Kretinsky's Huge West Ham Rebuild Starts To Take Shape

[00:00:07]Well, this is a little bit odd. This is the second good news video of the day.

[00:00:12]Um, it's there's a lot a lot of good let's say good vibes, shall we? Good vibes coming out from the club at the moment. It there definitely is. There's so much to look forward to. I was I'm going to talk about the training ground.

[00:00:23]Basically, West Ham are going to get a new training ground. There you go. Um, let's let's start with that so you're not waiting for me to uh to tell you later on.

[00:00:31]It's been a little bit weird actually.

[00:00:33]It it has to be said over the last few days just trying to listen to a lot of this stuff come out. It's been very clear with a statement. We covered it in yesterday's video where the the board the existing board of directors have very much separated themselves from David Sullivan. Basically that pledge they were all going to vote together and it just it just was everybody apart from David Sullivan, wasn't it? So that was very much a statement. Look, we we've got a controlling interest. I was going to do a video today about the Times article which was up yesterday which suggested David Sullivan could make a pain in the ass of himself by exercising his right to acquire some of the gold family shares.

[00:01:13]First of all, I didn't want to make that that story the centerpiece this video. I didn't want to put it on the thumbnail at all because it's a it's first is a bad news story and number two I I ain't it ain't going to happen. It's just not going to happen. It's just not. I'm very very confident that what's what's happening here is Kretinsky and all the other directors have done enough to know that they have enough power between them to outvote David Sullivan. David, first of all, David Sullivan's not got the money to buy um the gold family shares.

[00:01:45]And I I'm a firm believer in that. I think any agreement was probably done a long time ago was probably done on on sort of Premier League valuation of football club which obviously he's not going to be anymore. We're a Championship football club. Has he really got the desire to to put himself back into a position of of power at the club? No. I mean, why would you want to work with people who don't want to work with you?

[00:02:08]I I just don't I can't see it happening.

[00:02:09]I don't think it's going to happen. And I think Kinski is probably far too canny to and and there would have been things put in place. They would have expected this playbook. All I think is going on here is Sullivan is probably holding out. Sullivan knows his his time is done at West Ham. I'm quite sure of that and I would just imagine he's probably hanging on for the best share price he can get. So, it's just not even worth talking about. I think Kinsky's plans just just carry on. That that's what we're going to get and that's what we're going to talk about today because uh we're getting a new training ground as things stand at the moment. We have three three training grounds, three plots of land. One of them is is obviously Rush Green which you know we got Little Heath as well.

[00:02:51]Rush Green has changed quite a lot. That was the old Ford uh sports and social ground if if I remember rightly. Um that that one now just houses the under21s and the uh and a first team. So I think the ladies team aren't there anymore and I think the other academy teams are at the other training pitch.

[00:03:13]So, it's far from ideal.

[00:03:17]I've been there before, but not for a long time. And all I can say is I don't think things have changed massively since I was there in terms of the standards of what a what a what an aspiring club can't say Premier League football club anymore, can you? Um, what an aspiring club should have. We are well behind the curve. Kinsky is fully aware of this.

[00:03:41]fully aware of what is wrong at the football club. We spoke about the stadium last week. We we'll deal with that tomorrow.

[00:03:49]But the training ground needs sorting.

[00:03:51]There's a lot of a lot of talk you hear a lot about a talk about porter cabins. So let let me let me tell you what I remember of of the stadium when I went of the training ground when I went there. And there is a blog somewhere a vlog of me and Charlie going to the training ground. We did a vlog on it. Uh basically we got access to the training ground. We did a vlog on it years ago, years and years ago. It's the original building of the of the social club basically is there. So actually inside the gym is quite modern.

[00:04:21]The pitches outside there's five or six pitches. Maybe that's a little bit too many but oh they're beautifully the groundsman there do a wonderful job. We just don't have as many pitches as other people have. Basically, there are um there's a big mound, pardon the expression, that people use for fitness. They run up and down the hill, the grassy null. They run up and down that. Um there's some offices inside when you initially walk straight inside the building. There's like a reception area, but it's not this is not a big building. I I must stress that the building itself is not big. Um as I say, there's there's a canteen. You walk in, you walk through, the canteen is on the left and and looks out on the training pitches. The gym is just beyond that. Um I remember when we walked through there, I don't know if Char I'm sure Charlie does remember, but when we walked through and we were given a tour by the um by the old head of um the old head of media, Max Fitzgerald, who went to Wolves, lovely guy. Um we walked through and and there was like this little cubby hole bit. You could tell it had been a converted old building. And there was this little cubby hole bit and um Andy Carroll was in there on a on a on a bike. That's a bike. That's a mine for a bike by the way. Bloody seat. Sick of this. Um he was there doing his stuff on a bike, you know, recuperating.

[00:05:37]Angelo Agonno was um was a Bonner was in there as well. A brilliant I had a brilliant day. I got to interview got to play head tennis with Arthur Masaraku.

[00:05:46]Got to interview Masaraku. Um oh Pedro Obiang. What a lovely guy by the way. And and Muel Antonio. And um yeah, so as well, you know, like a dream come true to be honest with you. Anyway, I digress. Um it was brilliant.

[00:06:01]Absolutely brilliant. And um but it was I I loved it as a West Ham fan. I loved it. It was it was as I say, it was a dream come true. But I I knew then it wasn't it wasn't state-of-the-art. So it it did look like I guess that they had the original shell of the building of the old social club, sports and social club, and they' done as much as they could with the interior, but it's still basically a brick outouse building really. Um then you had the the stadium there. So there's a little a little stadium, little football pitch um to the right, not the training pitches.

