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May Review: The Good, The Bad, and West Ham's Fatal Quest For More
by Chike Nwoye
7 Jun 2026
In May’s edition of “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”, we deep dive into standout moments in the sports world. Obviously we’ll start with Arsenal, then talk about our very own Remo Stars. We even sprinkled in some basketball predictions for lovers of the NBA. Alright, let’s dive in.
In May’s edition of “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”, we deep dive into standout moments in the sports world. Obviously we’ll start with Arsenal, then talk about our very own Remo Stars. We even sprinkled in some basketball predictions for lovers of the NBA. Alright, let’s dive in.
The Good
May has seen a lot of positives in the sports world - from PSG successfully retaining the Champions League title, to Barcelona’s women winning their fourth UCL in six years, and 19-year-old João Fonseca announcing himself on the global stage by coming from two sets down to beat Novak Djokovic in the third round of Roland Garros. We’ve really been treated to some greatness, and here are even more standout achievements that caught the eye:
The Gunners End 22-Year Wait for EPL Title
Arsenal lost the Champions League final to PSG on penalties, but that shouldn’t define their season. It was still a fantastic campaign for the North London side who, after waiting 22 years, finally lifted the Premier League title again. Sure, 25 of their 71 goals (35.2%) came from set pieces, and they fully embraced the ‘dark arts’ when needed, but who cares? They got the job done. With coaching changes at Liverpool and Chelsea, Pep Guardiola leaving Man City, and Man United still some distance from challenging, things may even get better for the Gunners whose chances of defending their title next season look pretty good.
Trophy Droughts That Came to an End
Besides Arsenal, we’ve seen plenty of clubs end long trophy droughts or hit historic milestones this season, and I’ll quickly run through some of them. In Germany, SV Elversberg reached the Bundesliga for the first time, which is quite something for a club from a town with fewer than 8,000 people. Under Cesc Fàbregas, Como 1907 qualified for the Champions League for the first time in club history, which is wild considering they were in Serie D just 8 years ago.
In Switzerland, newly promoted FC Thun won their first-ever Swiss Super League title to secure the club’s first major trophy in 128 years, while AGF ended their 40-year wait for a Danish Superliga title. LASK won their first Austrian Bundesliga title in 61 years, while RC Lens lifted their first Coupe de France to end a 27-year wait for silverware.
Aston Villa finally ended their 30-year major trophy drought after beating SC Freiburg 3–0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul, thanks to Unai Emery who is addicted to this competition. And my personal favourite: second-division Portuguese side Torreense stunned Sporting CP to win the Portuguese Cup, meaning they’ll be playing Europa League football next season… while still being a second-division side. Salute to all these clubs.
Bruno Fernandes Breaks Assists Record + Champions League Returns to Old Trafford
There hasn’t been much to celebrate at Old Trafford after a disastrous 14 months under Ruben Amorim. But thanks to Michael Carrick’s impressive rescue job, the Red Devils not only saved what looked like another terrible season, they also achieved their goal of returning to the Champions League. Several players benefitted from Carrick’s arrival, with Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro among them, but none more than Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese playmaker was creating chances for fun and breaking records along the way, including Thierry Henry’s long-standing record for most assists in a Premier League season from 2002/03 which was matched by Kevin De Bruyne 6 years ago. Bruno’s 21 assists now sit alone at the top.
Cristiano Ronaldo Wins First Title Win Al Nassr
Since leaving Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo has had a tough time adding to his club trophy haul. Following a disastrous end to his second spell at Old Trafford, the expectation was that things would be easier in Saudi Arabia, but it didn’t quite work out that way. This season though, he finally got the monkey off his back, helping Al Nassr win the Saudi Pro League. That ended his six-year wait for a club trophy, while also snapping the club’s seven-year wait for the league title.
Knicks Reach First NBA Final in 27 years, Wemby Announces Himself
In the NBA, the Knicks have reached their first Finals in 27 years, and it’s sparked chaos on the streets of New York… the good kind of chaos. Led by All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson, they swept both the Sixers and the Cavs to win the Eastern Conference and book their place in the Finals. Ironically, the last time they made it this far in 1999, they also faced the Spurs.
Speaking of the Spurs, they’re back in the Finals for the first time since 2014, with Victor Wembanyama - a man whose dominance of basketball games is unlike anything we’ve ever seen - leading the charge in just his third year as a pro. They took down reigning champions OKC in a seven-game series, and even beat them eight times across the season, which is pretty wild.
