Sullivan‘s Gone
“BS OUT” has finally succeeded: six and a half weeks after Karren Brady’s good-bye on April 21st David Sullivan has stepped down from his role as Joint-Chair and Director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect on June 6th.
At the end of Sullivan’s and Gold’s first full season the Hammers were relegated in 2011 with manager Avram Grant at the helm who had been appointed by the new owners after sacking Gianfranco Zola and his assistant manager Steve Clarke. Now Sullivan has left following West Ham‘s current relegation to the Championship, albeit the reasons for his stepping down are not connected with West Ham, they are impending “serious historic allegations” about his private life following informations of an upcoming joint exposé by BBC Panorama and The Times.
Sullivan explicitly stated he chose to step down to prevent personal legal matters from becoming an unnecessary distraction or source of instability for the club. None of the impending allegations relate to the club, its staff, or any of its operational activities:
Leadership of the club’s daily operational responsibilities will be taken over on an interim basis by Chief Executive Officer Karim Virani who has joined the Hammers by the end of April after Karren Brady’s departure.
Supporters may celebrate the departure of Karren Brady and David Sullivan within less than two months of each other, but to prevent a further slide, big decisions must be made. Following the departures of Brady and Sullivan, the remaining board is expected to undergo a restructuring. Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, who holds a significant minority stake, is heavily tipped to increase his control over the club. At this point it is not clear who will be making them. There will be a board meeting this week to discuss the situation..
CL: PSG win on penalties
MISSED PENALTY – Paris St-Germain 4-3 Arsenal
Gabriel fires the ball over the bar!
Gabriel Magalhaes skied the decisive spot-kick as Arsenal were denied a first Champions League triumph in a penalty shootout defeat by Paris St-Germain, who won the competition for a second successive year.
Mikel Arteta’s side lifted the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years last weekend, but were denied a league and European double in the most heartbreaking of fashions in a hot and humid Puskas Arena. PSG won the shootout 4-3 to retain the Champions League title.
Pep und Oliver Glasner🔝!!!
Zwei große Manager verabschieden sich mit Ende dieser Saison nach großen Erfolgen von ihren englischen Teams:
Pep Guardiola verlässt Manchester City nach zehn Jahren und zwanzig gewonnenen Titeln, darunter die Champions League, sechs englische Meistertitel, drei FA Cups und fünf Ligacups sowie der Klub-Weltmeistertitel. In der heurigen Saison kamen – dem Schnitt von 2 pro Pep-Saison entsprechend – zwei englische Cups hinzu.
Oliver Glasner sagt mit drei Titeln nach etwas mehr als zwei Jahren dem frischgebackenen Conference League-Sieger Crystal Palace bye-bye.
Der oberösterreichische Erfolgstrainer, der auch schon mit Eintracht Frankfurt einen Europacup holte, gewann mit den Eagles den FA Cup und den Community Shield – jeweils gegen Pep’s Citizens – und nun die Conference League mit dem 1:0 über Rayo Vallecano beim Finale in Leipzig. Die ersten drei trophies in 120 Jahren Klubgeschichte!
Wahrhaft Großes haben die beiden großen Trainerpersönlichkeiten mit ihren Klubs geleistet, wobei die Erfolge von Glasner mit dem kleinen Südlondoner Klub wohl sogar schwer wiegen könnten als jene der millionenschweren “Citizens“!
3:0 plus
West Ham und der SK Rapid siegten zum Ende der Saison beide 3:0. Bei Rapid hatte dieses Resultat am Pfingstmontag aber einen ungleich positiveren Effekt als bei West Ham am Sonntag! Die Grün-weißen qualifizierten sich mit diesem Heimsieg im Europacup-Play-Off nach der 1:2-Auswärtsniederlage gegen die SV Ried doch noch für den Europacup!
„War gut, dass du dort warst“, meinte mein Freund Alfred, der – wie gar nicht so wenige andere auch (nur 14.600 Zuschauer!) – nach einer enttäuschenden Saison auf dieses letzte Match vor dem Sommer verzichtet hatte. Und mit „Super, dass es heute geklappt hat“, verabschiedete sich Robert R., mit dem ich mich diesmal im schattigen Sektor 19 getroffen hatte. Bei Robert K. auf der Osttribüne wäre es mir bei nachmittäglichem Sonnenschein 🌞 und Temperaturen über 30 Grad diesmal zu heiß gewesen; mit ihm traf ich mich aber vor dem Match auf ein Bier im schattigen „Hüttelbeach“.
