Nuno and Mavropanos win September awardspublished at 08:09 BST 9 October
08:09 BST 9 October
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Image caption,
Nuno Espirito Santo and Konstantinos Mavropanos helped West Ham to a five-game unbeaten run in September
West Ham United are celebrating winning both the Championship's manager and player of the month awards for September.
Boss Nuno Espirito Santo oversaw an unbeaten run last month which produced four wins from their five league games in which they scored 18 goals.
Defender Konstantinos Mavropanos had a prolific September for the Hammers, scoring four goals while also helping them keep two clean sheets as they moved up to second place in the table.
"I am delighted to win this award, but it was an excellent team effort this month," said Mavropanos.
"We had some good results, went on a good run, and obviously this award means that we are doing something good with the team.
"I am the one who has been given the award this time, but it could have been any of my team-mates, and I am just really happy that we are in a good way right now."
Lincoln head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, Swansea's Vitor Matos and Mark Robins of Stoke City were also nominated for the manager award.
Shaw, Cohen, Matos, Robins & Nuno up for September awardpublished at 08:23 BST 8 October
08:23 BST 8 October
Image source, Getty Images
Lincoln City head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, Swansea's Vitor Matos, Mark Robins of Stoke City and West Ham United boss Nuno Espirito Santo have been nominated for September's Championship manager of the month award.
Cohen and Shaw oversaw a run of eight points from five games for newly-promoted Lincoln last month, including away wins at Preston and Bristol City.
Matos won August's award and is in the running again as Swansea took 10 points in September to move to the top of the Championship table.
Stoke City recovered from losing their opening three games of the season under Robins to go unbeaten last month with four wins from their five outings and move up to seventh place.
West Ham boss Nuno's side rattled in 18 goals in their five matches in September with only Millwall preventing them from taking three points in a 2-2 draw at The Den.
The winner will be announced at 06:00 BST on Friday, 9 October.
Pick of the stats: West Ham v QPRpublished at 11:27 BST 7 October
11:27 BST 7 October
The Championship returns from a three-week hiatus with a London derby on Friday as West Ham United host QPR (20:00 BST).
A victory for the Hammers would move them to the top of the table before the rest of the weekend's fixtures while a win for QPR would push them into second place.
West Ham and QPR have not met in the league since the 2014-15 Premier League campaign; the Hammers won 2-0 at Upton Park that season, before the sides shared a 0-0 draw at Loftus Road.
QPR lost their most recent game against West Ham, a 2-1 extra-time defeat in the FA Cup third round last season at the London Stadium. The Hoops have not won any of their past six visits across all competitions (D2 L4) since a 4-0 win in the Premier League in August 1993.
West Ham have scored 22 Championship goals in eight games this season, more than any other side. All three teams with this many goals after eight games since 2004-05 have gone on to win the league - Wolves in 2008-09 (23), QPR in 2010-11 (22) and Coventry in 2025-26 (22).
QPR are one of only two teams unbeaten away from home in the Championship this season (W2 D2), along with West Ham. They have only managed a longer away unbeaten run from the start of a season twice this century, eventually winning promotion on both occasions: 2010-11 (first nine) and 2013-14 (first five).
No player has been involved in more Championship goals this season than West Ham's Jarrod Bowen (four goals, three assists), while he also ranks second for both shots (32) and chances created (24).
West Ham to honour Miklosko at QPR gamepublished at 13:18 BST 5 October
13:18 BST 5 October
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Image caption,
Ludek Miklosko died on 14 September having withdrawn from cancer treatment in December 2024
West Ham United will dedicate Friday's Championship game against Queens Park Rangers to former goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko, who died last month at the age of 64.
The hugely popular Miklosko played for both clubs, as well as spending time as a goalkeeping coach with West Ham.
The Czech played 373 times for the Hammers between 1990 and 1998, before joining QPR and making a further 57 league appearances.
His family and selected former team-mates will take part in a pre-match ceremony before the game at the London Stadium.