The Finals - a rematch of this season’s Emirates NBA Cup final which the Knicks won - are fully underway.
Can Wemby lead the Spurs to victory or will Karl Anthony Towns do that for the Knicks?
A Masterclass Harry Kane Season
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are gods of this sport we love, but sometimes I feel their greatness has made us take extraordinary feats for granted because they’ve made it look normal. I’m not letting that happen.
This season, Harry Kane scored a ridiculous 61 goals in just 51 games, including 14 in 13 Champions League games and 36 in 31 Bundesliga matches. He also scored 5 hat-tricks and 12 braces. It’s a remarkable season from the Englishman, and with the World Cup just weeks away, our bet of the day is for him to win the Golden Boot and play a major part in the Three Lions’ quest to end their 60-year wait for the World Cup.
The Bad
While we’ve enjoyed the good side of sports, we’ve also had to deal with the bad (and sometimes genuinely heartbreaking) moments too. Here are our top 5:
Chaos At the Santiago Bernabeu
A trophyless season. A promising manager and club icon walking away just months into his tenure. The club captain getting knocked out by a teammate and ending up in hospital. An embarrassing exit from Europe. Your star player getting booed and even turned on by sections of the fans. The club president openly challenged by a younger rival. Players reportedly bullying each other in the dressing room. Did I mention the captain being ruled out for weeks after a concussion from that same incident?
You know things are bad when they’ve had to bring José Mourinho back.
It’s been a season from hell for Los Blancos, and even this barely scratches the surface of the chaos at the Santiago Bernabéu. There’s a real feeling that this summer - and the next few months of decisions - could define the club for the next 3–5 years. They simply can’t afford to get it wrong.
Tough Playoff Exits in the NBA
In sports, only one team ends the season as champions, while everyone else is left disappointed, but this year felt a bit… different. The Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics both blew 3–1 leads to the Pistons and Sixers respectively, which is basically one of the unforgivable sins in the NBA. For those franchises, collapses like that usually trigger major changes in the off-season. The Magic have already fired Jamahl Mosley while Celtics’ General Manager, Brad Stevens gave one of his fiercest press conferences yet, promising change in the offseason.
Then came the outright blowouts. The Lakers, Cavs, Suns, and Sixers (who had only just pulled off an impressive comeback from 3–1 down in the previous round) all ended up getting swept. Safe to say there’s going to be plenty of movement this summer.
Heartbreak for Hearts
In the Scottish Premiership, Hearts went into the final day sitting top of the table and chasing a first league title since 1960. Unfortunately for them, the fixture list couldn’t have been harsher; they were away to Celtic, the very side in second place who needed a win to overtake them.
No team outside of Rangers and Celtic has won the Scottish top flight in 41 years, since a certain Sir Alex Ferguson led Aberdeen to it back in 1984/85. Hearts actually struck first in the first half and looked like they might finally break that duopoly, but Celtic levelled just before the break before scoring twice late on in the second half to clinch their 56th league title and leave Hearts devastated. To be fair, plenty of neutrals were gutted too, a new champion after 41 years would’ve been a brilliant football story.
Liverpool’s Atrocious Title Defense
We’ve seen some really poor title defences before - 2014 Manchester United under David Moyes, and Remo Stars (which we’ll get to next) among others - but there was something particularly worrying about what Liverpool and Arne Slot produced this season. The Reds finished with a -24 swing compared to last season and only sealed Champions League football on the final day.
Across all competitions, they lost 19 games. For context, since their last promotion to the top flight in 1962, only the 1992–93 season (20 defeats) has seen them lose more in a single campaign. And just to add another comparison with Moyes’ United, Liverpool actually finished with fewer points than that side. All of this came despite nearly £400m spent in the summer.
In the end, that disappointing campaign - combined with the power struggle loss involving Mo Salah - ultimately cost Arne Slot his job.
Remo Stars Relegated From the NPFL
Well, you don’t see this very often. Last season, Remo Stars won the Nigeria Premier League for the first time, and it was a special moment. With the level of investment and long-term planning put into the project in Ikenne, seeing them reach the top of Nigerian football felt well deserved. Fast forward just one year, and they’ve been relegated. Honestly, it’s not something even the most pessimistic fan would’ve predicted.
From selling key players without properly replacing them, to title-winning head coach Daniel Ogunmodede spending large parts of the season away with the Super Eagles or working towards upgrading his coaching licence, all the way to reported tensions between club management and the referees’ association, there are plenty of places to point fingers. But whatever the reasons, dropping straight back down after winning the league is a really bad look.
