southampton in the hope this will improve his chances of breaking into the West Ham first team.
There are two things I want to discuss in this article, the first being that why after such a poor performance do the West Ham team deserve such a luxurious trip to Dubai and the second being what I think about Wellington Paulista and his decision to stay in England.
Do I feel the West Ham team should have gone to Dubai? No is the simple answer to the question, personally I feel that with West Ham on such an up and down run at the minute it would have been best for the club to stay here and focus more on hard training and keeping the club going the right way and not to start slipping in the wrong direction. With a trip away to a place such as Dubai I see it more as a reward for the team and after a shocking result against Aston Villa a reward is the last thing they deserve. Personally if I was a player or the chairman I would have used that money much differently like maybe refunding the ticket prices for the fans that travelled all the way to the West Midlands to witness what Mr Gold described as a miserable day. The everyday man wouldn’t get treated to a trip away by their workplace after a bad day at the office so why are footballers any different? I take it as a slap to the face that I spent hard earned money to watch what I did against Aston Villa. I understand that we aren’t going to win every game but the result was not good enough, and a trip can work wonders for the teams moral but I think the trip is morally wrong.
Wellington Paulista turning down the chance to go to Dubai has shown his hunger to get into the West ham first team which is refreshing to see. Wellington is a player that plays for a Brazilian top six side and has came to West Ham wanting to prove his ability and with only playing for the development squad but scoring three in three, his decision to stay here in England and work on his fitness shows his desire to show everyone his ability. This is maybe something a few of the current players in the West Ham squad can look at and maybe follow his lead. I believe that given the chance he will prove to be a West Ham cult hero. His desire is definitely there and I and am sure that most other West Ham fans want to see if his ability matches his desire.
Whatever happens, Wellington has thrown himself to the front of all West Ham fans minds with his desire.