Schließlich lief mir dann nach dem Match zufällig auch noch mein Nachbar Patrick über den Weg, der mich mit „sie werden bald wieder zurückkommen!“ über West Ham‘s Abstieg hinwegzutrösten versuchte, obwohl er doch mit den Spurs sympathisiert. Sehr freundlich von ihm! (Ich hätte ihn wahrscheinlich eher gehäckerlt, wenn sein englisches Team abgestiegen wäre…)
Alles in allem ein versöhnlicher Abschluss für 2025/26 an diesem Pfingstmontag im Allianz Stadion; der im Jänner 2026 gekommene neue Rapid-Trainer Johannes Hoff Thorup hat zumindest das Minimalziel nach einer enttäuschenden Saison erreicht.
Jetzt beginnt bald, am 11. Juni, die WM in Kanada, Mexiko und USA mit dem Finale am 19. Juli. Und anschließend geht’s gleich mit der Conference League-Qualifikation weiter. Keine Ruh hat man! 😉
Termine: Conference League Qualifikation:
Q2: Auslosung: 17 Juni 2026
Q3: Auslosung : 20 Juli 2026
PO Auslosung: 3. August 2026
Conference League Ligaphase Auslosung: 29.August 2025
Spieltermine Conference League Qualifikation:
Q2: 23 & 30 Juli 2026
Q3: 6 & 13 August 2026
PO: 20 & 27 August 2026
Statements on Relegation
That’s what West Ham posted after relegation was confirmed:
The confirmation of our relegation from the Premier League today marks a sad and painful moment for West Ham United.
The Club wishes to sincerely thank every single one of our supporters for the constant and loyal backing they have given, throughout what has been an extremely difficult and disappointing season.
Ultimately, we have not repaid that support. The plain truth is that we have not been good enough. We must now face the consequences of that failure with honesty, transparency and a determination to repair, refocus and rebuild.
West Ham United is a football club whose unique identity is defined not by success or failure on the pitch, but by the values and traditions of our roots in east London, and by the spirit of the people who have Claret and Blue in their hearts. The Club acknowledges how challenging this season has been for them and knows it must take steps to restore a sense of pride, faith and belief.
As we have done before, we will fight with everything we have to return to the top division of English football at the first time of asking. The hard work to make that goal a reality begins immediately.
Jarrod Bowen on relegation:
▶️https://twitter.com/WestHam–6
Dave Walker, “The West Ham Way”, on relegation ▶️https://twitter.com/WestHamWayCom–6
Tomas Soucek:
EFL Championship 2026/27
Looking forward to Millwall and Wrexham, and some more London derbies (QPR and Charlton)…
By the way, the chance to get promoted will be greater than ever because the number of teams competing in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs will be expanded from four to six, starting in the 2026/27 season.
According to Wikipedia the English Football League Championship is the wealthiest non-top-flight football division in the world, the ninth-richest division in Europe and the 12th best-attended division in world football (with the second highest per-match attendance of any secondary league – after the German 2. Bundesliga). Its average match attendance for the 2022–23 season was 18,787. The second biggest ground is Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium (34,700), the biggest one now being of course the London Stadium with 62,500 seats.
About the cathedral of Lincoln (above) Victorian writer John Ruskin wrote: “I have always held … that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have.” Preston North End together with Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers currently hold the longest tenure in the Championship, having last been absent in the 2014–15 season.
Relegation confirmed ⬇️
Spurs stay in the Premier League, West Ham head to the Championship. De Zerbi’s Tottenham win at home for the first time this year, and David Moyes’s can’t save the Hammers from relegation for a third time – his Everton team loses 0-1.
West Ham’s 3-0 (0-0) win over Leeds ends a dismal season with a victory, but that’s all too late. Goalscorers Taty Castellanos, Jarrod Bowen and Callum Wilson will most probably have worn a West Ham shirt for the last time, and also this year’s Hammer of the Year Dinos Mavropanos might leave the club as West Ham’s 14-year stay in the Premier League has come to an end, just three years after they won their first major silverware in 43 years as David Moyes led them to the Europa Conference League title.
“Che sera sera”, as the old song goes.
It will be Championship football next season.
An uncertain future awaits the Club which has already posted a £104.2m loss for the last financial year. Relegation heaps yet more pressure on the club’s shaky finances. It remains to be seen how things will develop over the next months and also how the dissatisfied and unhappy fanbase will react. It has been a painful season and it could be a long painful summer…
Highlights: ▶️whufc.com
EXTRA TIME 
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