There will also be fan-led displays in two of the stands, a special video tribute on the big screens and a special commemorative match programme.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Miklosko signed for QPR in 1998 and played his last professional match on 3 March, 2001
'Break comes at the perfect time for West Ham'published at 09:43 BST 24 September
09:43 BST 24 September
Holly Turbutt Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
The international break gives West Ham an opportunity to regroup, rest and fix some of the challenges we have faced so far.
Eight games into the season, we have a clear view of our strengths and weaknesses, so fans are hoping we'll use this break to recover from tiredness and improve technically.
Having scored 22 Championship goals, it is clear to see that we are attacking well, putting us in a great position to play exciting football.
Instead, our issues lie in defence and midfield, with us conceding easily and struggling to stay organised under pressure.
One of the players that could fix the number of goals we're conceding is Tomas Soucek.
After a long absence, we hope he will be fit to play again when the season continues, bringing an experienced and passionate player into our midfield.
One of the greatest benefits of Soucek's potential return is that he's naturally defensive, which is something we've been lacking.
While he might not be the fastest, he should be able to protect our defence and stop us conceding from set pieces, which has been a major issue for us in the Championship.
In addition to this, the break will give a lot of the new players a chance to take stock of their time at the club so far.
The majority of summer signings have impressed, despite being brought in with little time to settle before their first games.
The hope is that the slower pace for the next couple of weeks can take the pressure off and help them to gel even more.
After a worrying start to the season, we had our four wins in a row, before dropping out of the Carabao Cup and then scraping a draw with Millwall.
The drop-off in performance means we should not lose momentum with this time out, and instead, the international break can give legs a rest and provide time to improve on our defensive weaknesses before we go again.
When the season continues on 9 October, games will return thick and fast, meaning now is our time to prepare mentally and physically.
We've had a glimpse into what it feels like to win back-to-back games, and now we need to exceed expectations and find a way to do this regularly.
This break gives us the perfect breather to do this without pressure, so the goal must be to build momentum early and improve defensively from the moment the season gets back underway.
'There's a lot of pressure to play for West Ham'published at 16:40 BST 23 September
16:40 BST 23 September
Image source, Getty Images
West Ham United season ticket holder Gus Beagles would grade the Hammers' inconsistent start to the season as in the "B+, A- bracket" but feels some "leeway" is required.
They are second in the Championship, two points below leaders Swansea, but remain the bookies favourites to lift the title.
The expectation is high and it is what comes with it that has Beagles forgiving the early hiccups.
"West Ham have always seen periods where they look nervous and I think it's a really difficult club at times to play for," Beagles said.
"Us as a fan base, we are a brilliant fan base and extremely passionate as you see with our following across the country, but there's a lot of pressure to play for West Ham and especially at this level in the Championship.
"The pressure from the players that will be putting it on themselves to get up in the league, from the opposition, of going to difficult places or teams coming to us and having a crack, and also the pressure from the fans.
"London Stadium can become difficult when it gets nervy. It can be a really difficult place to play."
🎧Spygate debate & Grimsby's CEO on Jamestown Analyticspublished at 15:10 BST 23 September
15:10 BST 23 September
Media caption,
How are Grimsby Town and Swansea City linked through their recruitment and analysis?
In the newest episode of the 72+ podcast, Aaron Paul, Jobi McAnuff and Cambridge United boss Neil Harris find out in conversation with Grimsby CEO Polly Bancroft, who talks Jamestown Analytics, club growth, ambitions and what it's like to be one of the few female chief executives in the EFL.
That's after the panel are joined by Adam Blackmore, BBC Radio Solent's sports editor, to chat Spygate, the looming verdict over Tonda Eckert and how the club is feeling in this decisive week.
There's also discussion and debate on Championship table-toppers Swansea City and League One strugglers Peterborough United.
Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.
'A very intense atmosphere' - Nunopublished at 12:41 BST 21 September
12:41 BST 21 September
Media caption,
Nuno: 'We are still learning'
West Ham United manager Nuno Espirito Santo spoke to BBC Radio London after his team came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against rivals Millwall at The Den.
