TRADITIONALLY, THREE BREAKS OCCUR IN THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, WITH JUST ELEVEN GAMES OF THE SEASON HAVING ELAPSED WHEN THE THIRD ONE OCCURS. HOWEVER, IN 2026, THE TWO-WEEK OCTOBER BREAK WILL DISAPPEAR AS PART OF A MOVE THAT WILL SEE THE SEPTEMBER ONE EXTENDED TO THREE WEEKS, ADDING AN EXTRA WEEK FOR DOMESTIC FOOTBALL IN THE CALENDAR.
THE GAME ON MONDAY NIGHT, WHEN BRENTFORD VISIT THE LONDON STADIUM, MARKS THE END OF THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL BREAK IN THE 2025-26 SEASON, WITH ONLY SEVEN GAMES PLAYED SO FAR. IT HAS BEEN A TERRIBLE START TO THE SEASON — JUST ONE WIN, ONE DRAW AND FIVE DEFEATS. WE HAVE FOUR POINTS AND SIT IN 19TH PLACE WITH THE MOST GOALS CONCEDED AND THE WORST GOAL DIFFERENCE. AND, OF COURSE, WE HAVE A NEW MANAGER.
WE ARE NOW TWO GAMES INTO THE NUNO ESPÍRITO SANTO ERA AND, DESPITE LOSING TO ARSENAL — A GAME IN WHICH THE TEAM FAILED TO REGISTER A SHOT ON TARGET — OVERALL THINGS SEEM RELATIVELY POSITIVE COMPARED TO HOW THEY FELT BEFORE HIS APPOINTMENT. AND DESPITE MY PREVIOUS COMMENTS REGARDING MY DISLIKE OF INTERNATIONAL BREAKS THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON, PERHAPS THIS ONE HAS COME AT THE PERFECT TIME FOR WEST HAM.
WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN SOME SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT SINCE NUNO’S ARRIVAL, BUT HAVING TWO SOLID WEEKS TO WORK WITH HIS PLAYERS WITHOUT THE DISTRACTION OF MATCH PREPARATION HAS BEEN VITAL IN ENSURING HE GETS HIS MESSAGE ACROSS EFFECTIVELY. OF COURSE, A NUMBER OF KEY FIRST-TEAM PLAYERS HAVE BEEN AWAY WITH THEIR NATIONAL TEAMS, BUT THE NON-INTERNATIONALS REMAINING BEHIND HAVE HAD TIME TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE NEW MANAGER AND ADAPT TO YET ANOTHER NEW TACTICAL APPROACH.
ADDITIONALLY, THE FACT THAT OUR GAME IS THE LAST ONE OF THE MATCHDAY — BEING PLAYED ON MONDAY NIGHT — GIVES THE RETURNING INTERNATIONALS MORE TIME TO RECOVER AND REINTEGRATE WITH THE SQUAD AND COACHING STAFF.
WITH FIXTURES AGAINST BRENTFORD AND LEEDS UNITED UP NEXT, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SECURE SOME MUCH-NEEDED POINTS AND START CLIMBING THE PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE. ALTHOUGH NO GAME IS EASY, THESE TWO MATCHES LOOK MORE FAVOURABLE THAN THOSE COMING UP IN NOVEMBER, WHEN WE FACE NEWCASTLE, BURNLEY, BOURNEMOUTH AND LIVERPOOL — EVEN THOUGH THREE OF THOSE ARE AT HOME. OUR HOME FORM MUST IMPROVE, OR WE COULD FIND OURSELVES IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.
ON THE EVIDENCE OF NUNO’S FIRST TWO GAMES, THERE IS RENEWED OPTIMISM THAT WE CAN APPROACH THE NEXT TWO FIXTURES WITH GREATER CONFIDENCE THAN BEFORE HIS ARRIVAL. HOWEVER, FAILURE TO WIN EITHER OF THEM COULD QUICKLY LEAD TO PANIC AND DESPAIR SOON AFTER YET ANOTHER MANAGERIAL CHANGE. THIS IS A PIVOTAL PERIOD — NO WINS FROM THESE NEXT TWO GAMES AND OUR PREMIER LEAGUE STATUS COULD BE UNDER SERIOUS THREAT. BUT SUCCESS — OR EVEN FOUR POINTS — COULD IGNITE NEW HOPE.
BRENTFORD WERE PROMOTED TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE IN THE 2020–21 SEASON, FINISHING THIRD AND COMING UP VIA THE PLAY-OFFS ALONGSIDE NORWICH AND WATFORD. UNLIKE THE OTHER TWO, WHO ARE NOW BACK IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, BRENTFORD HAVE CONSOLIDATED THEIR PLACE UNDER THOMAS FRANK, ONE OF THE BEST MANAGERS AROUND. AS A RESULT, HE MOVED ON TO TOTTENHAM, WHO HAVE MADE A BIG IMPROVEMENT THIS SEASON COMPARED TO LAST. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF KEITH ANDREWS CAN MAINTAIN THAT STANDARD.
BRENTFORD HAVE SEVEN POINTS FROM THEIR OPENING SEVEN FIXTURES — TWO WINS (MANCHESTER UNITED & ASTON VILLA) AND A DRAW AGAINST CHELSEA. THEY SIT IN 16TH PLACE, BUT WE CAN MATCH THEIR POINTS TALLY WITH A WIN. EVEN SO, A WIN WOULD NOT LIFT US OUT OF THE BOTTOM THREE UNLESS IT’S BY FOUR GOALS OR MORE — WHICH SEEMS UNLIKELY. NEVERTHELESS, IT IS CRUCIAL TO START PICKING UP POINTS NOW TO AVOID A GAP FORMING ABOVE THE RELEGATION ZONE.
IN THE FOUR SEASONS SINCE THEIR PROMOTION, OUR RECORD AGAINST BRENTFORD HAS BEEN POOR. WE WON AN FA CUP TIE ON THEIR GROUND BUT HAVE ONLY BEATEN THEM ONCE IN THE LEAGUE — DRAWING ONCE AND LOSING SIX TIMES. OUR ONLY LEAGUE WIN WAS A 4–2 VICTORY TWO SEASONS AGO, WHICH INCLUDED A JARROD BOWEN HAT-TRICK. OUR CAPTAIN HAS SCORED FIVE OF OUR EIGHT LEAGUE GOALS AGAINST THEM, BUT WE HAVE CONCEDED FIFTEEN.
CURRENT FORM AND HISTORY ARE AGAINST US, BUT BOOKMAKERS STILL MAKE US SLIGHT FAVOURITES TO WIN. PERHAPS THEY SENSE THE IMPROVEMENT UNDER NUNO — OR PERHAPS IT’S BECAUSE BRENTFORD HAVE YET TO EARN A SINGLE POINT AWAY FROM HOME, HAVING LOST 2–1 AT SUNDERLAND, 3–1 AT FOREST (WITH NUNO AS MANAGER), AND 3–1 AT FULHAM.
CAN NUNO SECURE A SECOND WIN OVER BRENTFORD THIS SEASON?
