Arrivederci, Claudio, I’ll never forget you

WheN I was in my early teens, we moved to Melton Mowbray where you were either a Nottingham Forest or a Leicester City fan. My boyfriend was a Leicester fan and we had to alter our wedding day as the team would be playing. On our big day, Leicester lost 7-1 away to everton and the manager, Matt Gillies, resigned. A date to remember! When our daughters were born, they were Leicester fans. Their clothes had to be blue and white. They became family club members at Filbert Street (the club’s then home ground), standing on milk crates to see the game. When my husband told me that Claudio Ranieri had been appointed manager, and was known as the ‘Tinkerman’, I had my doubts. But I soon grew to love the Italian and you can imagine the summer we had when Leicester won the Premier League by ten points. I can remember the night my daughter phoned me to tell me Ranieri had been sacked. They’d played in the Champions League a few nights before and were due to play a match again the next week. The change in the players’ performance was amazing, but it didn’t stop me loving Ranieri. In fact, since his sacking, I haven’t been able to watch a Leicester match. I found Martin Samuel’s recent article on Ranieri (Mail) so moving — it reflected all my own thoughts — so I will read it every so often to remind me of a true gentleman and a lovely man.

mrs sue newell, melton mowbray, Leics.