Championship League News
Birmingham sink Millwall to keep up good form
Norwich thump Rams and pile pressure on Eustace
Terry Devlin’s double denied Swansea the chance to take top spot in the Championship as in-form Portsmouth won 3-1 at Fratton Park.
Devlin’s first-half goal looked like it was going to be enough for Pompey but Zan Vipotnik, the Championship’s top scorer last season, won and converted an 85th-minute penalty to set up a blockbuster finale.
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While Football Daily hasn’t actually seen much of West Ham this season, we’ve noted enough of their results to presume they were doing OK in their attempt to bounce back to the Premier League after relegation. Less than a third of the way through the Championship season under Nuno Espírito Santo, they’d already spanked six without reply past both Wrexham and Lincoln, while scoring three or more in wins over Wolves, Derby and Bolton. However, it turns out that of the 13 matches they’ve played in a league that is famously difficult to get out of (unless you were Sheffield Wednesday last season), they have actually lost three times and currently sit in eighth place, a whopping six points off leaders Middlesbrough. Given the context of such an unbridgeable chasm, it is small wonder West Ham fans woke up to news that Nuno had been unceremoniously bounced out of the London Stadium with a P45 in hand.
While my heart aches for Jesús de Miguel, who has died after a collision with the Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono, I shudder to think the trauma that shall haunt Owono for the rest of his life. I do hope and pray the wider community understands and extends their support in his recuperation” – Krishna Moorthy.
As an upgrade to Steve Plever’s suggestion of paper thin shirts [Monday’s letters]: how about Velcro shirts? If the bit comes off, it is a shirt pull and the offender has the honour of putting it back in place before being awarded a yellow card” – Mike Harold.
To dive or not to dive seems to be biggest dilemma in the Premier League right now. It’s not. The problem with today’s highly paid professionals is that they simply have no panache at all when they go down. I recall watching Francis Lee pick up the ball on the halfway line at a mud soaked Maine Road in the late 1960s, he put his head down and headed for goal, he was determined, he was single minded. He was 30 yards from goal, he was in full flow. He was tackled from behind and then he really took off, he grew wings, he soared. I swear he landed in the penalty area over 10 yards away. He dragged himself to his feet and without a semblance of a smile smashed the well-deserved penalty, with a very heavy leather ball straight at the centre of the goal at over 70 mph. The goalkeeper, obviously no fool, simply dived out of the way. The press christened him “Lee Won Pen” He was my hero. That man had panache, he had style” – Myles Flynn.
I am interested to read that Aston Villa considered the words of Jamie Carragher “unacceptable insults”. It would obviously help matters if they could publish examples of acceptable insults” – Rupert Jeffery.
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Continue reading...West Ham intent on instant return to Premier League
Nuno took over from Graham Potter in September 2025
West Ham are poised to appoint Scott Parker as their manager after sacking Nuno Espírito Santo. Parker has been out of work since leaving Burnley last season but there is optimism he will be in place when West Ham visit Cardiff City on Wednesday.
The club kept faith with Nuno after their relegation from the Premier League last season but patience has snapped with the side eighth in the Championship after the 3-1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion last Saturday.
Continue reading...Favourites for promotion sit eighth in Championship
Key figures at club losing patience with manager
Nuno Espírito Santo’s future at West Ham is under threat after a disappointing start to the season. West Ham are struggling to live up to their billing as Championship favourites and dropped to eighth after losing 3-1 to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
West Ham are intent on an instant return to the Premier League after Nuno failed to save them from relegation last season, but the setback against West Brom put another dent in their promotion push. West Ham occupy the final playoff spot after consecutive defeats at home and are four points below second placed Swansea. Nuno is expected to be given time to turn the situation around but key figures have become increasingly impatient. The manager faced unrest from supporters during the West Brom game.
Continue reading...Hammers fans angry after West Brom seal 3-1 victory
Swansea win 4-0; Middlesbrough cruise against Charlton
Nuno Espirito Santo is facing mounting pressure after West Brom’s stylish 3-1 win at the London Stadium left West Ham, the Championship promotion favourites, six points off the pace in eighth place.
A second consecutive home defeat contained few saving graces for Nuno, who faced the wrath of fans on the final whistle. Albion, slick and measured, moved into the top four with their 3,000 travelling fans revelling in the discomfort of Nuno, once manager of arch-rivals Wolves.
Continue reading...Swiss, 50, also had successful spell at Basel
He replaces Nicky Hayen with club 22nd in Championship
Burnley have announced former Switzerland midfielder Fabio Celestini as their new head coach four days after sacking Nicky Hayen.
Burnley, who have won only one of their 12 league games this season after relegation from the Premier League, have not disclosed the length of Celestini’s contract. They heralded his appointment by saying in a statement that the 50-year-old “arrives with a proven capacity to win and to adapt to different football environments”.
