ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Fixtures

It's that exciting time of the year when we can scroll down the fixture list and check for certain games. In many ways it's nice to avoid the big 3 early on and on paper we have quite a nice August and September. However, playing all the new clubs in our first 3 aways games could prove tricky, these being games we would want points from.

The fixture list looks like it could build a positive start to help us build a successful season.
Ian Barker, York Posted 16/06/2008 at 11:36:07

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Anthony Newell
1 Posted 16/06/2008 at 10:12:38

Looking at the fixtures for the forthcoming season I cannot remember a kinder start for years. It should be well within our grasp to achieve maximum points from the first five games prior to going into the Derby. Of course, you know it never works like that with Everton but generating that sort of confidence early on and rooting us near the top will stand us in excellent stead. In any case, reasons to be optimistic I think and especially if we get some quality additions through the door!

Nick Broadhurst
2 Posted 16/06/2008 at 10:27:21

How kind the new fixture list is to us around the beginning AND end of the season! Certainly moreso than previous years. I mean, West Brom, Stoke, and Hull all away from home within the first 6 games? I'm not saying they're walkovers but surely 9 points there is a must. Hell, by the end of September we should be sitting comfortably at the top of the league.

Again though, the Christmas and New Year period looks quite harsh, January in particular, and the very last game of the season is at our boogie ground... Craven Cottage...

Richard Parker
3 Posted 16/06/2008 at 10:42:12

Start of season:
Blackburn (H)
WBA (A)
Pompey (H)
Stoke (A)
Hull (A)

Xmas period:
Chelsea (H)
Boro (A)
Sun'land (H)
Hull (H)

End of season:
Sun'land (A)
Spurs (H)
West Ham (H)
Fulham (A)

I reckon that's a fairly kind fixture list in the key periods of the season. Even though 3 of the 1st 5 games are away I'd expect minimum 10/11 points from those games.

John Pickles
4 Posted 16/06/2008 at 12:06:08

Home to Blackburn first up. Lets hope we don't needs points at the death, it's away to Fulham last game.

Rob Chan
5 Posted 16/06/2008 at 14:08:11

I think it's a dream start for Everton on that fixture list, they shuould be off to a flyer and great step foward in the confidence.

Seamus McCrudden
6 Posted 16/06/2008 at 14:59:14

Yeah, flyin start.... and us being everton we will probably make a complete pigs ear of it, then go on and beat Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal!

Michael Hunt
7 Posted 16/06/2008 at 14:55:43

It does look good, I just hope the players aren’t showing the same degree of over confidence leading to dangerous complacency.

Banana skin reasons:

1) Of the promoted teams, one may well have a ’first year up flyer’ type of season a la Reading of recent years (e.g. West Brom?)

2) Early season fire and optimism of the other ’underdog’ teams will mean very game requires 100% effort and focus.

3) We are Everton, counting our chickens nearly always leaves egg on our faces!

That said, Bring it on! Come end of derby day I wanna be singing, "Now Your Gonna Believe Us.....We’re Gonna Win the L....

COYB!!!

Seamus Murphy
8 Posted 16/06/2008 at 15:10:32

Would great to be going into the Derby on top of the league!!!

Patty Beesley
9 Posted 16/06/2008 at 15:19:57

So you think its a "kind" fixture list! Does that mean that the majority of the posters on this thread think Blackburn and Portsmouth are a walk over?

Erik Dols
10 Posted 16/06/2008 at 15:35:55

First derby at home, second derby away in a period the players will be exhausted once again...

Joe McMahon
11 Posted 16/06/2008 at 15:49:24

Guys please, it was like this last year with taking resulrts for granted. Remember we only JUST scraped a draw at home to Blackburn last year.

Tony Part
12 Posted 16/06/2008 at 15:58:34

No fixtures are a garauntee especially for Everton and early in the season you can get alot of funny results.
I always think the wrost time of the season to face promoted sides is in the first month as they are still living off the adrenalin that got them promoted.
Yes we should have too much class for the likes of West Brom and Stoke, Hull but it never works out that way..We will probably end up drawing 1-1 at West Brom or something like that.
I think its fair to say some people think we are better than we are but maybe after three or four promising signings I can share the views of being untouchable.

