EXTRA TIME

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.

May 25, 2026 at 7:22 am Leave a comment

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

May 24, 2026 at 6:28 pm Leave a comment

Tigers are back !

May 23, 2026 at 6:04 pm Leave a comment

Sunday, 4 p.m. ⚒️⚽️⚽️🐦

Well, this could be the last time
This could be the last time
Maybe the last time, I don’t know
Oh no, oh no

This Sunday, 4 p.m. could be the last time for at least one season that a Premier League game is kicked off inside the London Stadium, but West Ham still have a chance to avoid relegation.

The Hammers got an other lifeline due to Spurs‘ defeat at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, but PL survival still is not only in their own hands: a win over Leeds and one more home defeat for Spurs (vs. Everton) will be needed. Will David Moyes do West Ham one last favour and win at Tottenham?!

It‘s the hope that gets you again and again, West Ham fan Holly Turbott describes the feelings within the last months of this season. Every time you give up hope and you say it’s all over, West Ham find this glimmer of hope that drags you back in and leads you to question whether we can do it.

Now it’s all coming down to the last game of the season and the West Ham supporters are going to be stood in the stands trying to follow the Spurs game at the same time.

If the Hammers pull off a last-minute miracle, it won’t be a “great escape” but rather sheer luck and the end of an unwanted emotional rollercoaster. Many of us like Holly had already accepted relegation and the prospect of being a Championship side next season. Remaining in the PL this year could just mean that it will be the same struggle next season. “So let what will be will be”, as an other West Ham fan resumed.

May 21, 2026 at 6:06 pm Leave a comment

Aston Villa win Europa League 🏆

Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 to win the Europa League and end a 30-year trophy drought.

First-half stunners from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia gave Villa control before Morgan Rogers’ strike sealed a second major European title 44 years after they won the European Cup (1982) and 30 years after their win of the League Cup (1996).

Aston Villa’s ultra-celebrity fan, the Prince of Wales, watched the final inside the Tupras Stadium. He celebrated their goals wildly and was seen wiping away tears of joy. After the game he posted a message that said: “Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware!” He added: “UTV! [Up the Villa] VTID [Villa till I Die] W.”

The architect of Villa’s success, Manager Unai Emery, now has won the Europa League five times with three different clubs (Sevilla 2014, 2015 and 2016; Villareal 2021, and now Aston Villa). He replaced Steven Gerrard in November 2022 with Villa three points above the relegation zone and has transformed them into top five contenders and, now, a European champion. He has overseen a momentous change for the club who, 10 years ago, were relegated from the Premier League for the first time and in 2009 and 2010 eliminated from the Europa League by Rapid Vienna.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez revealed he broke his finger during the warm-up, but managed to play the entire match. The 33-year-old did not have much to do, but still managed to make two saves.
He said: “Today I broke my finger during the warm-up and for me, every bad thing brings something good. I’ve done this my whole life and I’ll keep doing it.“ The former Arsenal keeper has now won every final he has played in during his career, including the FA Cup final, the World Cup final, two Copa Americas and now the Europa League.

Southampton expulsed from Championship Play-offs 👉🏻

Middlesbrough will play Hull in the EFL Championship play-off final on Saturday. An EFL independent disciplinary commission on Tuesday evening expelled Southampton from the play-offs and reinstated Middlesbrough, who had lost 2-1 to the Saints on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Southampton admitted spying on three rivals’ training sessions – including Boro before the semi-final first leg – but had appealed against their expulsion, calling it “manifestly disproportionate to every previous sanction in the history of the English game”. 

However, the EFL has rejected Saints’ appeal and upheld the punishment.

May 21, 2026 at 5:39 am Leave a comment

Arsenal win Premier League

Hammers can still hope

Arsenal fans celebrate! On Tuesday evening Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, a result that confirmed that Arsenal win the title for the first time in 22 years! I think the Gunners deserve to win the Premier League, and they could also win an other piece of silverware for the first time if they beat PSG in the Champions League final. They will be underdogs though in the final on 30 May in Budapest.

The same evening Spurs lost 1-2 against Chelsea, which means that West Ham can survive with a win at home against Leeds if Tottenham don’t win a point against Everton on the final day of the season.

The final day of the Premier League is on Sunday. The title race is over, but there are still plenty of things to be decided.

Champions League qualification – Liverpool or Bournemouth (but if Aston Villa win the Europa League final tomorrow against Freiburg in Istanbul and end fifth, then the sixth placed club would also get in the Champions League, so Brighton still have a chance). Already qualified: Manchester City (which will be left by manager Pep Guardiola after ten years, winning twenty trophies!), Manchester United, Aston Villa.

Other European spots (two places to be decided) – Between Brighton, Chelsea, Brentford, Sunderland, Newcastle, Everton and Fulham.

