West Ham United’s average attendance of 62,464 is the second highest in the Premier League behind Manchester United. It’s not that the team from East London are a bigger or better supported club than, say, Liverpool, but the London Stadium, which was built for the 2012 Olympics games, has the second highest capacity and London’s designation as a tourist destination means there’s usually a demand for tickets.
The crowd for the Hammers’ final home game of the season against Nottingham Forest was given as a full house of 62,466 on the club’s official website. The reality was that there were thousands of unoccupied seats in all areas of the stadium apart from the 3,000 given to the visitors from Nottingham.
There are several reasons why: West Ham are 15th in the table and out of form. Their win in the previous game away to Manchester United was their only one in the last 10 games and got them to 40 points in a forgettable campaign. No team outside the relegated bottom three has a worse goal difference than them.
Those long-relegated teams are also the only sides with inferior home records. The Hammers have lost at home to all eight of the league’s leading teams. Their previous four season’s finishes of 6th, 7th, 14th and 9th make this campaign a let down.
Thousands of fans who who paid for tickets (and were thus counted in the official attendance) stayed away, yet Sunday’s game was a hugely important one for Forest, who are chasing Champions League football.
After 117 minutes - finishing two hours and 11 minutes after it had started - because of multiple stoppages for injury and VAR decisions, Forest’s 2-1 win means that whatever happens next week this will be their best league finish since coming third in 1994-95.
Forest, the league’s surprise team after a 17th place finish last term, have enjoyed being in the Champions League positions for much of the season, but one win in their previous six games had put hopes of playing in the top competition in doubt.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side needed a win at West Ham to keep their hopes alive – and they got one. They’re seventh with one game to play. Crucially, that is against Chelsea at home next week.
Beat Chelsea and Forest will move above them. They still need other results to go their way, but such a scenario would have been unimaginable back in August, so even Europa League qualification demonstrates vast progress.
For West Ham, it felt like the end of an era. Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal, Lukasz Fabianski and Danny Ings all tasted Europa Conference League success with the club but will leave imminently.
Unchanged from their win at Manchester Unted the previous week, Graham Potter’s side started well, with Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels diving to his left to stop a header from Tomas Soucek after three minutes. Two minutes later at the other end, Alphonse Areola made another world-class save from Morgan Gibbs-White who powered a shot towards the keeper from five yards.
Nico Williams set up Chris Wood to strike towards the West Ham goal after eight minutes. Forest’s pressure paid off after 10 minutes when Areola pushed the ball away to Gibbs-White, who pounced and saw an opening to shoot and score his seventh Premier League goal of an impressive season. The celebrating Forest players held up a shirt in support of teammate Taiwo Awoniyi, who was seriously injured after colliding with a goalpost last week.
Forest should have made it two on 40 minutes when Wood, who scored in the reverse fixture, a 3-0 win for Forest, had two chances.
Nikola Milenkovic’s 61st minute goal, the Serb getting a touch after being set up by an Anthony Elanga cross, was followed by a six-minute delay for VAR before it was given. The fans of both sides made their feelings about VAR clear.
Jarrod Bowen’s brilliant 86th minute left-foot volley for West Ham made it a tense end for Forest, but they held on. Bowen remains the Hammers’ central force.
“Until the West Ham goal we were in control,” said Nuno. “Then the anxiety comes when we allowed the goal and everything is difficult from there.
"Matz [Sels] did great again so we’re happy. We started really well. Previous games a lot of bad things happened to us but today that was not the case. Today we pressed good, got a good goal, started well in the second half, on the front foot. Generally a good performance. The players worked hard to put West Ham under pressure.”
Forest’s season will go to the wire. West Ham’s has been effectively and disappointingly over for some time.
More from Janine di Giovanni
Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2A)
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Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Makerah, Adrie de Vries, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Hazeme, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap | Dh85,000 | 2,200m
Winner: AF Yatroq, Brett Doyle, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Shadwell Farm for Private Owners Handicap | Dh70,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Nawwaf KB, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Treasured Times, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
SPECS
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
Countries offering golden visas
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
SUZUME
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The%20specs
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