2015-16 fixtures announced

Starting to get all excited like.

Main thing is to at least start off with a home game – packed house in the sun. I would love ManUtd at home first game – 3 points!

You want to play the poorer teams mid season, not when they are just fresh into the league and not when they are fighting for their lives at the end. Watford first and Norwich last not ideal.

Look at the first 5 fixtures and they look tough.

On the bright side if we start the season well we should be able to push on.

Our fixtures to the end of October are as hard as it gets.
November and December are easier before getting tough again from January.

We also have a decent run-in and finish at home. Nice tough start, plenty of motivation there to make sure we don’t start with any complacency.

First derby at home, which I prefer as well.

Some tough little runs we will have but I think we step up in those situations. Playing a newly promoted team to start is usually quite difficult but at least we are at home.

I also believe the reverse can be true. Playing the big teams early is better than doing it later on when injuries kick in. The start of the season is effectively a leveller, so we’re better off having last year’s top eight as eight of our first ten fixtures. It certainly means the players won’t be able to slip into any complacency.

I guess you’ve got to play everyone twice but the first 10 games will basically make our season. If we can do well we’ll be on a roll going into the ’easier’ fixture. On the other hand, we could also be in the drop zone come November!

At least we have a home game to KO but it will be against a newby who’ll be all excited – didn't help us against Leicester or Norwich in the last couple of years – but at least at home.

We REALLY need to get 3 points first day for confidence – after that, Southampton (A), Man City (H), Spurs (A), Chelsea (H).... ouch!

No Europa to blame it on this time though...

We have to be prepared, that’s for sure. We can’t trip up against Watford, Swansea and Southampton because a slow start with those fixtures would kill us in terms of momentum and confidence early on.

These fixtures are a great opportunity to assess the progress or lessons learnt from last season and judge Martinez.

October and January also difficult but not the run-in is not too shabby, if we are still around the coat tails of 4th.

That bodes well for our one-dimensional management approach!

Usual tough run of games against the "Sky" teams, but then there is a good run of about 8 games where we should expect quite a lot of points.

I suspect looking at these fixtures he will go for the Reserves and U21s for first game in League Cup, protecting his Senior lads.

Robles
Coleman Jagielka Stones Baines
McCarthy Cleverley
Deulofeu Kagawa Barkley
Lukaku

we should thrash every team 3-0!

Plus a decent back-up team of:

Howard
Browning Galloway [New CB] Garbutt
Lennon Besic Gibson Barry
Mirallas Kone

not to mention Oviedo, Osman, Pienaar, McGeady, Naismith, Hibbert, 1-2 youngsters, there is really no reason not to feel optimistic about the coming season!

Bobby bullshit has it all to do from the first game. The senior players need to get there act together too.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what unfolds in the first four games and Bob's post-match interviews.

The Joe Royle interview on another thread has given me hope that Bobby just might win me over if we get off to a good start.

The one positive aspect of playing those bigger fixtures early on is that most of them won’t park the bus and will come to play – which might be to our advantage, well let’s hope so anyway.

Buy another striker and a centre-half, Bobby – we’re gonna need them.

Doesn’t the fixture list look great – all games kicking off at 3.00pm on a Saturday.

If we are not right at it from the start and any repeat of last season’s undercooked start and we could be looking at 7 or 8.

We will have looked last year and said 6 points from Hull but it didn’t work that way, nor would we have expected to be doubled by Stoke or take 1 point off Sunderland but then we probably wouldn’t have predicted a 3-0 win over Manchester United.

All I will say is referring to the first few games it’s high time we made an impression at Southampton, for years that’s been a dog of a fixture for Everton, likewise our dismal record at White Hart Lane needs improving.

Tough start but if RM gets it right, it could be good season. One thing is sure: those who were saying for a while that Roberto should get the first 10 games to see if he could turn things round were probably hoping for a kinder start!!!

The first two games last season against Leicester and Arsenal totally set the tone for erratic defending and a failure to hold on to winning positions in too many matches.

The plus is that if we can do alright then we’ll set ourselves up very well. But we said that last year, didn’t we?

Let’s get this Deulofeu deal sorted ASAP and then we must quickly target a central defender, a creative midfielder and a striker with some zest and exuberance is also a priority.

That’s four players we need in the next three or four weeks, will it happen who knows but that’s what’s needed, if it comes to it we can afford to bring Lennon in after the season starts because he won’t need a bedding in period or introduction to the way of life at Everton.