If Crystal Palace win the Conference League final in Leipzig on 27 May against Rayo Vallecani, they would also qualify for next season’s Europa League.

Relegation – Tottenham or West Ham. Already relegated: Burnley, Wolves.

May 19, 2026 at 10:33 pm Leave a comment

Are we finally going down?

This game was like West Ham’s whole season in a nutshell. They played awful for long stretches, there were some moments of fight and class, but ultimately, too little was done too late for any of it to matter.

With one game left (at home against Leeds United) and two points behind Spurs (with their game at Chelsea in hand and a much superior goal difference) relegation could be confirmed as early as Tuesday night if Tottenham wins or draws at Stamford Bridge.

Hello, Championship!

May 17, 2026 at 7:09 pm Leave a comment

ESC: Siegt AUS, AUT oder…?

Beim European Song Contest, der heuer in Wien stattfindet – nachdem 2025 der österreichische Countertenor JJ mit “Wasted Love” den ESC gewonnen hatte – ist die Sängerin Delta Goodrem aus Australien eine der Favoritinnen auf den Sieg. Austrias Cosmó tanzt mit seinem „Tanzschein“ bei den Buchmachern dagegen nicht vorne mit.

Der australische Song, der den europäischen Gesangswettbewerb gewinnen könnte, heißt übrigens nicht “Bumerang”, wie es sich für Down Under eigentlich gehören würde😉, sondern “Eclipse”.

Einen Song mit diesem Titel sangen aber tatsächlich schon einmal die Vertreter aus Austria🇦🇹, nicht aus Australia🇦🇺, und zwar im Jahr 1977 in London:

Der von Lukas Resetarits getextete und von der Band “Schmetterlinge” mit Willi Resetarits komponierte, von Christian Kolonovits dirigierte Beitrag ▶️Boom Boom Boomerang war damals eine bissige Kritik an der Musikindustrie und eine Parodie auf seichte Schlagertexte. Österreich landete damit auf dem 17. und vorletzten Platz, wie im Archiv des Hauses der Geschichte Österreich nachzulesen ist.

Beatrix Neundlinger, Leadsängerin der „Schmetterlinge“, war übrigens schon fünf Jahre früher beim europäischen Gesangswettbewerb – ebenfalls im United Kingdom, in Edinburgh – aufgetreten. Mit ihrer damaligen Band, den „Milestones“, vertrat sie Österreich beim Eurovision Song Contest 1972 und erreichte mit dem Titel „Falter im Wind“ damals den hervorragenden 5. Platz.

Wer am Samstag in der Wiener Stadthalle ausreichend “douze points” erhalten und den diesmal wegen der Teilnahme Israels von einigen Nationen boykottierten 70. Eurovisions Songcontest beim Finale mit 25 Teilnehmern gewinnen wird, entscheidet sich spätnachts am Samstag. Hoffentlich fällt heute Abend das große Public Viewing vor dem Rathaus nicht wegen des kalten, regnerischen Wetters ins Wasser. Bei Temperaturen um die 11 Grad hoffe ich, dass Eurovisions-Fan Aki Lunn aus England, den ich am letzten Wochenende mit zwei Tickets für das Wiener Fußballderby ausstatten konnte, Karten für die Stadthalle hat und nicht vor dem Rathaus frieren muss.

Warm anziehen muss sich übrigens voraussichtlich auch der SK Rapid, für den es nach einer neuerlichen Derby-Niederlage (0:2) im sonntägigen Meisterschaftsfinale um die Europacup-Teilnahme geht. Wie im Vorjahr müssen die Grün-Weißen wahrscheinlich ins Bundesliga-Europacup-Playoff, um nächste Saison wieder „europäisch“ spielen zu können. Gegner wird Ried oder der WAC sein, das steht ebenso wie der Abstieg (BW Linz) seit Samstag fest. Wenn sich am Sonntag ab 14:30 auch der Meistertitel emtscheidet, sind die beiden Wiener Klubs Zünglein an der Waage im österreichischen Meisterschaftsfinish: die Wiener Austria spielt zu Hause gegen den Tabellenführer und Cupsieger LASK, der mit Trainer Didi Kühbauer nach 61 Jahren wieder das Double holen könnte. Rapid trifft auswärts auf Sturm Graz, das zwei Punkte hinter dem LASK liegt, und müsste gewinnen, um die Austria noch überholen und sich die „Playoff-Überstunden“ ersparen zu können.

Eine missglückte Saison mit drei Trainern – Peter Stöger, Stefan Kulovits und Johannes Hoff Thorup – könnte für Rapid also entweder mit einem (äußerst unwahrscheinlichen) Auswärtssieg oder doch noch einem weiteren Heimspiel in Wien-Hütteldorf enden. Rapid steht wieder einmal an “crossroads”! Das ist übrigens auch der Titel von Beitrag Nr. 11 beim Songcontest: Daniel Zizka aus Tschechien zählt dort ebensowenig zu den Favoriten wie Rapid.

