World Soccer F Season 2018

CONTENTS Gunner Alexandre Lacazette NEW KITS
ON THE BLOCK 6
Our pictorial guide to
the best new strips of 2017-18
ENGLAND U20s 10
Youngsters are the
best in the world
VICTOR LINDELOF 14
Manchester Uniteds most
expensive defender
SEAD KOLASINAC 18
Arsenals new Bosnian
hard man
ANTONIO
RUDIGER 22
New versatile German
defender at Chelsea
BERNARDO SILVA 26
Manchester Citys
Portuguese playmaker
ALEXANDRE
LACAZETTE 30
Arsenals new French
goal machine
THE TEAMS
All 92 English teams
profiled, along with their
2017-18 fixtures
Premier League 40
30 Championship
League One
League Two
80
104
116
Best England under-20s
10
CONTENTS
32
City arrival Bernardo Silva
26
28
Eagle has landed Frank De Boer Talent Ryan Sessegnon
Red alert Mohamed Salah New boys Forest
24
Green Rovers
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Kevin Eason
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Duncan Bond
PRODUCTION
Nich Hills
EDITORIAL SECRETARY
Leeanne Wright
CONTRIBUTORS
Nick Bidwell
James Cannon
Esteban Coppola
John Holmesdale
Debbie Millett
8 PHOTOGRAPHY
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Press Association Images
ADVERTISING
Hasan Mubarak
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Simon Owen
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THIS JUST IN
NEW KITS ON
Man City keeping it simple West Ham more claret, less blue
West Brom dark and moody
Man United Glad to be grey Everton true blues
6 FOOTBALL 2018
THE BLOCK WE RUN THE RULE OVER 2017-18s LATEST STRIPS
Arsenal no surprises
Liverpool classic
Watford nothing mellow

about the yellow
Chelsea blue and simple

Tottenham white on the night
FOOTBALL 2018 7
THIS JUST IN
NO ORDINARY
FOOTBALL TEAM
FOREST GREEN ROVERS ARE THE FIRST VEGAN, ECO-FRIENDLY CLUB
Forest Green Rovers, the Football
Leagues newcomers, are no ordinary
football club. Last seasons National
League play-off winners are based in
the Gloucestershire town of Nailsworth,
where the local population is just
5,794. For the past decade they have
been owned and bankrolled by green
millionaire Dale Vince, a former New
Age traveller turned owner of the
Ecotricity energy company.
Vince is passionate about green issues
and has turned Forest Green into the
countrys first eco-friendly football club.
For the solar panels on the stadium roof
to vegan food for fans and players and the
solar-powered robot lawnmower cutting
the organic pitch to electric cars for players
and staff, everything at the club must be
environmentally friendly.
The club has been fully vegan since June
2014, with no meat, fish, dairy or animal
products of any kind on offer at the club,
whether for players, visitors or fans.
Typically football food is hideous, Vince
says. Burgers are really awful.
Theyre the most awful parts of an
animal and are really unappealing products
that are cheap as dirt.
Weve replaced them with really high-
quality, plant-based food.
For those that are really bothered they
can bring their own ham sandwiches.
There are also plans to build a new eco-
friendly stadium made entirely from wood.
The proposed 5,000-seat ground has been
designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, who Play-offs
were responsible for the 2012 Olympic Wembley winners
Games aquatics centre.
Electric staff cars
Vegan food outlet
8 FOOTBALL 2018
KEY
DATES
FOR
2017-18
AUGUST 6 Community
Shield, Arsenal v Chelsea,
Wembley
SEPTEMBER 1 Malta v
England, World Cup qualifier
SEPTEMBER 4 England v
Slovakia, World Cup qualifier
OCTOBER 5 England v
Slovenia, World Cup qualifier
OCTOBER 8 Lithuania v
England, World Cup qualifier
NOVEMBER 4 FA Cup
first round
DECEMBER 2 FA Cup
New Lawn second round
organic pitch
JANUARY 6 FA Cup third
Efficient Rovers round
solar panel
JANUARY 27 FA Cup
fourth round
FEBRUARY 17 FA Cup
fifth round
FEBRUARY 25 League
Cup (Carabao Cup) Final
MARCH 17 FA Cup
quarter-finals
APRIL 21 FA Cup
semi-finals
MAY 19 FA Cup Final,

Wembley
MAY 26 Champions League

Final, Kiev
Welcome Englands Championship Play-off Final,
first eco-friendly club Wembley
New age Dale Vince MAY 27 League One