I only hope for Martinez’s sake that we don’t get off to an even worse start this season, you could quite easily see us being third from bottom in early October and that’s the last thing Martinez needs, the fans will not have that patience this season, should it start off bad again then you wonder what is left for the current manager.

So far, Martinez two seasons have almost echoed Moyes first two, and after Moyes's second season ended in disastrous fashion, he knew he had to "win back the fans" which he did by getting us 4th place.

It's imperative for Martinez to get the team off to a flyer.

Watford for the opener is not ideal. Play the promoted sides later when there’s some injuries and their initial boon of promotion has faded and their depth is an issue.

West Brom on the road is the only other game I see during that span that is a "should win". But it’s West Brom on the road...

Roberto better have the players ready to go.

Challenging start to the campaign. I officially fear for Roberto. He and the team need a good, strong start. We’d better come into the season with all guns blazing.

For once I agree with your perilous and dark prognostications! I can see us dead bottom in October!

Someone get me a drink! My usual positivity and enthusiasm has left me! The Boogeyman is in the closet.

And no, that’s not a wind-up! I’m seriously scared to death of our first 3 months! Cruel start in my opinion and if we don’t hit the ground running, I fear a malaise the likes I personally have never seen.

[Crowley balls up in fetal position in dark corner of the room and repeats, "It’s gonna be fine, it’s gonna be fine..."]

Seriously though if Everton can get into double figures before we play Sunderland I will be happy, if we can get upwards of 18 points in those first ten fixtures I will be delighted. At least if everything goes pear-shaped we have enough time to dig ourselves out of a hole – forget it I’m following Jamie’s lead.

At the start of last season, most fans were not happy with how it all started but, because of his first season, we were willing to show patience... However, given the way last season ended again in truly sloppy, lazy fashion, the natives will bomb him much quicker now.

Our home form was dreadful last season and this season two of the first three due at Goodison are Manchester City and Chelsea, if you are going to get any type of result in these then the performance has to be 110% near perfect.

As you say, Watford, on the crest of a wave and full of the bounce and freshness that promotion brings, possibly won’t be the gimme we all see on paper.

Going back to the similarities of where Moyes was at the end of his second full season, the fan’s wanted him out but we started that 2004-05 season like a team that meant business and, aside from a 1-4 drubbing by "the Invincibles" Arsenal team, we looked a real solid, well organized unit.

Martinez somehow needs to get this Everton team off to a start in similar fashion. We have become way too easy to score against, too easy to play against and teams actually no longer dread facing Everton anymore.

We have to develop a stronger sturdier backbone and that means not squandering endless points after being in the lead.

Martinez has much to work on.

One could say, for instance, that it’s good to play Southampton early on as they will start slow due to Euro commitments and second season syndrome (sounds familiar?!?) and teams like Chelsea and Man City tend to lose more points early on.

There was a period about six seasons ago when we were the ultimate flat-track bullies, but our record against the big guns has always left a lot to be desired.

I don’t think it will take too long to determine if Martinez is going to be the man for us. Results matter, of course they do, but it’s the style of the play, and the speed in which we play the game, that’s going to be the most important thing to me.

I am not as pessimistic as some on here and actually think the way the fixtures are grouped maybe not as difficult as some may think.

Man City and Chelsea will not fancy coming to the 'bear pit' early in the season and during the periods of playing the top teams, I think we need to play our best team in those games, then rotate when we face the less than daunting periods.

The RS are facing a Europa game on the Thursday night before the first derby, so hopefully they will find themselves away in the far side of Russia.

The same thing happens for the second Derby, should they get to the last 32, they will find themselves playing on the Thursday before the Derby.

So we can expect both those games put back until Sunday, unless of course we are in the Capital One Cup Final, then the second derby will get postponed anyway.

We also go to Arsenal after a European week, and West Ham next after they have played on a Thursday.

And the last six games all look winnable to me.

But, hey, this is Everton, anything can happen.

We will be top of the table come end of September ...

This fixture list is a great antidote to last years poor pre-season.

Players, manager and fans will be up for it!

Watch us go!!

I think for a while under Moyes we had a canny knack of being tough to play against, I always recall us being like a dog with a bone whenever we played Manchester City home or away.

I do think we were harder to beat under Moyes than we are now at this moment under Martinez.