Steve Templeton
13 Posted 16/06/2008 at 16:27:10

I can’t believe how carried away people are getting at this stage of the summer expecting us to be top of the league by the end of September - we sound like kopites!

A couple of posters have hit the nail on the head about playing the promoted teams, they are usually up for the fight (particularly at home) in the first couple of the months of the season so these matches will not be easy. It would be better to play them away from home once their spirit has been broken and they realise that they are on their way back down.

Let’s keep our feet on the ground guys.

Gary Norman
14 Posted 16/06/2008 at 17:45:08

We have a poor home record against Blackburn and to be playing the 3 promoted teams inside the 1st month is going to be very hard, I would say that's about the worst time you could be playing the 3 promoted teams...

Dave Gerrard
15 Posted 16/06/2008 at 18:23:14

I agree the fixture list has been kind:

We only play the teams that finished above us ONCE at home and ONCE away.

We also play the teams that finished below us ONCE at home and ONCE away as well.

Its the same every year! There is never a good time or a bad time to play a team, it all depends on their current form and how badly they need the points. Unless we are talking Fulham at Craven Cottage. We’ll lose that regardless!

Max Levy
16 Posted 16/06/2008 at 19:09:23

Boys and girls, just live for today. If only I hadn?t worried about this sort of thing in the past, the little hair left on my head might not have been 80% grey. Just enjoy the summer while it lasts.

Paul OHanlon
17 Posted 16/06/2008 at 19:58:41

I was hoping for one of the big 3 early doors, best to get them early before they get into their stride. Likewise the promoted teams are at their most dangerous in the first few weeks with with that early season optimism.

Then again, if we’re looking to maintain our reputation as a top 6 team we should be going to the promoted clubs and winning no matter what stage of the season it is.

Bring it on, can’t wait!

Tim Dowling
18 Posted 16/06/2008 at 20:04:46

I think the fixtures this coming season are great, we have a nice start and a decent end. Whilst you can never judge these things accurately, I think they give us a good chance to have another good season.

What I really want to know is why Everton always always, every season play Liverpool and home first? Is there some unwritten rule that I don’t know about regarding this. I know we play the away leg in January so it’s not as much of an advantage this year but every year it seems that Liverpool always get the 2nd fixture at home which when the league is tight at the end of the year I think it’s always an advantage for them....can anyone explain??

Luke Gould
19 Posted 17/06/2008 at 01:15:49

Let?s just not leave anything till the last game of the season aye..... we haven?t won at Craven Cottage for 40 years! Wouldn?t want our season hanging on that result.

John Hall
20 Posted 17/06/2008 at 03:15:25

It is a bit premature to have ourselves top of the pile after the first 5 games. There are no easy fixtures as we saw last season when we went down at Fulham and Reading having been expected to pick up easy points.

Birmingham away was another example of points dropped to a relegated side.
The newly promoted teams invariably do better over their first few games than they do later in the season games probably due to their enthusiasm and excitement at starting life in the PL.

Blackburn gave us the run around last season in the first half at Goodison so let’s keep our feet on the ground and take what comes as what comes.

Here’s hoping to another good season.

Michael Brien
21 Posted 17/06/2008 at 12:27:21

Yes the opening fixtures look good - there’s no Arsenal or Man Utd etc in the first 5 games.However it would be wise not to underestimate the promoted teams - they will certainly be up for it and they will know the importance of making a good start to the season.

Some lessons from history - 1971-72 season I think it was our first home game of the season and we lost 0-1 to newly promoted Sheffield United.

1977-78 - opening day of the season and a home game against newly promoted Nottingham Forest and a 1-3 defeat.

I know there are probably more examples of us beating promoted teams early on in the season. The point I am trying to make is that we shouldn’t be complacent - we should treat these teams with respect - I don’t mean fear them - just respect them.Teams who do well are usually not the teams who are complacent - the successful teams more often than not are those who respect their opponents.

Ciaran Duff
22 Posted 17/06/2008 at 13:58:32

As a few people have said above, I also think playing newly promoted teams early in the season is the worst time to play them. They are still all enthusiastic, full of energy and out to prove themselves. After a couple of months, usually they will have had some of the wind taken out of their sails and are a slightly easier prospect. Also, hope we can get a few early signings and all those injured players back on board, so that the squad can get a decent pre-season under their belts and start the season running.