We’re three and a half days into International Week, and Football Daily has yet to properly mention international football. That’s pretty good going, you have to give us that, but we were always going to run out of this particular road and so here we are. England, then, and this week’s appointment of erstwhile Halmstad, Örebo and Neuchâtel Xamax method man Mr Roy by Crystal Palace has served as an instant reminder of just how far the Three Lions have come in a relatively short space of time. Less than seven years, to be precise, a clock that started ticking when Mr Roy and his assistant Ray Lewington, in lieu of scouting Euro 2016 opponents Iceland, booked themselves tickets for a leisure cruise along the Seine. Oh Mr Roy! Aiiee Mr Ray! How could you?!

But it’s all worked out pretty well in the long run, even if there were some initial moments of pain. Iceland famously served up England their glutes, pickled and plated, after which Mr Roy sulked all the way through a valedictory press conference with his best Boris Johnson thunderface on. Remarkably this wasn’t the nadir, with pints of wine yet to be quaffed. But this chaotic chain of events led to the FA accidentally appointing a good manager, after which the team came within a couple of kicks of Euro glory, and might even have run Argentina close for the World Cup had only Harry Kane remembered that tip about not leaning back. Bittersweet memories, perhaps, but all a damn sight more enjoyable than Nice ’16 and for that we can only thank Mr Roy, Mr Ray and the law of unintended consequences. Hats and yacht caps off!

And so here we are now, with England facing their Euro Not 2020 nemesis Italy in Naples for the first of the 2024 qualifiers. Three points would be the ideal start to the campaign, of course, though let’s be realistic, with 123 places (subs please check) up for grabs at next year’s finals, the outcome doesn’t have that much riding on it. What does matter is a chance of a little payback for the final heartbreak of 2021, and with England fourth in the world rankings (well, officially fifth, but Football Daily has run out of patience with Belgium so we’ve crossed them off the list) they’ve a great chance to right that particular wrong. Mind you, victory would only heighten the sense of what could have been, and there’s only so much bittersweet emotion we can stomach. Perhaps it’s time for another crushingly embarrassing defeat? It didn’t do England any harm last time, after all. Time for Gareth Southgate to channel Mr Roy and take Steve Holland on a sightseeing trip to the Amalfi Coast.

Join Scott Murray from 7.45pm GMT for hot Euro 2024 qualifying MBM coverage of Italy 5-1 England.

“I don’t know him. I don’t know what had happened for him to speak. People passed it on, saying he had spoken badly about me. But he won’t be the first who then had to shut his mouth” – Tottenham’s Pedro Porro gets his chat on with Sid Lowe about Antonio Conte, Spain and … oh yes, Tactics Tim Sherwood.

One memory of Mesut Özil (yesterday’s Football Daily). Before a Germany match, he was presented with a bouquet of flowers (for being German player of the tournament in winning the 2014 World Cup, if I remember correctly) and was cheered to the rafters. In the second half, he was hoiked off during an insipid team performance and booed to whatever the booing equivalent of the rafters is. Some players divide opinion, but seldom so dramatically among the same bunch of people within one hour” – Bernard Clark.

Sad to read that Mesut Özil is retiring, though not entirely surprised. His performances in Turkey have followed a long, slow decline, with each appearance less impressive than the two before it. I think it’s known as his Fenerbahce sequence” – Simon Mazier.

With Sky decommissioning Soccer AM, what’s to happen with The Bull, Jimmy Bullard, and You Know The Drill? Presumably I’m not the only one of Football Daily’s 1,056 readers who will miss his antics? My only gripe is he visited Bristol City when Lee Johnson was at the helm. Big Nige and Alex Scott would give him a bath. They say football is always the winner, but maybe not this time” – Chris Komorek.

I‘ve only just caught up on Monday’s Fiver (sorry, I’m old fashioned) and I was surprised to find that you hadn’t been overwhelmed with 1,057 emails pointing out that Jim Ratcliffe is not the richest man in Britain. He may though be the richest man in low-tax Monaco” – Giordy Salvi.

Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Bernard Clark.

Concerns are growing among some parties involved in the Manchester United sale that the Glazers could be trying to “play them”.

After signing up to play in Soccer Aid, Ben Foster has made another glitzy move by joining Hollywood’s Wrexham until the end of the season. “It’s changed a lot since I was last here, but it’s nice to be back and it’s nice to be back as a player too,” the 39-year-old parped.

Staying in the National League … players could strike after controversial changes to contracts by the FA. From 1 July, new rules will mean injured players will only be paid in full for 12 weeks. They will allow clubs to pay statutory sick pay, £99.35 a week, for 28 weeks until they are fit. The players are, understandably, in uproar.

Declan Rice has hit back at Graeme Souness’s claim the midfielder is not world-class. “It’s harsh … there’s loads of West Ham fans, 60,000 go every week, and see what I do,” he growled.

Chelsea secured a 1-0 lead over Lyon in their Women’s Big Cup quarter-final first leg in France. “The players executed what we asked,” cheered Emma Hayes.

Huddersfield owner Dean Hoyle has agreed to sell to an unknown consortium from the USA! USA! USA! The team currently sit 22th in the Championship under Neil Warnock.

Uefa has launched an investigation into some alleged naughtiness by Barcelona after it was claimed they made payments to a former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee.

“Occasionally you’d sit back, look at the sofa and think in no other world would Uwe Rösler, Dr Karl Kennedy from Neighbours and Mark Ronson be sitting next to each other.” As Soccer AM calls it a day, Max Rushden reflects on life as a presenter on the show.

Barney Ronay on how Gareth Southgate can still build on the promise England showed at the Human Rights World Cup.

Jürgen Klinsmann is under scrutiny as he takes over as South Korea coach, writes John Duerden.

Recommended quizzing: Football Daily has sufficiently little going on in its life to have got 14 out of 18 right in this nerdy waterside stadiums quiz. Give it a try.

A rare look inside the cosy confines of Fisher Athletic’s dressing room, where Malcolm Allison is giving his team talk before a Vauxhall Conference game against Stafford Rangers at their Salter Road home in 1989. The visitors would run out 2-0 winners and Allison would leave for “personal reasons” shortly after.