benjii

Complete nonsense.

Prague were rubbish.

I just had the "club bus" call. I get the impression it is, in principle, going to happen but they need to finalise arrangements. I said I was keen but only if it got to Be'er Sheva in good time for a few drinks and a bit of exploring pre-match!

It's a 5 hour flight direct - I think the Easyjet and Monarch prices are pretty reasonable. El Al and BA quite expensive. Luton and Manchester seem to be the best departure points for the cheaper flights but you can also go via places such as Katowice, Cluj, Istanbul if you're looking for the cheapest ones.

When faced with the prospect of visiting one of the UK's premier "wine lodges" who wouldn't?!

I think it's partly the fact that we are in a group with a guaranteed number of matches, as well as the school-night / finance thing. If this was a two-leg knock out I am sure we would have sold out. I think it will still be high 20ks at least tonight though, won't it? Didn't the club take the Europa package off sale because it had "sold out"? Or did I imagine that? I will be there, and I'm really looking forward to it, but there will be people who will prioritise the Inter match for "glamour" reasons and then there is the final home match v Be'er Sheva which may, or may not, be a dead rubber. If there's something riding on it then we should get a good crowd. If we can make it through to the knock-out stages I would expect us to sell out every home game.

Does she know Be'er Sheva well? Tips on the best place to go pre-match for beers would be good! Thanks!

Dunno - it's Italy. Pretty safe bet the match personnel will range from the "couldn't care less, on the phone to his mate" attendant to the highly officious, grudge-bearing little twit. I would say it's well worth the modest ticket cost of trying, if you're going to be out there anyway!

It's just Italy and its peculiarities. Lads would rather stay at home and eat momma's dinner. Different culture. I ended up watching an Inter match in a restaurant in Milan once with a TV and paying about 12Euro for a pint because I couldn't find a decent bar. There is a big sports bar but it was shut. Don't know if it's still there. I was in Rome in the Autumn after Italy won the world cup in 2006. They had a Euro 2008 qualifier away to France. "Great", I thought, "there will be loads of people out in the bars to watch a big match". Campo Di Fiore, me-up! It was deserted until about midnight. They just don't "do" pubs/bars in the same way. Maybe the best bet would be to head to the student areas if you can't get in the ground. At least they might be reasonably lively for midweek. Seriously: out of the three away games, Milan will be the least fun as a destination. It's just a prestigious club and an iconic stadium.

You won't get in without ID if you get checked.

There's a grotty little bar right next to the San Siro. There's not much else round there. And there won't be many good places in Milan centre for watching football either, I'm afraid.

I expect you will have absolutely no problem buying a ticket with British ID details - either online or in one of the outlets in Italy. The issue will be whether or not you are checked at the gate and whether or not they enforce the "no Brits" in the home section rule.

I think Friday would probably be a more interesting day to go to Jerusalem. Sat will be quieter because of Shabbat. I'm just not sure about the prospect of getting up at 6am the day after the match! How are you getting back to TA after the match? I wish this apocryphal club bus would be confirmed!

Waffle.

I'll be at a loose end Fri night and, possibly, Sat so that sounds good to me too. Allenby has quite a few bars and whatnot, I think, (I think it's one of the main nightlife streets) and the crossing with Ha-Yarkon is right near the sea front so that sounds like a pretty good spot for a couple!

I'm interested this season - primarily because of the Europa League. I really hope we can make it out of the group to keep the second half of the season interesting. Obviously a domestic cup run would also help. If I was a West Ham fan about now, I'd probably be pretty fed up. I had a ST when I was a kid, stopped when I went away to uni, and started again once I had a job and could afford to get one. I have to say though, I'm probably a 50/50 to renew next year. If we make it to Europe again I will and if Boufal turns out to be brilliant I probably will. I know that sounds a bit glory-hunter-esque but frankly, that's not it; it's more about a connection, about having something to feel proud of. It's apparent that any really good player we have will leave after about 2 seasons, maybe 3 if we're lucky. That really helps to stunt the emotional investment in the club that I built up when I watched Dodd, Benali, LeTissier in the early 90s and when I watched Morgan, Fonte, Lallana, KD etc. rise up the leagues. I still enjoy going to matches but sometimes I feel like a bit of a sucker for writing-off Saturday afternoons unquestioningly.

Paddy Power appears to have us as 9th favourites to win the competition at 25/1.

Yeah, I've seen a few tours that depart from Tel Aviv and include one-way travel (or return at a higher premium). I think the Sheruts still run on Sat between TA and Jerusalem though and are cheap, even with Shabbat premium, so it's possible to come back whenever without being stuck to a tour timetable. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/travel/tourist-tip-of-the-day/how-to-take-inter-city-shared-taxis-between-jerusalem-and-tel-aviv-1.503944 If anyone fancies making the trip with me then drop me a line!

PS. I'm definitely staying in TA on Fri and Sat and will try to do a tour to Jerusalem on the Sat, I expect. Seems a shame to go all that way and not have a look. I'm flying back Sun afternoon.

I've got cancellable hotels in Tel Aviv and Be'er Sheva on the Thursday, pending a decision on that! If the club runs transport back to TA I will probably do that and I know some people have already organised their own min-buses back. It sounds as though the majority are planning to head back to TA. I guess TA is a safer bet for a big night out after the match, if that's what you fancy. Hopefully most of us can congregate in a bar somewhere!

That sounds sensible! Didn't realise it was that cheap. I'm staying near the north end of Allenby Street, near the beach. Looks like the train stations aren't too far away so I may do that as well then. I see there is a big station upgrade programme going on involving a bunch of closures which is supposed to finish on 27 Sept. It looks like HaHagana station is remaining open anyway so all should be fine.

Couple of pints pre-take off should calm the nerves Are you heading into Tel Aviv on landing? I haven't really looked into logistics of getting to hotel from airport yet but we could share a taxi perhaps. Send me a DM if you might be keen. Same for Shroppie if he needs come into TA to travel onwards. It looks like a taxi from the airport to downtown TA is about £30, depending on the amount of luggage (and traffic, of course).

Right, me too! Just booked it!

I meant Luton on the Weds - not sure why I said Tuesday! Are you on the 12:25 or the earlier one? I