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What will the goals of Brentford be?

Many of their fans have reportedly asked the question themselves, which they have heard repeatedly over the past few years.

The Bees have created a response even before it was actually raised as a legitimate concern.

Bryan Mbeumo was prepared to step up until he returned in May 2023 after being given an eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting rules.

Toney left Al-Ahli last summer, but Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa once more significantly increased the west London club’s threat with goalscoring opportunities.

However, that duo left this summer, and the ominous concerns resurfaced. However, Brentford appear to have it covered once more.

Igor Thiago, move on.

The Brazilian, 24, has already had a strong campaign going with a double against Manchester United on Saturday, which increased his Premier League total to four in six games and added another in the Carabao Cup.

After Alexis Sanchez did so for Arsenal in 2015, Thiago became the second player to score twice in the first 20 minutes of a Premier League game with two of his early goals at the Gtech.

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole described Igor Thiago as “like a throwback center-forward.”

You could be forgiven for thinking this was a new arrival making an immediate impact given how little we saw of Thiago last season.

His departure from Club Brugge in July 2024 was regarded as a true coup for Brentford to replace the retiring Toney for a then-club-record £30m fee.

However, Thiago suffered a meniscus injury in his first pre-season game before the England striker even left, which kept him sidelined until November.

He didn’t score in eight games as a result of a knee infection that ended his first season at Brentford. He then had to spend another lengthy time watching from the sidelines.

However, Thiago is now making up for lost time, who scored 29 goals in his only season in Belgium.

Keith Andrews, the manager for Brentford, told TNT Sports, “I watched Igor]at] close quarters last year and the struggles he had.

The worst part of being a professional football player is getting hurt and unable to do what you love to do. Behind the scenes, Igor and Igor forged a good partnership.

“I have always been aware of his character and desire for football,” he said. His ability to make a little patience work in introducing rhythm to his game was never going to be in doubt, even though he occasionally wants it too much too soon and needs to be a little patient with getting rhythm into it.

However, Thiago hasn’t forgotten how to overcome hardship.

My father passed away when I was 13 years old, the frontman told Brentford’s official website last summer.

“I started working at the fair carrying fruit. Additionally, I was a bricklayer. Before I started playing football professionally and having the opportunity to play abroad, I worked a number of jobs when I was younger.

It both helped me as a man and as a person, according to the quote. Because looking at my life today, I can see how fortunate I am with everything I have, it helped me to appreciate both the little and the big things in life.

A professional football career was never something Thiago wanted to do because he put so much effort into supporting his mother for a while.

However, he left Vere FC to pursue a career with Cruzeiro before joining the Bulgarian side Ludogorets in Europe.

The way I play was undoubtedly impacted by my early life. I had a lot of focus on the things I wanted to do, Thiago recently stated on Brentford’s official match program.

His 15 goals helped Ludogorets retain their Bulgarian title in 2022-23 and earned him the Conference League Young Player of the Year award for Club Brugge’s seven goals in reaching the semi-finals of the competition.

After a torn first year in England, Thiago, who is eligible to play for either Brazil or Bulgaria at international level, is now displaying signs that he might be recovering from his best years.

He hardly played last season because of injury, but he scored two goals in that half, which is what a striker will be judged for.

He appears to be able to fill the void left by Wissa and Mbeumo.

You couldn’t help but feel guilty about the hiring of Graham Potter as West Ham’s head coach in January, even if it had been done without any prior prior experience.

Chairman David Sullivan initially favored to offer Potter a one-year, one-year, contract that would run until the end of the season.

West Ham reportedly considered a longer deal with a break clause, which could have been activated last summer, when that was rejected.

There were snives with former AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca and former Paris St-Germain manager Christophe Galtier even when the move for Potter was in its early stages.

Although it appeared unambiguous, Potter was eventually chosen to replace Julen Lopetegui.

Nine months later, those initial cracks have developed into permanent chasms.

With a forgettable record of six victories out of 25 matches, Potter has been fired.

To put that in perspective, Lopetegui won more victories than his successor despite having only 22 games in charge.

Potter’s possession-based approach promised a return to West Ham’s tradition of passing, forward-thinking football, which is a damning indictment.

Instead, fans grew weary of disappointment.

