Nuno departs
Following two back-to-back home defeats and some very disappointing performances, West Ham’s board has lost confidence in head coach Nuno Espírito Santo and his coaching team.
West Ham United confirmed that men’s first-team Head Coach Nuno Espírito Santo left his position with immediate effect.
Following a thorough review of the start to the EFL Championship season, the Board of Directors believed that a change was necessary at this time in order to ensure that the Club’s objectives and expectations remain on track.
Assistant Head Coach Rui Pedro Silva and Goalkeeper Coach Rui Barbosa also departed.
A run of four successive wins in the first half of September, where the Hammers scored 16 goals and went top of the table, had appeared to show they had adapted to the second tier, with a 6-0 win over Wrexham the highlight of the run. But just two league victories have come since – a 6-0 win at nine-man Lincoln City and a 1-0 victory at Swansea City, followed by draws with London rivals Millwall and QPR, and recent defeats against Southampton and West Brom. The remarkably slow start of the team to many games which resulted in frequently falling behind, and the Iron’s often dire performances casted questions over Nuno’s tactical ability and nurtured the assumption that Nuno could have lost the connection to his players.
Scott Parker (46) who played for the Hammers from 2007-2011 (and left the club following their penultimate relegation to the Championship) is now tipped to be appointed the next West Ham manager. West Ham are looking for their fourth permanent manager since David Moyes left London Stadium in May 2024.
Congrats to Harry Kane!
This year’s winner of the Ballon d’Or is the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. He is the perfect antidote to football’s preening narcissists, writes Oliver Brown in The Telegraph.
Kane’s numbers of the last season are incredible: 65 games for club and country and 73 goals. Plus eight assists (for the judging period – August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026). That is 61 goals for Bayern and 12 for England. That is a goal less than every 72 minutes. That is beyond elite. That is world class and legendary.
In his speech, Harry Kane (33) said “work in silence”, after fulfilling his lifelong quest to become the finest footballer on the planet. “Let success be your noise.” What a tonic this is to read, writes Oliver Brown. In a culture where narcissism reigns, and where even pre-eminent athletes feel compelled to advertise their greatness in glossy Instagram screeds, the England captain is striking a blow for humility, understatement and that Churchillian credo to “keep buggering on”. That is why his Ballon d’Or triumph is worthy of the widest celebration. Here is a figure whose first thought is to thank not his agent but his family, whose essential decency compels him to acknowledge his wife and “best friend” Kate, and whose instinct is always to let his achievements speak for themselves. After a long and winding road the summit has been reached and the English striker has finally become the world‘s best.
London 🇦🇹
We were there for the first time yesterday and found the restaurant was very nice and cosy. Since having stayed for some nights at Highbury Centre a year ago, Islington & Highbury is one of our favourite neighbourhoods in London, and the Kipferl just adds to its charm.
However, if you fancy a good portion of meat, you should head across Islington Green to Preto on 80, Upper Street.
Preto is a Brazilian “rodizio”, that is a continuous selection of meats, carved tableside by their “passadores”, served alongside salads and traditional Brazilian hot dishes to be collected from the bar.
What. A. Speech.
Prime minister Andy Burnham at the Labour Party conference in September 2026: “Hope again”
Oaks of Righteousness
Just returned from an international conference of Christian lawyers held at beautiful Campus Horn, Austria.
Around 180 delegates from more than 30 countries all over the world took part in a truly inspiring event, under the theme ‘Oaks of Rightousness’, which helped to build communities and strengthen our colleagues in their role as Christian lawyers.
The gathering was organised by Christ+Jurist (CuJ Germany and CuJ Austria) and LCF – Lawyers Christian Fellowship (UK).
Jasmin Avdagic, a lawyer from Šibenik, Croatia, held a keynote speech about being rooted in Christ as a lawyer.
In his speech he told us the following about his passion for football and for the Lord: Having got much too addicted in watching football and always being eager to know the results of his team, at one stage he made a promise to the Lord that he would not worship a false idol anymore and stopped to watch football or look up the results any more. For the following 16 years he did “put first things first“ in this way.
However, he arrived at our festive dinner dressed in a Croatian football shirt. It seems these sixteen years are over, but that’s a really remarkable story which should be a reminder for us to be very clear about the Lord being our King and that the personal relationship with Him always has to be “number one“ in my list of priorities, regardless of how long the current “to do list” may be.
Come on you Christian lawyers!
Millwall 2 West Ham 2
After trailing 0-2 at halftime at The Den, the Hammers recovered in the second half and made it 2-2 courtesy to goals from Kante and Mavropanos.
Pre-match ▶️ https://www.instagram.com/Dlw
Match report ▶️ www.bbc.com/sport//23t
Goals ▶️ share.google/QEuImnZgleMiZEUzb
Passion ▶️ https://www.instagram.com/peg==
Photo essay from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/iOSApp_Other
Top of the league again
West Ham’s largest competitive win within the last years was an 8-0 win over Macclesfield Town at London Stadium in the third round of the Carabao Cup on September 26, 2018.
Übrigens, auch der SK Rapid liegt aktuell ganz vorne in der österreichischen Bundesliga: Man ist punktegleich mit dem LASK und hätte diesen sogar überholt, wenn Sturm, als man am Sonntag dem LASK die erste Niederlage in dieser Saison zufügte, nicht in der Nachspielzeit einen Elfmeter vergeben hätte. Dann hätte Sturm in Graz statt 2:1 sogar mit 3:1 gegen den Tabellenführer gewonnen. Rapid spielt am 11. Oktober auswärts gegen die Linzer.
When the ball goes in the net
…it‘s a goal! Martin Samuel on the benefits of not having VAR in the Championship
Martin Samuel, one of the best-known sports writers in England, writing for The Times, is a West Ham supporter and always has been. He has inherited his love for the club from his father, and currently holds a season ticket at the London Stadium. Therefore he can really compare, as well from a fan’s perspective, what it means to celebrate a goal in the Premier League and in the Championship. In this article he writes that “one month in the Championship has changed my view on VAR”:
▶️ https://www.thetimes.com/article/59b4
▶️https://www.thetimes.com/article/c33
Top of the League – for one night
West Ham have finally come to terms with their life in the Championship: with three subsequent wins (4-2 Wolves, 3-0 Derby County and 3-2 Bolton) the Hammers topped the Championship table on Tuesday night. They were leapfrogged only by West Brom 24 hours later, following the Baggies’ 1-0 away win at Derby County. The Irons have a superior goal difference over Swansea, QPR and Charlton and are sitting in a spot which would guarantee automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
However, it’s just the 10th of September and early in the new season, and there is still a long way of another 40 games to go…
That’s what the table looks like after six of 46 rounds of second tier football:
Achtelfinale ausgelost
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