On the bright side, there will be seven privately owned teams in the league next season: Ikorodu City, Kun Khalifa, Barau FC, Sporting Lagos, Inter Lagos, Doma United, and Ranchers Bees. That’s great news for Nigerian football fans, especially in Lagos, with three of those clubs based in the city and adding even more energy to the domestic game. I just wish it was eight instead of seven. See you soon, Remo Stars… hopefully.
The Ugly: West Ham’s Fatal Quest For More
Football history is full of clubs that confuse “stability” with a lack of ambition, and West Ham’s slow drift toward relegation is a perfect example of how that mindset can play out over almost a decade.
It really began in November 2017 when West Ham were 18th and battling relegation. They sacked Slaven Bilić and brought in David Moyes on a short six-month deal just to steady things. He did exactly that, lifting them up to 13th by the end of the season.
For 2018/19, they switched direction and hired Manuel Pellegrini in search of more attractive football. It made sense on paper - Pellegrini was a Premier League winner and a respected coach. He even delivered a solid 10th-place finish, which made it look like the right call.
But things unraveled quickly. By December of the 2019/20 season, Pellegrini was gone with the club in 17th, and Moyes was brought back again. He steadied them to 16th and then got the job permanently. From there, things actually improved: 6th in 2020/21, then 7th and a Europa League semi-final the next season. Still, some fans weren’t convinced, saying the football wasn’t “exciting enough”. The nerve!
Then came 2022/23, arguably Moyes’ peak. While league form dipped to 14th, he delivered West Ham’s first trophy in 24 years with the Europa Conference League. The celebrations, especially with Moyes and his father, were unforgettable.
After that came a big summer. Declan Rice was sold for a club record £105m, and the squad was rebuilt moneyball-style with players like Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Álvarez, Mavropanos, plus Kalvin Phillips on loan. They reached the Europa League quarterfinals and finished 9th with 52 points. Still, frustration grew as fans pushed for more attacking football. Moyes pushed back hard, warning them to “be careful what you wish for,” saying others might look better, but he simply “wins more."
The stats backed him up too. His 44.59%-win rate as full-time manager remains the best in the club’s history.
He eventually left, replaced by Julen Lopetegui ahead of 2024/25, who didn’t last long before Graham Potter took over. They finished 14th. By 2025/26, Potter was gone again, replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo, but even he couldn’t stop the slide as West Ham were finally relegated.
It’s a brutal reminder of how quickly things can fall apart when a club keeps mistaking “stability” for a lack of ambition.
The Good
May has seen a lot of positives in the sports world - from PSG successfully retaining the Champions League title, to Barcelona’s women winning their fourth UCL in six years, and 19-year-old João Fonseca announcing himself on the global stage by coming from two sets down to beat Novak Djokovic in the third round of Roland Garros. We’ve really been treated to some greatness, and here are even more standout achievements that caught the eye:
The Gunners End 22-Year Wait for EPL Title
Arsenal lost the Champions League final to PSG on penalties, but that shouldn’t define their season. It was still a fantastic campaign for the North London side who, after waiting 22 years, finally lifted the Premier League title again. Sure, 25 of their 71 goals (35.2%) came from set pieces, and they fully embraced the ‘dark arts’ when needed, but who cares? They got the job done. With coaching changes at Liverpool and Chelsea, Pep Guardiola leaving Man City, and Man United still some distance from challenging, things may even get better for the Gunners whose chances of defending their title next season look pretty good.
Trophy Droughts That Came to an End
Besides Arsenal, we’ve seen plenty of clubs end long trophy droughts or hit historic milestones this season, and I’ll quickly run through some of them. In Germany, SV Elversberg reached the Bundesliga for the first time, which is quite something for a club from a town with fewer than 8,000 people. Under Cesc Fàbregas, Como 1907 qualified for the Champions League for the first time in club history, which is wild considering they were in Serie D just 8 years ago.
In Switzerland, newly promoted FC Thun won their first-ever Swiss Super League title to secure the club’s first major trophy in 128 years, while AGF ended their 40-year wait for a Danish Superliga title. LASK won their first Austrian Bundesliga title in 61 years, while RC Lens lifted their first Coupe de France to end a 27-year wait for silverware.
Aston Villa finally ended their 30-year major trophy drought after beating SC Freiburg 3–0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul, thanks to Unai Emery who is addicted to this competition. And my personal favourite: second-division Portuguese side Torreense stunned Sporting CP to win the Portuguese Cup, meaning they’ll be playing Europa League football next season… while still being a second-division side. Salute to all these clubs.
Bruno Fernandes Breaks Assists Record + Champions League Returns to Old Trafford
There hasn’t been much to celebrate at Old Trafford after a disastrous 14 months under Ruben Amorim. But thanks to Michael Carrick’s impressive rescue job, the Red Devils not only saved what looked like another terrible season, they also achieved their goal of returning to the Champions League. Several players benefitted from Carrick’s arrival, with Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro among them, but none more than Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese playmaker was creating chances for fun and breaking records along the way, including Thierry Henry’s long-standing record for most assists in a Premier League season from 2002/03 which was matched by Kevin De Bruyne 6 years ago. Bruno’s 21 assists now sit alone at the top.
Cristiano Ronaldo Wins First Title Win Al Nassr
Since leaving Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo has had a tough time adding to his club trophy haul. Following a disastrous end to his second spell at Old Trafford, the expectation was that things would be easier in Saudi Arabia, but it didn’t quite work out that way. This season though, he finally got the monkey off his back, helping Al Nassr win the Saudi Pro League. That ended his six-year wait for a club trophy, while also snapping the club’s seven-year wait for the league title.
Knicks Reach First NBA Final in 27 years, Wemby Announces Himself
In the NBA, the Knicks have reached their first Finals in 27 years, and it’s sparked chaos on the streets of New York… the good kind of chaos. Led by All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson, they swept both the Sixers and the Cavs to win the Eastern Conference and book their place in the Finals. Ironically, the last time they made it this far in 1999, they also faced the Spurs.
Speaking of the Spurs, they’re back in the Finals for the first time since 2014, with Victor Wembanyama - a man whose dominance of basketball games is unlike anything we’ve ever seen - leading the charge in just his third year as a pro. They took down reigning champions OKC in a seven-game series, and even beat them eight times across the season, which is pretty wild.
The Finals - a rematch of this season’s Emirates NBA Cup final which the Knicks won - are fully underway.
Can Wemby lead the Spurs to victory or will Karl Anthony Towns do that for the Knicks?
A Masterclass Harry Kane Season
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are gods of this sport we love, but sometimes I feel their greatness has made us take extraordinary feats for granted because they’ve made it look normal. I’m not letting that happen.
This season, Harry Kane scored a ridiculous 61 goals in just 51 games, including 14 in 13 Champions League games and 36 in 31 Bundesliga matches. He also scored 5 hat-tricks and 12 braces. It’s a remarkable season from the Englishman, and with the World Cup just weeks away, our bet of the day is for him to win the Golden Boot and play a major part in the Three Lions’ quest to end their 60-year wait for the World Cup.
The Bad
While we’ve enjoyed the good side of sports, we’ve also had to deal with the bad (and sometimes genuinely heartbreaking) moments too. Here are our top 5:
Chaos At the Santiago Bernabeu
A trophyless season. A promising manager and club icon walking away just months into his tenure. The club captain getting knocked out by a teammate and ending up in hospital. An embarrassing exit from Europe. Your star player getting booed and even turned on by sections of the fans. The club president openly challenged by a younger rival. Players reportedly bullying each other in the dressing room. Did I mention the captain being ruled out for weeks after a concussion from that same incident?
You know things are bad when they’ve had to bring José Mourinho back.
It’s been a season from hell for Los Blancos, and even this barely scratches the surface of the chaos at the Santiago Bernabéu. There’s a real feeling that this summer - and the next few months of decisions - could define the club for the next 3–5 years. They simply can’t afford to get it wrong.
Tough Playoff Exits in the NBA
In sports, only one team ends the season as champions, while everyone else is left disappointed, but this year felt a bit… different. The Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics both blew 3–1 leads to the Pistons and Sixers respectively, which is basically one of the unforgivable sins in the NBA. For those franchises, collapses like that usually trigger major changes in the off-season. The Magic have already fired Jamahl Mosley while Celtics’ General Manager, Brad Stevens gave one of his fiercest press conferences yet, promising change in the offseason.
Then came the outright blowouts. The Lakers, Cavs, Suns, and Sixers (who had only just pulled off an impressive comeback from 3–1 down in the previous round) all ended up getting swept. Safe to say there’s going to be plenty of movement this summer.
Heartbreak for Hearts
In the Scottish Premiership, Hearts went into the final day sitting top of the table and chasing a first league title since 1960. Unfortunately for them, the fixture list couldn’t have been harsher; they were away to Celtic, the very side in second place who needed a win to overtake them.
No team outside of Rangers and Celtic has won the Scottish top flight in 41 years, since a certain Sir Alex Ferguson led Aberdeen to it back in 1984/85. Hearts actually struck first in the first half and looked like they might finally break that duopoly, but Celtic levelled just before the break before scoring twice late on in the second half to clinch their 56th league title and leave Hearts devastated. To be fair, plenty of neutrals were gutted too, a new champion after 41 years would’ve been a brilliant football story.
Liverpool’s Atrocious Title Defense
We’ve seen some really poor title defences before - 2014 Manchester United under David Moyes, and Remo Stars (which we’ll get to next) among others - but there was something particularly worrying about what Liverpool and Arne Slot produced this season. The Reds finished with a -24 swing compared to last season and only sealed Champions League football on the final day.
Across all competitions, they lost 19 games. For context, since their last promotion to the top flight in 1962, only the 1992–93 season (20 defeats) has seen them lose more in a single campaign. And just to add another comparison with Moyes’ United, Liverpool actually finished with fewer points than that side. All of this came despite nearly £400m spent in the summer.
In the end, that disappointing campaign - combined with the power struggle loss involving Mo Salah - ultimately cost Arne Slot his job.
Remo Stars Relegated From the NPFL
Well, you don’t see this very often. Last season, Remo Stars won the Nigeria Premier League for the first time, and it was a special moment. With the level of investment and long-term planning put into the project in Ikenne, seeing them reach the top of Nigerian football felt well deserved. Fast forward just one year, and they’ve been relegated. Honestly, it’s not something even the most pessimistic fan would’ve predicted.
From selling key players without properly replacing them, to title-winning head coach Daniel Ogunmodede spending large parts of the season away with the Super Eagles or working towards upgrading his coaching licence, all the way to reported tensions between club management and the referees’ association, there are plenty of places to point fingers. But whatever the reasons, dropping straight back down after winning the league is a really bad look.
On the bright side, there will be seven privately owned teams in the league next season: Ikorodu City, Kun Khalifa, Barau FC, Sporting Lagos, Inter Lagos, Doma United, and Ranchers Bees. That’s great news for Nigerian football fans, especially in Lagos, with three of those clubs based in the city and adding even more energy to the domestic game. I just wish it was eight instead of seven. See you soon, Remo Stars… hopefully.
The Ugly: West Ham’s Fatal Quest For More
Football history is full of clubs that confuse “stability” with a lack of ambition, and West Ham’s slow drift toward relegation is a perfect example of how that mindset can play out over almost a decade.
It really began in November 2017 when West Ham were 18th and battling relegation. They sacked Slaven Bilić and brought in David Moyes on a short six-month deal just to steady things. He did exactly that, lifting them up to 13th by the end of the season.
For 2018/19, they switched direction and hired Manuel Pellegrini in search of more attractive football. It made sense on paper - Pellegrini was a Premier League winner and a respected coach. He even delivered a solid 10th-place finish, which made it look like the right call.
But things unraveled quickly. By December of the 2019/20 season, Pellegrini was gone with the club in 17th, and Moyes was brought back again. He steadied them to 16th and then got the job permanently. From there, things actually improved: 6th in 2020/21, then 7th and a Europa League semi-final the next season. Still, some fans weren’t convinced, saying the football wasn’t “exciting enough”. The nerve!
Then came 2022/23, arguably Moyes’ peak. While league form dipped to 14th, he delivered West Ham’s first trophy in 24 years with the Europa Conference League. The celebrations, especially with Moyes and his father, were unforgettable.
After that came a big summer. Declan Rice was sold for a club record £105m, and the squad was rebuilt moneyball-style with players like Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Álvarez, Mavropanos, plus Kalvin Phillips on loan. They reached the Europa League quarterfinals and finished 9th with 52 points. Still, frustration grew as fans pushed for more attacking football. Moyes pushed back hard, warning them to “be careful what you wish for,” saying others might look better, but he simply “wins more."
The stats backed him up too. His 44.59%-win rate as full-time manager remains the best in the club’s history.
He eventually left, replaced by Julen Lopetegui ahead of 2024/25, who didn’t last long before Graham Potter took over. They finished 14th. By 2025/26, Potter was gone again, replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo, but even he couldn’t stop the slide as West Ham were finally relegated.
It’s a brutal reminder of how quickly things can fall apart when a club keeps mistaking “stability” for a lack of ambition.