The final straw came last weekend when Crystal Palace lost at home, a game that took place amid protests from supporters against the board and ownership.

Nuno Espirito Santo and the club were among the contenders for the role in the match, according to BBC Sport after the game.

The man in charge often finds things impossible once that occurs.

It makes sense to choose Nuno.

Although it may annoy fans, West Ham are not that bad going down.

Nuno’s pragmatic approach is indistinguishable from Potter’s and Hammers fans’ ideals for their team.

However, West Ham currently needs to address this.

Nuno has a wealth of experience keeping his teams in the top flight, having done it with Wolves and Nottingham Forest, respectively.

The 51-year-old’s appointment process began before the game against Palace, according to sources close to the situation.

The Hammers were interested in finding out whether he would be willing to start working again soon after losing his job at City Ground primarily on an exploratory basis.

He confessed that he was open to it at first, which was encouraging.

Other people were also present. Former Hammers player and manager Slaven Bilic was also taken into consideration.

Bilic would have been a romantic encounter, and it goes without saying that he would have jumped at the chance to travel to East London.

James Collins, the club’s former defender, and Mark Noble, the club’s sporting director, would have been in line for a coaching position.

It is interesting to speculate that Bilic would have agreed to the position on a contract that would have pre-dated the season, making him attractive to Sullivan, who is believed to have preferred a temporary position.

The mind was made sharper by Palace’s defeat. It was only a matter of when and not ifotter’s reign was effectively over.

Nuno was the topic of discussion at the start of this week. According to sources, Sullivan continued to make appointments until the summer, offering a “huge bonus” should the newcomer keep them in the Premier League, at least at that point.

However, “Why would Nuno consent to that,” a knowledgeable source told BBC Sport.

His stock is high. He elevated Forest from a club that was in danger of delegation to one that is currently playing in Europe this year.

Effectively, West Ham chose him because of his work at the City Ground.

Talks with Nuno have been ongoing since the start of the week, in spite of Bilic’s obvious ease of appointment.

When West Ham’s players gathered at the club’s Essex training facility on Saturday morning, Potter informed them of his imminent departure.

The squad is said to have had a shock factor. Every player had hoped that Potter would have a second chance to save his job after attending Friday’s media conference to discuss Monday’s trip to Everton.

Despite disappointing results, Potter managed to keep the support of some senior players.

There were others who weren’t as enamored with the former Chelsea head coach’s style. At least one player who sought a move away from West Ham during the summer season cited Potter’s continued presence as a contributing factor.

It’s not unusual for a manager to have his team support on a regular basis.

Potter might wonder if the conditions for his success were ever there when he considers his time at West Ham.

He did, to some extent, be. Shortly after Potter’s appointment, the club named Kyle Macaulay as head of recruitment. Macaulay and Potter have a long-standing relationship, and they are almost certain to end it soon.

West Ham is ultimately West Ham, though.

The manager will rarely have the knowledge of transfers he needs in terms of hiring.

Despite his and the club’s board’s recent shift to a more modern executive model, Sullivan frequently leads that side of things. Tim Steidten’s appointment as the club’s first technical director in 2023 appeared to indicate that Sullivan was willing to give up at least some of his authority.

Additionally, numerous sources claim Jack, Sullivan’s son, is a club director, who is becoming more influential in the background and wants to have more influence going forward.

Sullivan appeared to be letting down in his mid-’70s.

However, the internal restructuring’s failure to go according to plan is not unheard of.

When Sullivan took over, “West Ham were in better shape,” according to one source.

Of course, a large portion of the fanbase may disagree with that assertion.

They are at the center of a perceived lack of progress, according to Sullivan and the board.

However, it is important to keep in mind that West Ham finished in the sixth, seventh, and 14th place during the three seasons prior to Steidten’s appointment as manager in 2023.

You can see why West Ham supporters are eager to achieve that level of success despite the current angst.

Boiling Point won the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket by the largest margins over Indalo.

After winning the heritage handicap last year with Liberty Lane, jockey Clifford Lee, trainer Karl Burke, and owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid combined to claim a second consecutive victory.

Lee moved Boiling Point, which had a 14-1 chance, to the top of the field before succumbing to a late charge from Indalo, who had won by a nose, to take the photo finish.