Photo: ProSports/REX/Shutterstock
Play-off Final, Wembley
MAY 28 League Two

Play-off Final, Wembley
Ready all set for

JUNE 14-JULY 15
the Football League World Cup finals, Russia
FOOTBALL 2018 9
THIS JUST IN
ON TOP OF THE
ENGLANDS KIDS STRIKE GOLD IN KOREA
England have won their first feeling and I do not think it will ever go away have been.
international youth title after beating if I am honest with you. Several members of the squad are
Venezuela 1-0 in the Under-20 World Simpson, who took charge of the contracted to Premier League clubs,
Saved Dominic Calvert-
Cup Final in South Korea. under-20s in March following Aidy Lewin is denied by Calvert-Lewin, who started the season with
In their first appearance in the Final of a Boothroyds promotion to under-21 Venezuela Sheffield United in League One, his Everton
global tournament since the 1966 World manager, said he had team-mate Ademola Lookman and Dominic
Cup, Everton forward Dominic Calvert- called on the players Solanke, who recently switched from
Lewins first-half goal was enough for victory to be ambitious in Chelsea to Liverpool.
after Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie their plans for the Everton provided five players for the
Woodman saved a second-half penalty. tournament. squad, while captain Lewis Cook is on the
This is the reward for some incredible I asked them the books of Bournemouth.
work, some incredible sacrifices, and I do question, what do you A number of talented youngsters were
not think you can get a better feeling than think you can achieve? not present in South Korea. Manchester
what that felt like at the end of the game and they told me they United striker Marcus Rashford was on duty
when the referee blew that whistle, said thought they could win with the senior England side, while Evertons
Englands manager Paul Simpson, the a World Cup, he said. Tom Davies was rested along with Patrick
former Shrewsbury Town and Stockport We said if we want Roberts, who spent the season on loan at
County boss. to win a World Cup we Celtic from Manchester City, and Chelseas
We are world champions and we have have to be absolutely Izzy Brown, who played for Huddersfield
waited 51 years to be able to say that again committed from that Town in the Championship play-off Final.
as an England team. It is an incredible moment on and they The Manchester United pair Axel
10 FOOTBALL 2018
SUMMER OF SUCCESS
ENGLAND
WORLD Tuanzebe and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson

YOUNGSTERS
PULL OFF
STRING OF
VICTORIES
were also absent.
It remains to be seen how many of the TOULON TRIUMPH
victorious team will become regulars in the England retained their title
Premier League. I hope it has a positive in the prestigious Toulon youth
impact on English football, Simpson said. tournament. An under-18 squad
I do not really know what is going to come featuring the likes of Sheffield
but it is part of the development that we United midfielder David Brooks
are trying to create football players who and Leeds midfielder Ronaldo
are capable of being successful at senior Vieira beat Ivory Coast on penalties
tournaments and hopefully this will go a in their final match. A year earlier,
long way to achieving that. then under-21 boss Gareth
I honestly dont know what it means Southgate was in charge of the
for English football. But for the under-20s England side that also triumphed
it means everything. This is what we have in Toulon.
worked so hard for.
Calvert-Lewin scored the only goal of the
Final in the 35th minute.
The 20-year-old met a free-kick from
Cook and found space behind his marker
before slotting home with his left foot
following a rebound off the keeper.
With 17 minutes remaining, Woodman
denied Adalberto Penaranda from the spot
after the Watford forward had been fouled
Hero Freddie
Woodmans penalty by Kyle Walker-Peters of Tottenham.
save in the Final Solanke, who spent the 2015-16 season
on loan at Dutch
club Vitesse, won the
Golden Ball as player
of the tournament.
England begun the
tournament in style,
beating Argentina
3-0 in their opening
Group game to
record their first win
at an under-20 finals
for 20 years and
ending a tournament
record of 17 games
without a win.
Toulon
Victories over
French success
Costa Rica, Mexico
and Italy in the
knockout phase HEARTACHE IN POLAND
set up the Final England topped their European
against Venezuela. Under-21 Championship group
in Poland but lost on penalties to
eventual champions Germany in the
ENGLANDS WINNING SQUAD semi-finals. The squad included
Chelseas Nathaniel Chalobah and
OGOALKEEPERS OMIDFIELDERS Tammy Abraham, along with new
Dean HENDERSON (Manchester United) Lewis COOK (Bournemouth) