Dan

I'm pleasantly surprised they're going for Tuchel. International management isn't about 'building' over a long term it's about taking the tools you have and being able to conjure it into something that works, which Tuchel for all his flaws has shown serious ability at at some points of his career. I'm addressing this whole 'building' point because I keep reading it's apparently some betrayal of what Southgate's 'built' and I'd like to know what exactly that is.

I was no Southgate fan at all but I think there was a lot of rubbish written about Carsley's first two games - I don't think you could really aim not beating teams like Ireland and Finland comfortably at Southgate. That tonight is a huge reality check, and a complete embarrassment that England probably won't top this group either. Fair play to Greece. Always got something about them even when they aren't much good.

Completely agree. They have really fumbled this haven't they. I think given it's a season on season thing they release it quite late anyway in November. March almost defeats the point for me. They should do what you've said. I'd take that to be honest. I've never really been 'that' fussed about new versions even though I'll just buy them anyway.

Delayed until March 2025!!! That's a proper fumble. The season bloody finishes in May.

I get the comparison to ours although I still think it was louder than most grounds in England. Quite up and down. Inter was definitely better. I find Juventus quite an odd club - I find it mad how their ground is only 40k and hasn't sold out when they're considerably the biggest club in the country. It was alright but I've been to a lot better. I wasn't aware they'd had a full clamp down on their ultras - that does explain things a bit. I aimed to be by the home teams 'end' for both games and somehow despite research managed to get the wrong end on both occasions so god knows what I was reading. For atmosphere I didn't have a bad seat at Inter though. Near to the Torino end which was very good and you could hear Inter's plenty as well due to the size of it. I'd actually go back to that ground, it's great.

We very much have done it all as well. I know there's something a bit different though when we win for the first time all season in October and I'm not that arsed about missing it. I'll never fully can it but definitely see the case to cut down. I think the social side has very much carried it since covid. I mean its largely been utter shit anyway. Even last season I think we were 'so' fancied that it wasn't particularly rewarding - not to say there weren't good days in there.

I agree with the whole emotional investment point but I wonder if I am just losing it - I had genuinely no regrets about not being at that Bournemouth game and we won it. Something has definitely gone a bit for me. I don't know if it's just years of the club trying to kill the atmosphere that I'd rather see play out here or if it's just age - probably a bit of both really.

It is bad in this country in general. Though I do think we are one of the worst as well. So it's not a strong position. Like I said on the other page, I heard 200 Cagliari fans in a genuinely awful away end arrangement more than I hear the majority of away fans at Leicester. This is proof that the fans just aren't making atmosphere.

Genuinely easy to sort. Ticket was about £35ish and I only decided to go about a fortnight ago. Got a return flight for £90. Turin train return was about £73 but that was my own fault for leaving it to the day and having to get the fast train due to having a flight that night - was doable for £25ish alternatively.

I'm going to Germany again in November and to be honest I'm easy doing pretty much anywhere. I'd go to Spain, France, Denmark, Greece - bloody hell I'm actually going to Moldova in November. Got a lot coming up. Italy is good though. Gets a lot of unfair stick. Only schoolboy error I made was forgetting to take ID and having a minute where I feared I wasn't getting into the ground - my railcard somehow worked and I overheard them say something about me being English so an assumption that I don't legally have to carry it usually. Just something to remember for anyone who goes. Specifically went to this though as I just needed to go to the San Siro. It lived up to the hype as well - as did the Nou Camp when I went there.

And the beauty of it being a shared ground is you can go basically any weekend. You'll also be able to get another game in in the area as its got plenty of teams around there. I wanted to do Monza v Roma as well but didn't risk it - Juve finished half 2ish (could've probably just left early tbf) and Monza kicked off at 6 while my flight from Bergamo was at 11 - although annoyingly it got delayed by an hour and I think if it was scheduled for 12 I would've probably done it, but never mind. I'll likely revisit the area and get another couple done. It's a shame Atalanta's game was on the Saturday as that would've worked perfectly for flying back. Oh and another thing - this was a quite spontaneous thing. I booked it all less than two weeks ago. Signed up to both Juve and Inter's sites and bought a ticket just like that. No membership. No hoops to jump through. Mad idea that'll never catch on here. Must be because Italian teams have never had any history of crowd trouble or anything why they allow it

It is a fantastic ground. I think you're right in some ways but I don't really know why this sort of thing can't be applied to the equivalents in Italy as well. My point about Cagliari's fans were that if we somehow ended up playing Juventus away and got put in that crap wedge of an end, we'd have a 1,500 mute end there and our fans would blame the away end. Yet about 200-300 from Cagliari could make themselves heard on numerous occasions. I think as much as anything I just don't buy the acoustics arguments at all after seeing that. I rarely hear away fans at Leicester so it's not solely a dig at us but teams have ten times the numbers here and you don't hear them.

I say it as a big admirer of Bloom but I did not get that Rutter business. Something very odd about that signing. There's no way I'd swap Buonanotte to get him on loan. I give us very little chance of a permanent deal unless we break our record - something I actually don't think I'd be against on early evidence. But it is early evidence.

As a side note everybody should go to the San Siro at some point if they can. Been meaning to do it a while and it lived up to the hype. Fantastic place to watch football even if my view was a bit crap.

Went to a couple of games in Italy over the weekend and it is a reminder of how bad it truly is in this country. These games were two big clubs at home to two middling clubs (Inter v Torino, Juventus v Cagliari) so probably the equivalent here of Arsenal v West Ham and Manchester United v Bournemouth. I was nearish to the Torino end. I specifically picked those comparison teams as it's a fairly local game - an hour or so on the train. Torino brought 2-3k fans, extremely loud, louder than basically anything I've heard away at Leicester. Inter was a bit more up and down but always something going on, capable of the whole ground going when it wanted to. I think where it really hit me how accustomed to excuses we are though was Cagliari's support at Juventus. So Cagliari is in Sardinia, a flight to every away game for them. I was expecting them to bring virtually zero but they did manage a couple of hundred. But the away end at Juventus is horrible - a tiny wedge where you're going to really struggle to get much going. See below. Yet I heard Cagliari's end more than I hear the vast majority of away ends at Leicester. Forget the excuses about acoustics, people just aren't singing. If people were singing, you would hear them. If that Cagliari end can make itself heard there, nobody honestly has an excuse. It's not news that its bad here compared to abroad but every now and then seeing games abroad reminds me of how bad the state of things have actually gotten in this country. It's depressing.

Wasn't enthused by the signing. Seen very little to change my mind yet.

Want 7 points from the next 3. Will only accept drawing this if we beat Forest and Ipswich. But this is the easiest fixture by a way - they're absolutely dire. It's a good job that they lost at Arsenal without it being humiliating for them. That's the outcome that hurts them most - keeps Martin in the job but ultimately yields nothing. Was dreading them sacking him before this game.

We've actually looked OK from what I've seen. Just don't go stupidly defensive and cave.

At this point I don't think there can even be any debate about what they're even trying to do. It's beyond incompetence, it's pure contempt.

All it's ever been about. The price you pay for not being able to be bought.

It's such a dead club isn't it. Just sad how little I feel for it anymore.

They're going to get thumped at Arsenal and sack him before they play us aren't they ffs.

Should be empty. We'll take 3k though.

Martin is truly awful. Potential worst of all time levels.

Stolarczyk isn't bad. Barely put a foot wrong himself. Hermansen might really be elite though.