ponsaelius

Based on my own judgement when visiting and what I have read from their fans West Ham's supporter composition has changed quite a bit since the move. Would say at least half of that 27k jump is made up of tourists and more casual fans. There's also a relatively small, but vocal number, who have stopped going regularly since the move. Quite enjoyed going there as a one off, particularly as it was a nice summer day and I hadn't really explored the surrounding area before, but the thought of going to that ground every week would be soul destroying to me if I'd supported them my whole life.

Never got round to posting these at the time, but last Italy trip was a quick one in September. Flew to Milan Bergamo from NCL on the Friday night and used Milan as a base for three nights, coming back Monday morning to Manchester. Thought I'd do a little write up with pictures. I've limited the pictures to footy related rather than the other sights of the cities etc. Going to Naples next weekend for potentially Napoli - Inter depending on kick off time (and cost through resellers) and some local lower league action in Campania, so will do a run through of that as well if people enjoy these little write ups.

Stinking results for the Italian teams all round. Not even got the excuse of budget difference given they've all gone out to clubs they outspend significantly. Expected Juve to go out given how they've performed but the other two were pretty good in the group stage and in Milan's case pretty much blew getting top 8 in the first place.

All modern stadiums look bland. However to me it looks like a football stadium, with four clearly defined stands, where the focus is entirely on football. Can't say I felt the same about Spurs' stadium.

Not to labour this same point again but in terms of traffic/transport it is the opposite. It is much more of an issue the more peripheral you go from the established city core. Everton's stadium looks good to me but is going to have some issues due to its location. Firstly in terms of access/egress it faces the river/dock on three sides which makes dispersal of crowds hard enough as it is as you only have one side for access. Then this is made more difficult due to the listed wall they've had to retain on the remaining side - with a few accesses punched through. I can see getting 52k in and out a bit of a faff and people needing to get there very early. Transport wise it's a problem because there's only one Merseyrail station, which is past the ground and a bit of a walk in and of itself. At the moment there's not a lot around the ground - so you're going to have the bottleneck issue of people getting from the centre to the ground at the same time. This will obviously relent somewhat over time as that area is inevitably regenerated around the stadium - kind of the point of building it there - and it becomes more of a destination in itself over time.

Would give anything for Cov to do them in the playoffs

Not really. A parking restriction around there was obviously needed if you were going to allow a stadium to be built on that site. There's very limited space on the adjacent campus and residential roads for any on street parking; allowing a free for all would be absolute chaos and make it even worse. Just an awful location for a stadium in general. We don't know how lucky we are having a city centre ground.

Nah it's just a nightmare to get out of Brighton's ground post match so loads always leave early. This is even more the case when it's an evening game.

A 5ft6 left winger? Surely not happening.

Yeah it is definitely the most similar equivalence in terms of English clubs, and Real Madrid in Spain too, but still don't think it's an exact equivalence. Both those clubs still retain a very clear local identity despite their wider support base. Juventus is a particular oddity given that Italian football is otherwise reflective of the country being a patchwork of parochial city states with very tribalistic rivalries. I suppose it probably explains their success to cut through that entirely and embrace a more national identity.

As discussed subsequently Juventus have the biggest fan base in Italy by a fair way - but not locally. If you were to look at the data of most provinces/regions, particularly in the south, they will usually be the second most popular team in every area behind the local club. This adds up to a large cumulative supporter base. A lot of the supporter base in the south in particular came from the large numbers of southern Italians who moved north for work, many specifically working for the Agnelli family at FIAT. During the economic boom Juventus became synonymous with the economic growth in the same way the various other industries/brands did and were seen as an aspirational club to support. The southern diaspora passed on a lot of this support back to families at home and these connections are still there. The club has always also deliberately marketed itself as a club of the country rather than Turin, which makes it easier for any potential gloryhunter to shamelessly latch onto. The fact there is no reference to the city in the name exemplifies this - and the site of the new stadium and training ground complex being both put quite a way out of the city core continues that trend. Of course they were the club that pushed most to leave for the super league too. If anybody wants to understand more the oddity that is Juventus (I'm not sure there is an equivalent in other countries in Europe really) then the book 'Juve!' by Herbie Sykes is a really good read.

Penalty to Brugge there probably one of the most scandalous penalty decisions I've ever seen.

Might be different this time being a cup final involving Liverpool

Sure there was supposed to be ID checks last time but I don't know a single person who went and had theirs checked. In fact I know of more than one who got in without a ticket altogether, such was the laxness of the stewards.

Think Members who went to 3-4 cup games have been mugged off being lumped in with ST holders who went to none. No reward at all for going to this competition all the way through. Also think the priority of the cup scheme itself is a bit weird. Lad I know just said his mate who is a ST holder went to 2 home games, 2 away games in Carabao but because he hadn't enrolled at the outset he is in pot 6 You can't please everybody with this stuff but these both feel a bit of a misstep. Also worry that we'll have another cup final with too many oldies sitting down rather than young lads desperate to stand a make a racket.

How many ST holders do we have? Do we really need all those different stages for ST holders?

I like Longstaff and have defended him on here previously because I think he has generally contributed a lot for us under Eddie. I also think he's clearly a very nice and humble guy. I'd have been happy for him to stay and be 5th/6th choice midfielder, particularly given how short we are on club grown players for Europe. However I think I've realised that he's actually not a very suitable squad player. He has generally done best for us when he's getting lots of gametime in a position where he knows his role and can build up confidence and momentum. When he's dropped into random games now and again in slightly different roles, particularly in scratch sides, I think it really shines a light on his weaknesses technically on the ball - and that is then exacerbated further by his self confidence issues. This makes him probably a pretty bad squad player, unfortunately for him and for us. I think I've become more frustrated with him given we had to sacrifice another HG player for PSR instead, who I think will have a much better career and actually is a really safe pair of hands to drop into various positions when needed. This summer is the last chance you have to get a decent fee, so if it's there, definitely time to take it.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and one of Spurs/Villa already out is madness like.

If you have a RW who can genuinely play through the middle, and Osula kicks on as a genuine option, you can afford to carry him a bit more as an old head in and around the place. Particularly if the wages reflect that. The problem at the moment is him being unavailable leaves us painfully so short in striking areas.

I don't agree with it but I can see why we'd be contemplating a new contract tbh. Replacing him is not difficult given he's contributing nothing when injured - but it is is going to cost a fair chunk of money to sign a new striker. Even Osula who is extremely raw at this level cost us £15 million FFS. We're going to get this situation with a lot of squad players where they are past the point we can cash in on them, but we don't have the budget to replace them, so they keep getting new deals. The Paul Dummett zone. The focus is going to be on RW, CB, GK this summer. Plus possibly a new midfielder. Finding the funds for a rotation CF when we let the current one walk for free might be tricky.

Probably my favourite game of our season. First half rip roaring absolute chaos. Second half an absolute heap of shite with just lots of kicking and injuries. Feral crowd. No VAR. The beautiful game.

Wouldn't have Isak anywhere near this pitch

I'm glad the confidence is flowing for Murphy but with less confidence he probably squares an easy goal for Osula

Game has completely gone to pot second half