Millwall 2-2 West Ham - fans' verdictpublished at 10:47 BST 21 September
10:47 BST 21 September
We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's derby saw West Ham United claw back a 2-2 draw at Millwall from being 2-0 down in the first half.
Here are some of your comments:
Millwall fans
Siddie: In the cold light of day we should be proud of ourselves, given all the injuries. Sturge and Arconte looked dangerous. And everyone else was also really good. Just ran out of steam. I still feel lots of positives here and we just need to keep going.
Andy: Worked their socks off, deserved half-time lead.
Thought we made a bad tactical change - Sturge, who had marked Bowen out of the game, was moved to midfield and Millwall played a back three with Baggot marking Bowen. Both West Ham's goals were not the players' fault just a bad tactical decision, which I am sure we will learn from.
Dave: Alex Neil has cost us nine points this season by playing three at the back in the second half when we are dominating games.
Image source, Shutterstock
West Ham fans
Chris: Poor start even though we knew what was going to hit us. Too many passes going astray and too slow on the ball against a strong Millwall press.
Fair play to Nuno with the subs. Kante, a big physical presence, maybe should have been on from the start. Pablo strong on the ball also helped dig us out. Lucky escape.
Simon: Very poor performance, inaccurate passing in the first half. Fulham proved last match if you press us for the most part we can't deal with it and don't have the skill in the back line to pass out or pick a pass.
For a derby there wasn't the passion and Jarrod Bowen was not leading as captain on the field and wasn't at the required work rate in the first half. One or very possibly two bans could impact progress moving forward!
Malcolm: Totally out muscled; sloppy passing and very pedestrian particularly in the first half. Defence was all over the place and continues to be a major concern. Not one cross from the left wing .
All very predictable. Better second half mainly due to Millwall tiring. Much work to be done!
Who can walk tightrope in tantalising London derby?published at 17:06 BST 17 September
17:06 BST 17 September
Image source, Getty Images
London derbies generally run by their own rules. The expectations, the crowd, the sense of proximity – they all add to an air of unpredictability.
However, Millwall against West Ham operates on a different level. This match walks a tightrope whenever and wherever it is played. Unlike so many matches involving sides in the capital, this one happens infrequently – the last meeting was 14 years ago.
The rivalry, however, is long and tortuous. Even when they are not in the same division these two eyeball each other across the River Thames. Many will recall the ugly clashes both inside and outside Upton Park during a League Cup game in 2009. Those incidents have left a scar on football in the city.
The fixture itself is tantalising. West Ham have come into form in the Championship and are scoring goals for fun. They will be favourites.
Millwall have shown glimpses of the form behind last season's promotion push but are beset by an extraordinarily long injury list.
The crowd at The Den will know the odds are stacked against them so they will be even more motivated than ever to generate the sort of atmosphere that could redress the balance.
Whichever team copes best in that environment will succeed. If Millwall can rise to the occasion then don't count them out. If West Ham can blot out the noise, their promotion credentials will be burnished.
There will be plenty watching this game to see if all those questions get overwhelmed by a different sort of story.
That 90-minute tightrope walk will test everyone involved.
Pick of the stats: Millwall v West Ham Unitedpublished at 12:18 BST 17 September
12:18 BST 17 September
West Ham United can move three points clear at the top of the Championship for at least a few hours when they visit Millwall on Saturday (12:30 BST).
The Hammers are on a four-game winning streak while their London rivals had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough on Tuesday having led 2-0.
This will be the first league meeting between Millwall and West Ham United since February 2012, when the Hammers won 2-1 in the Championship.
Millwall are unbeaten in five home league games against West Ham (W3 D2) since a 1-0 defeat in December 1988.
Millwall have won only one of their past five league games (D1 L3), conceding 13 goals in that time, as many as in their previous 18 games in the Championship (excl. play-offs).
West Ham are looking to win five consecutive league games for the first time since doing so in February 2006 in the Premier League under Alan Pardew.
Last time out, Jarrod Bowen scored and assisted in the same league game for the 10th time since the start of 2023-24, in England's top four tiers only Mohamed Salah (15), Finn Azaz (13) and Davis Keillor-Dunn (11) have done so more often in that time.