I wonder if this signals the end of a somewhat turbulent international career for one Hammer – who had been happily jetting around last week, visiting Ghana and who was widely reported offering his opinion on Mohammed Kudus’ mental resilience to local news agencies.
An embarrassing situation then, for one West Ham player who then endured an epic fail of his own, somewhere en route to a crucial clash between his own Jamaica and USA.
The ‘Unfortunate’ Michail Antonio was reported to have mislaid his passport ahead of his country’s crucial Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal and, according journalist Jon Arnold.
‘Ethan Pinnock, Michail Antonio & Kaheim Dixon did not travel for the #ReggaeBoyz for the match against the #USMNT Antonio & Dixon “lost passports & it was too late to get new ones & to get visas to come over here, so they are missing.” says Jamaica manager Steve McClaren”.
Presumably that is ‘missing within the UK’ although Ghana was Antonio’s last reported destination – so, who knows. We hope he can find his passport in time to get back to the UK for West Ham’s up and coming fixture away to Newcastle in 7 days time.
As for his future with the ReggaeBoyz- nothing is mentioned but I cannot imagine any manager looking favourably on future selection when a professional just doesn’t turn up for a quarter final. Could well be that Hammers’ number nine stays grounded in future: West Ham were at one stage paying a fortune to ferry Michail backward and forward across the Atlantic by private jet to try and look after the veteran’s creaky hamstrings. Sounds like a major saving may be on the way.
£150k per trip is a drop in the bucket for either West Ham or Antonio and that certainly does not sound like a major saving for anybody, especially given that West Ham throw millions around like confetti at a wedding.
It’s incredible to think of Sullivan forking out to use a private jet in these circumstances, perhaps Tim Steidten’s trips must be approved by him as well. In these times people like Prince Harry are heavily criticised for using private jets for environmental reasons.
It’s a shame that Sullivan has been a lot tighter with his money at times in the transfer market. As we all complain, if only we’d have paid a bit more for Duran we would never have found ourselves with the Halfkrug fiasco. Yes, I know, hindsight is a wonderful thing!