It may only be June 17th, we may be slap bang in the middle of the greatest tournament in the world – that’s the World Cup to you and me – but the Premier League have today got the first ball rolling for the 2010/2011 season.
The fixture list has been announced this morning and the boys at Premier League towers have gone and thrown up some hum-dingers for us right from the word go; the opening weekend of the season is littered with heavy-hitting contests and some interesting ties for the promoted sides…
After a years slog and toil down in the murky depths of the Championship, your one-two combination of Newcastle and West Brom have been rewarded with trips to Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge respectively – a case of out of the frying pan and into the considerable fire; no time to ease back into the Premier League way of life – you’re mixing it with the big boys from day one. Ian Holloway’s Blackpool side have been handed a much less glamourous tie for their Premier League debut (and fixtures thereafter) starting with a home game against Wigan. Trips to Arsenal and Chelsea in their first five fixtures then follow in what is a mixed bag for the Seasiders early doors.
Besides the promoted sides some of the bigger clubs (what do we call them now Man City are loaded and Spurs are in the Champions League? Super Six?) have been drafted at the deep end with matches against their hottest rivals.
After the aforementioned Manchester City were pipped to the post in qualification for the European Cup by Tottenham last time around, they get a chance for immediate revenge as they travel to White Hart Lane on the season’s first weekend. Currently manager-less (and rudderless? money-less?) Liverpool will kick off their season with a home game against Arsenal, a tie that has brought plenty of entertainment in recent years and will pose a grand challenge to whomever takes on the mantle of Liverpool manager whether it be Hodgson, O’Neill or even King Kenny himself.
As far as good and bad initial runs go Liverpool are one of the clubs very much facing a sticky start. Besides the home game against Arsenal, in their first five fixtures they will also face trips to Manchester City, Birmingham City as well as Manchester United – an initiation by fire for a club that will feel it has to improve on last seasons results. Stoke City also look to have a start worth avoiding; Tony Pulis’ men will have to fight to stay in the pack as they face Chelsea, Spurs, and Aston Villa all within weeks of the Premier League opening for business.
The good runs fall mainly in the laps of two teams in particular: Chelsea and Tottenham. The pensioners kick-off their season with games against Wigan, Stoke, West Ham and Blackpool, as well as the aforementioned opener against West Brom; there’s plenty of potential for Chelsea to continue their end of season, title winning form into the season anew, and if so, more than a few fantasy picks will be shouting out for selection.
As long as Spurs don’t get too distracted by their Champions League qualifiers and pitting their wits against Manchester City on the opening weekend, then matches against the likes of Stoke, Wigan, West Brom and Wolves will look to provide managers with a platform to build from when looking for some sound investment in their Fantasy squads.
There will be plenty of time to stew on all things Premier League once the fervour around the World Cup subsides, for now let the fixtures sink in and look ahead to all that will be coming your way in the next year – keep your eyes and ears peeled for plenty of great features and articles in the days and weeks that follow from your favourite Fantasy Footballing sanctuary.
As a final addendum with regards to season tickers: We currently have an agreement with DataCo to ensure that tickers won’t be published or shared on the site without a license and that, given we are still talking to them about a solution on the site, we will have to remove any and all links to DIY tickers in the mean time while we continue in our discussions.