Fixtures announced

Filed in archive General on June 17, 2008

The fixtures for next season in England have been announced. The three promoted clubs to the Premier League now know that they are likely to know their fate fairly early in the season.

Hull City have home games against Fulham, Wigan and Everton and trips to Blackburn and Newcastle before their first test against one of the big four.

Stoke City travel to Bolton and Middlesbrough and entertain Aston Villa and Everton before traveling to Anfield.

West Brom start at Arsenal but then have games with Everton, Bolton, West Ham, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Fulham before they enter the lions den of Old Trafford.

If Hull fail to pick up many points in their first five games, Stoke do likewise in their first four and West Brom have little in terms of points prior to their visit to Manchester United, then all three will know that they are deep in trouble.

As a Watford fan I well remember our first visit to the Premier League when our first two games were at home to Wimbledon and away at Sunderland. We all knew that we needed to get something from those relatively simple games, in Premier League terms, to have any chance of survival. 3-2 and 2-0 defeats told us all we needed to know about the next nine months.

It is daunting for the new clubs to look at games like away to Middlesbrough and home to Aston Villa or Everton as games that they will feel they need to get something from.

The players, management and fans will all be feeling excited now that they have seen the fixtures and the dream is getting closer to reality, but they will also be feeling anxious about the task with which they are faced.