Eurovision Song Contest 2026

• 01 Dänemark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – „Før Vi Går Hjem“
• 02 Deutschland: Sarah Engels – „Fire“
• 03 Israel: Noam Bettan – „Michelle“
• 04 Belgien: Essyla – „Dancing On The Ice“
• 05 Albanien: Alis – „Nân“
• 06 Griechenland: Akylas – „Ferto“
• 07 Ukraine: Leléka – „Ridnym“
• 08 Australien: Delta Goodrem – „Eclipse“
• 09 Serbien: Lavina – „Kraj Mene“
• 10 Malta: Aidan – „Bella“
• 11 Tschechien: Daniel Zizka – „Crossroads“
• 12 Bulgarien: Dara – „Bangaranga“
• 13 Kroatien: Lelek – „Andromeda“
• 14 Vereinigtes Königreich: Look Mum No Computer – „Eins Zwei Drei“
• 15 Frankreich: Monroe – „Regarde!“
• 16 Moldau: Satoshi – „Viva, Moldova!“
• 17 Finnland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – „Liekinheitin“
• 18 Polen: Alicja – „Pray“
• 19 Litauen: Lion Ceccah – „Sólo Quiero Más“
• 20 Schweden: Felicia – „My System“
• 21 Zypern: Antigoni – „Jalla“
• 22 Italien: Sal Da Vinci – „Per Sempre Sì“
• 23 Norwegen: Jonas Lovv – „Ya Ya Ya“
• 24 Rumänien: Alexandra Căpitănescu – „Choke Me“
• 25 Österreich: Cosmó – „Tanzschein“

Dem ESC26 wurde eine überraschende Siegerin beschert: Dara aus Bulgarien gewann mit ihrer wilden Dancepopnummer ▶️“Bangaranga“ den Bewerb klar vor Israel, Platz drei ging ebenfalls überraschend an Rumänien. Die Favoriten wie Finnland oder Australien landeten im geschlagenen Feld. Der österreichische Vertreter Cosmó wurde – ebenso wie 1977 die Schmetterlinge – Vorletzter.

May 16, 2026 at 7:11 pm Leave a comment

Hammer of the Year – Ten Years After

It’s the tenth season after West Ham United’s final game at Upton Park on May 10th, 2016.

In that year, 2016, Dimitri Payet won the “Hammer of the Year” award. Last season (2024/25) Aaron Wan-Bissaka was the winner after Jarrod Bowen had claimed the accolades the year before.

Now voting is open for this year’s awards. Vote here for your 2025/26 Hammer of the Year 🗳️ ⚒ ▶️forms/2026_hammer_of_the_year

And here you can take a sentimental look back to the Hammer’s good-bye to Upton Park ten years ago:

Unfortunately what was promised by the West Ham board prior to the move to Stratford, “a world class team in a world class stadium”, has not materialised, and despite some great matches at the London Stadium and winning the Conference League in 2023, still many supporters do not really feel at home at the new ground.

When we think of Upton Park and Green Street this still feels more like our home than the bowl somewhere lost in the Olympic Park. Well then, let’s listen to “Goin’ home” by Alvin Lee and Ten Years After⬇️ or relive the final day at the Boleyn by watching the clip above⬆️ – instead of thinking of tomorrow’s next nail biting game against Newcastle away!

May 16, 2026 at 8:18 am Leave a comment

Will Burnham make it

in Makerfield?

^{The constituency of Makerfield in Greater Manchester, south of Wigan, has been thrust into the spotlight after Josh Simons, the sitting MP, stood down. He will make way for Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, to stand in a by-election as he begins his perilous journey back to Westminster with his eye on the keys to No 10.}

^{People here in the constituency of Warrington, overnight, hold a lot of power. About 77,000 will get the chance to effectively decide whether Burnham can return to the House of Commons, challenge unpopular prime minister Keir Starmer and become the next prime minister himself. The vote will be held on June 18th, the day after England will have started into the World Cup with their first game against Croatia.}

^{As it won’t be easy to win that initial game it will not be an easy win for Burnham, either: latest polling shows that Reform have an 82 per cent chance of winning the seat, compared with Labour’s 17 per cent. Yet these figures do not count for a Burnham bounce. Should the so-called “King of the North”, a former Labour minister, win the seat of Makerfield — where Labour was decimated by Nigel Farage’s Reform in last week’s local elections — he will prove that he has the ability to win against the grain of the party’s current fortunes.}

^{In such circumstances, The Times writes, it would be hard to see how he does not become Britain’s 59th prime minister in the last 300 years and its seventh in the last decade. In case he succeeds Keir Starmer, The Times believes that he would take Britain to the left.}

^{But first he has to make it in Makerfield…}

May 16, 2026 at 5:54 am 3 comments