Fixtures

Yes, the fixture list. Provisional and all, but still worth a post.

Sunderland away on the first day is tough, but interesting – and should be televised. As should Liverpool at home on the last day, a fixture which I have to admit made me swear a little at my innocent copy of The Evening Standard. The rest of the run-in is impossible to assess now; Reading might be suffering from second season syndrome – or have overtaken us completely, just as Bolton may be a just as strong an opponent as they were this season – or have fallen to pieces due to the departure of Big Sam. On that topic I would think that Newcastle (who despite a crappy season did do a double over Spurs…) are destined for a big revival. I can’t get the image of Sam Allardyce, donning an apron and a broomstick, cleaning up the mess that is Newcastle United like a latter-day, overweight Mary Poppins out of my head. “Just a spoonful of sugar”… Absolutely irresistible.

Playing Arsenal at home reasonably early on looks great, methinks, due to the disarray they seem to find themselves in. Henry’s departure could have strong unsettling effects and even if they sign some big names, Wenger might not have turned it all into a team by mid-September. Oh, allow me my optimism.

The 07-08 Season

Sat Aug 11 Sunderland A
Tue Aug 14 Everton H
Wed Aug 15 Carling Cup 1
Sat Aug 18 Derby County H
Sat Aug 25 Manchester United A
Wed Aug 29 Carling Cup 2
Sat Sep 1 Fulham A
Sat Sep 15 Arsenal H
Sat Sep 22 Bolton Wanderers A
Wed Sep 26 Carling Cup 3
Sat Sep 29 Aston Villa H
Sat Oct 6 Liverpool A
Sat Oct 20 Newcastle United A
Sat Oct 27 Blackburn Rovers H
Wed Oct 31 Carling Cup 4
Sat Nov 3 Middlesbrough A
Sat Nov 10 Wigan Athletic H F.A. Cup 1
Sat Nov 24 West Ham United A
Sat Dec 1 Birmingham City H F.A. Cup 2
Sat Dec 8 Manchester City H
Sat Dec 15 Portsmouth A
Wed Dec 19 Carling Cup 5
Sat Dec 22 Arsenal A
Wed Dec 26 Fulham H
Sat Dec 29 Reading H
Tue Jan 1 Aston Villa A
Sat Jan 5 F.A. Cup 3
Wed Jan 9 Carling Cup Semi-Final (1)
Sat Jan 12 Chelsea A
Sat Jan 19 Sunderland H
Wed Jan 23 Carling Cup Semi-Final (2)
Sat Jan 26 F.A. Cup 4
Wed Jan 30 Everton A
Sat Feb 2 Manchester United H
Sat Feb 9 Derby County A
Sat Feb 16 F.A. Cup 5
Sat Feb 23 Chelsea H
Sun Feb 24 Carling Cup Final
Sat Mar 1 Birmingham City A
Sat Mar 8 West Ham United H F.A. Cup 6
Sat Mar 15 Manchester City A
Sat Mar 22 Portsmouth H
Sat Mar 29 Newcastle United H
Sat Apr 5 Blackburn Rovers A F.A. Cup Semi-Final
Sat Apr 12 Middlesbrough H
Sat Apr 19 Wigan Athletic A
Sat Apr 26 Bolton Wanderers H
Sat May 3 Reading A
Sun May 11 Liverpool H
Sat May 17 F.A. Cup Final