[00:06:36]And then you had a a car park, like a gravel car park, and not the players car park. the players car park was different. They had some like hedros and some bushes and stuff for their car park. But um just beyond the car park, there was another like little bit of wasteland there and there those were where you you probably hear porter cabins.

[00:06:56]There were porter cabins there. Um and that's where they do that the press stuff. So we went to a press conference there for instance and all the press literally go into porter cabins and stuff like that. There was a little media suite in there, but it really was they were they were they you know listen you know you know like when you like my like my my daughter's my daughter's school that the school they got too many pupils for the school and in the playground they stuck up some porter cabins. It's it's literally like that felt roof all of that stuff. So I mean yeah re really really backwards stuff really really backwards stuff. Um, and you look at what other clubs have got, you look at the the difference between them, it is night and day.

[00:07:39]Absolute night and day. So, not before time.

[00:07:44]I've always I've always thought that, in fact, we've said it, we made a joke, you know, we're about to sign a player. See, I've always thought this. Look, you you know what I think about the stadium. You know, you know the stadium I want. You know, I don't like the London stadium, but separate my own personal opinion.

[00:08:00]I've I've always thought that foreign players are probably not that bothered about it because there are a lot of stadiums overseas with tracks around them. Um, so I I think they they probably get taken to the the London stadium, oh, okay, it's big big stadium. And it is a big stadium, so they're probably not bothered about that. But I always used to joke, don't take them to the training ground, whatever you do. Cuz it would they'd probably think, "Right, that's it. I'm I'm off. I'm off. I'm going it would have been a bit of a a bit of a sore subject. A bit of an embarrassment.

[00:08:37]Um, this this is not before time. How much difference is that gonna going to make?"

[00:08:44]Um, I've got to tell you, you got I got to give our medical team a massive massive round of applause. Really? Well, I better do it because I've said it.

[00:08:55]I've got a button here to do applause.

[00:08:58]However, they managed the injuries last season was magnificent.

[00:09:03]If there's any department in that football club that can hold their head high and say that weren't our fault, we got relegated. It's it's the doctors, the massuses, the physios, the all the stuff. The medical team absolutely blinding. That's not a staff thing. This is a a facilities problem.

[00:09:23]And you need that. We're going to need that. I think it's brilliant news. It's not You know what? It's not just about the training ground. Look, you know, we we'll never get to play football. That's not for us. It's for the players. It's um it's a symbol of the direction the club is heading in.

[00:09:42]I think that's the thing. It is it's it signifies that it signifies we're moving forward as a football club. We're on to bigger and better things and it was synonymous with the old regime that training ground. It it did. It symbolized what they were, which is doing things on the cheap, the barest minimum, sticking plaster. Oh, you know, well, there was one point where they um they needed to expand. They need a little bit more space. And they um I mean, it was called a tent, right? But it wasn't, you know, when you go to if you go to an event, they got those marquee things. They're quite impressive structures and they put the canopy over and all of it, but it's still a temporary structure. It's not a building. And there was one point I just get a bit more space. I put this marquee thing on there. I just it was a it was just always a case of you know what what should we do? We'll um shall we shall we invest in the infrastructure? No, no, no. We we need another we need another room. We need a bit of building. Oh yeah, we'll put a pull out the awning.

[00:10:41]You know, just always on the cheap and and the the training ground symbolized that. Really really did. Um so it's just great to hear. It's great to hear. you know, it's um I honestly I look forward to it and I'm I'm quite sure if they've got um you've got to give everyone at the club a chance. Everyone at that club who's been working under the old regime I think has got a chance to flourish. And that could be in the media department, could be in the training, any of that stuff. And I'm quite sure that much like when Bournemouth did when they did their their training ground, you know, given the opportunity to show it off, I'm sure they they'll show it off. Um, I just think, you know, just more more good news. Can't wait to can't wait to see that come to fruition. Can't wait to see the plans. It's going to be too fragmented. Having the three makes total sense. Um, I can't I don't think I don't think they rebuild it on the current site because what you're going to need is we do have we do have an indoor pitch, but it's on the other site. So, the indoor pitch, the thing we need when the weather's it's at a completely different training ground.

[00:11:47]So, I think they'll go for, you know, whatever's got the the biggest square meter. I I don't know what I'm sorry there's no graphics for this one. I've got no should be showing you a little um should have got the AI out and the uh and the Photoshop should have done a few bits and bits and pieces, but I I don't know. Honestly, the truth of the matter is I don't know enough about it. Um just the fact that that is the plan. Um and I think that's absolutely brilliant. So, I think wherever we get they'll choose the biggest plot. One of them's right on the Eastern Avenue. One of them's right on the A12 actually which um which got to be good isn't it? Um really you know for for transport for getting for getting in and out and all that. So um yeah I think this would be a really really really good thing and if we can get the you know all the stuff with the medical center is there all the all the teams the academy everyone is there. They've all got do you remember do you remember um Vladimir Sufal when he went to Hoffenheim and he got a swimming pool.

[00:12:40]You should have a bloody swimming pool.

[00:12:41]We should have the the I don't know, you know, like the ice bath thing and all of that, all of that type of stuff. That's what you should have, you know, obviously I don't know anything about it at all, but you should have several ports, shouldn't you? All do different things. The hydrotherapy and all that stuff, the indoor pitches so as your training isn't isn't ruined by the weather with, you know, with the the English weather. Nice today, might be horrible tomorrow. You don't know. Um anyway, I just thought really really really good news. It's another another good news story really.

[00:13:12]I think there's loads and loads to come basically. So, um yeah, there you go.

[00:13:16]Right, I'll um that's it for me today.

[00:13:18]I'm going to go. Got school run in a little bit and I'm um I'm going to skidadle.