Midfielder Jack Collison has had mixed fortunes at Upton Park over the past few years. The young Welshman was an essential feature in our recent promotion but he has also been plagued by injury, which seems to continuously keep him sidelined for massive chunks of the football season.
With the recent influx of new players arriving at Upton Park and the transfer window being far from closed, it’s interesting to consider how a player who struggles to stay fit will feature in West Ham’s upcoming season.
Collison has been a very important and valued player to West Ham in the past. He signed a long term contract in August 2011, with Gold making it perfectly clear on Twitter the month prior that Collison was not for sale. But throughout his career Collison has been away from the game for long periods of time whilst recovering from a serious knee condition caused by injury.
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Big Sam has told The Sun in recent months that Collison will never fully recover from his knee problems, saying: “It’s a great shame when such a young man has to be burdened with the fact that his knee is never going to be 100 per cent” and also revealed that he has to be cautious not to over train, and that he must rest heavily between training sessions.
His injuries have certainly frustrated him, but not dampened his determination to play. In June last year he said: “It was frustrating to miss the first part of the season and perhaps I’ve paid for that by not getting as many minutes as I’d hoped for. But then any time on the pitch is great for me. I’m just desperate to get out there and try my hardest, do my bit for the team, show the manager I can play and be a big part of his plans.”
But regardless of how badly Collison wants to play football, have his very unfortunate injuries severely impacted his career, and what does that mean for his future at Upton Park?
Do we stick by a player who may never be 100% fit (but, in my opinion, still changes a game when he steps onto the pitch) or cut our losses and allow him to head off to another club? There have been whispers online that Collison may be wanted by Wigan, but these rumours have not been substantiated or verified.
I would be sad to see him go off anywhere. I think the man has a strong work ethic, and brings games back to life when he comes on as a sub. I worry he may never be able to play 90 minutes week in and week out, but I would take a substitute appearance every other week if that’s all he can manage.
Collison has said in the past that it’s “nice to have the security of knowing my future is at West Ham,” and does not seem likely to want to leave that security anytime soon- but realistically, is this a security that West Ham are still able to offer him- and how much will we see of Jack next season?
Jury’s still out for me on how much he’ll play, but I’ll certainly be grateful for every minute he manages to give us.
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I don’t see the point of your argument.
Surely if Collison is not fit enough to play for us, why would Wigan or anyone else want to sign him?
On the flip side, if he is fit enough to be transfered then he is fit enough to stay with us. Many players have had long careers with chronic knee problems, it’s just a matter of scheduling their training to suit.
I think Emily’s point is that a club might take the injury risk but should we? And can we in the EPL? A Championship team might be able to accommodate an injury prone, but very talented player more easily than an EPL team could. I think it’s a matter of degree. If his injury means he can’t play to EPL standard then that’s unfortunately it. It’d be a real shame.
Just a matter of history…John Lyall’s career as a playing Hammer ended at 23 with a knee injury. Yet he is , of course,one of the most famous of Hammers.