Grant Gives Upson Warning
West Ham United manager, Avram Grant, has told key defender, Matthew Upson, to declare his commitment to the club or move on.
There have been grumblings throughout the close season that Upson is not happy with his role at the East London club and may be seeking a new move to another side where he will start regularly and possibly be asked to be captain.
Some West Ham fans will not be happy with Grant's comments because they will recognise the fact that Upson is one of the better players at the club. However, the former Chelsea boss does have a point when he says he only wants players at the club who will sweat blood for the side as they look to improve next season.
It's important to consider the dangers that an uncommitted player presents and what Upson can do from this point onwards. This will allow you to be able to make a much more calculated decision on his future and the direction it's taking.
Dangers
There are many dangers that a player can present if he is not fully in love with the club he is contracted to. Firstly and needless to say, the player is not going to go and play out of his skin for a club that he does not want to be at. If this is the case with Upson then it means that he is not going to be playing to his full ability.
Unhappy players are no good for squad morale and condition. Some players will talk of their situation to others within the playing squad. These other players could sympathise with the situation of that player and then squad and club harmony will be totally threatened.
It will also make it difficult for Grant to encourage young defenders to keep going and aim for a first team place. They will see any rumblings coming from Upson as a sign that their mission to get into the first team will be a lot harder because the manager will now always pick the unhappy player first.
Options
Upson will probably be having a small break from the game after the intensity of the World Cup. This is no different from the situations of other players who represented England during the competition.
It could well be the case that he is not able to commit his future to West Ham because he simply physically cannot do so at this moment in time. If he's on a break and returns from it then it could solve the problem and everyone can move on happily.
However, if he is not happy then there are a number of things he could do. There are bound to be a few clubs interested in him and the obvious way out is to move to another club, which would present a fresh start and a new challenge.
Upson is most likely to stay at West Ham because he is one of the better defenders at the club and a key figure in any plans that Grants has to move the team towards a better future. This whole issue could just be a case of crossed wires and a lack of communication.
He will be a central figure at West Ham and he likes to get forward when he can and attack the opposition goal. You can have a punt on him from time to time to come up with the odd goal but only do this against supposed weaker teams than West Ham. This is because against better teams he will be doing more defending for the large part of the game.
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