West Ham’s training facilities are back in the spotlight after news emerging about another mysterious injury to a new signing.
The West Ham training grounds at Chadwell Heath and more recently Rush Green have long been a source of shame for fans.
When he was manager, David Moyes urged the club to use some of the money invested by Czech billionaire co-owner Daniel Kretinsky to improve the training ground.
Before West Ham’s 6-0 defeat to Arsenal back in February Moyes revealed he had to move training to the London Stadium because the pitches at Rush Green were not good enough.
Even the outside of the training ground looked a state earlier this year.
The West Ham United lettering from the wall outside Rush Green was removed to be replaced after fans slammed the club for replacing a missing ‘M’ with an upside down ‘W’.
West Ham’s training ground has been the butt of many a joke for too long. But there is a serious side to the fact the Hammers are falling behind a host of rivals.
West Ham’s ownership has a combined net worth of over £13.5bn. That makes the Hammers the third richest in the Premier League.
Elephant in the room at West Ham
And West Han were once again listed in the top 20 richest clubs in world football in the 2024 Deloitte Money League.
But you wouldn’t know it if you visited the training ground.
Fans have called on the club’s owners for years to give West Ham a modern base befitting a top class Premier League and – for the last three seasons – European outfit.
Especially as clubs like Spurs, Leicester, Brighton and even Burnley and Norwich have invested heavily in such complexes.
Now a state-of-the-art new West Ham training ground can’t come soon enough as the club confirm a new injury nightmare.
New West Ham training ground can’t come soon enough
West Ham fans have always put the club’s persistent injury issues down to bad luck.
But it’s telling that many foreign players including Maxwel Cornet, Gianluca Scamacca and now Niclas Fullkrug have opted to go back to their home countries for medical treatment and recovery.
Are West Ham’s facilities really that bad that mulit-million pound assets feel they have to go to another country?
It was reported this week that £23.5m signing Fullkrug has returned to Germany to have treatment for an ongoing injury.
It’s an issue West Ham can’t seem to get to the bottom of and the striker has no return date having already been out for almost two months.
The club has confirmed the latest Fullkrug nightmare to Sean Whetstone, saying: “Sadly it’s true, we don’t seem to be having any luck with this player.”
Hammers confirm new injury nightmare but it’s not just bad luck
Well maybe it’s not just down to luck.
Maybe it’s time West Ham finally invested some proper money into the place where hundreds of millions of pounds worth of athletes train everyday.
Poor facilities also put players off joining the club let’s not forget.
West Ham fans looking at Tottenham or Leicester’s training grounds will be green with envy.
It’s the elephant in the room at West Ham and it needs to be addressed.
Fullkrug’s injury and the fact he feels, like Cornet, Scamacca and others before him, that he has to go home is damning.
There were rumours in the summer that West Ham were looking to buy land to build a new training ground.
But a top source inside the club denied that was the case and insisted there would be more investment in Rush Green.
Training ground videos paint a pretty depressing picture of the facilities.
West Ham simply must invest in a state-of-the-art facility sooner rather than later.
Or the club risks being left behind and continually frustrated by injuries.
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