The new season’s football fixtures were announced this morning and it’s not just a matter of when Jose and LVG will meet.
Away from the Premier League there are 1,656 games in the Football League and, with plenty of big names bobbing around down there, we’ve picked out seven talking points the fixtures have thrown up.
1. We swapped Madrid for this?
New Derby boss Paul Clement and Middlesbrough’s Aitor Karanka have both served on the staff of Real Madrid, with the former winning the Champions League under Carlo Ancelotti and the latter a title winner with Jose Mourinho.
They have swapped tapas and sangria for parmos and Tetley’s, though, and August 18 will be their first chance to Hablo Espanol together and reminisce about a life of siesta and celebrity.
2. Home by Christmas
Fancy a long one? 779 miles (there and back) to Plymouth on a Tuesday night. That's what we've got on Tues 18 Aug (WOW!) #FixtureReleaseDay
— Carlisle United FC (@officialcufc) June 17, 2015
It’s no easy task throwing together a fixtures list, but you would think sending the most northern team to the most southern team on a Tuesday night would be a no-no, right? Wrong. Carlisle head to Plymouth on the first Tuesday programme of the season – just a casual 700-mile-plus round trip.
The 10:08 out of Carlisle will get them there for kick-off but, as for getting home… Best book the week off, Carlisle fans.
3. Neil Redfearn’s first game back in charge of Leeds
Branded “weak” and a “baby” by owner Massimo Cellino, it makes sense in Leeds’ weird world that Neil Redfearn will be back in charge for the visit of Brentford on September 12 – especially since they are current boss Uwe Rosler’s old club. With a Capital One Cup tie thrown in, Leeds will have played six games by this point and last season both managers who weren’t Redfearn lasted just six games…
4. Play up Teddy
Teddy Sheringham was much loved as a player – unless your name is Andrew Cole – and now, at the age of 49, he’s decided to give management a try with Stevenage. He may have won the Champions League and numerous Premier Leagues, but it’s a Barnet not Barca and Crawley not Chelsea for Teddy now. He will doubtless be looking forward to October 20, though, as he returns to Portsmouth, for whom he scored 10 goals in 38 appearances in his twilight years.
5. Pig Killing
The Pig Killer ðŸ·ðŸ·ðŸ·ðŸ”«ðŸ”«ðŸ”«
— Ben Pringle (@benpringle18) August 6, 2013
Revenge will be on Rotherham’s mind when their local rivals Sheffield Wednesday head to the New York Stadium on October 24. There is no love lost between the two and Rotherham have not beaten the Owls at home in the league since 1976.
They have beaten them at home in the cup, though, prompting match-winner Ben Pringle to taunt Wednesday’s fans with that unflattering reference to the unofficial nickname given to them by their rivals.
6. The Donkey Derby
The state of Blackpool’s pitch last season was scarcely good enough for a donkey let alone a footballer, but when they meet Fleetwood for the first ever time in the Football League on November 28, the ‘Donkey Derby’ nickname will be reprised. It was used when they met in the FA Cup in 2005 and with just eight miles separating them on the A585, plenty will be expected to saddle up for this one.
7. The Man in the Glass
A former physio-turned-manager, Nigel Adkins has never been one for the conventional route and since becoming a manager his deep-thinking approach has become one of his fortes.
Before going to Southampton he made his name at Scunthorpe, getting them promoted twice, and he will return to Glanford Park with new side Sheffield United on December 19. This will be his first return to The Iron and he may well prepare with a spot of poetry, just as he often did at Southampton where he once quoted Peter Dale Wimbrow’s The Man in the Glass in a press conference.
Source: SNAPPA