As you say, though, the slow pedestrian style of play is something that most fan’s won’t want to tolerate for much longer. It's ok saying it won’t matter so long as it produces wins but the fact is, it no longer works in the Premier League, it was obviously sussed out and stopped by most sides we faced during the last campaign.

Martinez is going to need to either speed up the tempo of this possession passing game, and make sure the team starts running more with and without the ball, or he’s going to need to have a rethink and try mixing up the style, working more on quicker balls into the area, high crosses sometimes, faster first-time crosses.

This is how we find out if Martinez can earn his crust or not.

Trouble is that if they asked fifty Evertonians to name their ideal first dozen fixtures, they’d all come up with a different list.

Regardless of who we play, as long as we get say, 20 points from the first 12 games, we’ll all be smiling.

Won’t we?

EFC have been known to get off to a slow start, and come on like gang busters at the season's end. Hopefully we can start on the front foot this next one. Who we play is irrelevant; we play every club twice; when doesn’t really matter, either.

The spotlight is on RM.

After that, we have a decent run of 8 games where I would hope we’d kick on and get a good 15-18 odd points (being hopeful here but, fuck it, we need to be!). We should be aiming to have well over 30 points in the bag by the end of the year which will keep us around the top 6, if not higher.

I know its a bit Fantasy League etc but we need to be aiming high. If RM doesn’t look like he can deliver by November, then he should be shown the door... So my prediction:

Watford - win 3pts
Southampton - draw 1pt
Man City - win 3pts
Spurs - loss 0pts
Chelsea - loss 0pts
Swansea - draw 1pt
West Brom - win 3pts
Liverpool - draw 1pt
Man Utd - win 3pts
Arsenal - loss 0pts
Sunderland - win 3pts

So 18 points from the first 11 games - W5 D3 L3. Achieve that we’ll be top 5 come November and I’ll have (almost) forgiven RM for last season.

If we start well and carry that thru to the easier games in November and December, we could be top of the league at Christmas. I’m not saying we’ll stay there like!

However, playing the promoted teams early can be a problem as they usually play above themselves early on as it proved against Leicester last season for the Blues.

If you can’t be positive in June............

Anyway I think its a reasonable start to the season. Has it finally been decided where the first Derby game is to be played. I quite like the idea of both teams playing at home. We would probably win the toss and elect to change ends and not kick off.

The two great mysteries in football; the secret footballer and our Col G.

Be it Watford or anyone else, if we play slow turgid sideways passing cack as we so often witnessed last season, we will be knee deep in the brown stuff very quickly.

Here’s to hoping he has (learned).

Hate to say it but I don’t see a whole lot changing next season, even though that alone would be an improvement.

Billy big bollocks will hope that his Spanish omelette will have a 3rd season like Moyes did in his 3rd season. Big difference is Moyes was more honest and commanded more respect from his players than Martinez does.

I really hope I am wrong so come the 5th or 6th game then it will either be all smiles or snarls. Jamie Crowley is in fetal position says it all for me... haha!

As others have mentioned, it really doesn’t matter who we play early, we can all make pros and cons for any team so if we are fit and ready to go then bring it on.

Ajay #38, I like your team especially the addition of Kagawa... it's actually a realistic team although I wouldn’t have Barkley on the left, I would have Mirallas if he is still here. Hmmm what chance Kagawa to come here... well it is the silly optimistic season!!

I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to play uphill and against the wind too. Why are we so fucking unlucky?

I see the guys at the excuse factory have returned to work early this summer... Wonder if the boss is back yet ?

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-premier-league-fixtures-9473036

Typical eh ?

The important thing to note is that the Derby match at Goodison will be moved to either Sunday or Monday

The test of his true credentials will be how accurately he predicts the eventual exit of his hero.

Let’s just hope it’s not like last season when most people felt like ripping their season ticket up by that date!

If we start well, then we may build confidence and climb the table, but I just feel that once we have seen a few games, we will all realise that all of the old problems are still with us, and a new manager will be top priority.
Sorry to be a doom and gloom merchant, but my optimism was completely sapped last season.

Spurs travelling to Goodison on New Year's Day, surely they could arrange local fixtures for those two dates, instead of teams travelling far and wide.

There are enough North West teams to do this, same in the south, Midlands and North East,

It would not surprise me if Bournemouth against Sunderland met New Year's Day with these idiots arranging the fixtures.

The midweek games are the ones that should stay local, as going to London or somewhere midweek is just crazy. As another poster said, why not have more midweek games early in the season, rather than on some rain-soaked, freezing, winter night.