Continue reading...Hammers humbled at home; Swansea thrashed 5-0
Burnley sack manager Hayen after 4-1 loss at Lincoln
Southampton announced themselves in the promotion race with a statement 3-2 win at the pre-season title favourites, West Ham. Kuryu Matsuki, James Bree and Lewis Dobbin were all on target in a chaotic first half, while Kyle Walker-Peters and Tomas Soucek replied for the Hammers.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side would have gone top with a win but instead saw their nine-match unbeaten run halted. There were thousands of empty seats by the end at the London Stadium, with those who stayed booing the Hammers off. Southampton, deducted four points at the start of the season, are now just two points behind West Ham.
Continue reading...Belgian won only one of his 14 games in charge
Relegated Burnley expected to challenge for promotion
Burnley have sacked Nicky Hayen after only 14 games in charge, in the wake of a 4-1 defeat at Lincoln that left the Clarets in the Championship’s relegation zone.
The Belgian was appointed in the summer as the permanent successor to Scott Parker, who left in April with relegation from the Premier League inevitable. He leaves having won just one match, a 4-0 league victory at Watford on 10 October.
Continue reading...Mukasa’s first-half goal enough to beat leaders Swansea
Canaries suffer sixth straight loss; Watford beat Charlton
Nuno Espírito Santo was delighted West Ham finished a “demanding week” by toppling Championship leaders Swansea.
Divine Mukasa’s first-half strike in front of a record Swansea.com Stadium crowd of 20,973 gave the Hammers a 1-0 win and took them into second place and within a point of the league leaders. It was their second success in four days after a 6-0 romp at Lincoln, and ended a week that began with a 1-1 home draw against QPR following Jarrod Bowen’s last-gasp penalty miss.
Continue reading...The Wolves substitute Tawanda Chirewa struck within seconds of coming off the bench as César Peixoto’s side came from behind to extend Burnley’s home misery at Turf Moor to 21 games without a win.
Chirewa had just replaced Sean Neave in the 72nd minute when Mateus Mané pounced on Igor Julio’s heavy touch and sent the 23-year-old Zimbabwe international through to strike an angled shot, which flew into the net despite Gregoire Coudert getting his hands to the effort.
Continue reading...Tomas Soucek rounds off big victory after two reds
Portsmouth strike late to beat 10-man Sheffield United
West Ham returned to winning ways as they cruised to a 6-0 Championship victory against nine-man Lincoln at the ProAmpac Stadium.
The hosts had Tom Hamer sent off after just three minutes and Conor McGrandles followed him off the pitch 20 minutes later, with Konstantinos Mavropanos heading West Ham ahead on the stroke of half-time.
Continue reading...Kick It Out statement: managers should ‘set the tone’
Head coach said delay in Swansea game ‘killed momentum’
The Millwall head coach, Alex Neil, has been criticised by the anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out after complaining that a stoppage in play over alleged racist abuse “killed the momentum” in Tuesday’s home defeat to Swansea City.
The Championship fixture was suspended for around seven minutes after reports of abusive chants being aimed at the Swansea midfielder Eom Ji-sung. The referee, Edward Duckworth, halted the match in the 65th minute before speaking with both teams’ managers, the fourth official and a safety officer.
Continue reading...Ronald’s last-minute winner keeps Welsh side on top
Middlesbrough edge Stoke in thriller; Watford gloom
Substitute Ronald scored a last-minute winner to keep Swansea top of the Championship after their match at Millwall was held up for almost seven minutes due to a complaint about racist chanting at the Den.
The referee, Edward Duckworth, halted the match in the 65th minute and walked to the dugouts to speak with Lions manager, Alex Neil, Swans counterpart Vítor Matos and fourth official Ruebyn Ricardo.
Continue reading...Leaders earn 2-1 home win, Boro beat Wolves 1-0
Burnley rout Watford; Birmingham edge West Brom
Vítor Matos praised his Swansea side for overcoming a lack of training as they strengthened their position at the top of the Championship with a 2-1 comeback win over Norwich. Second-half goals from Moussa Yeo and the Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah wiped out Jacob Wright’s strike just before the half-hour mark.
It was the third time Swansea had come from behind this season to win, and, after West Ham’s draw the previous night, it gave them top spot in the table. Idah, though, limped out of the action and could be a doubt for Tuesday’s visit to Millwall.
Continue reading...The QPR goalkeeper Pierce Charles made a stunning double save from a Jarrod Bowen penalty in stoppage time to secure a 1-1 draw at West Ham. The 21-year-old, who kept four clean sheets and saved a penalty for Northern Ireland over the international break, pulled off more heroics to deny the Hammers top spot in the Championship.
Bowen had already equalised for West Ham, cancelling out a hugely controversial first-half penalty from Nicolas Madsen. But the Hammers captain saw his spot-kick saved and Charles then somehow pushed the rebound from Arne Engels on to the crossbar.
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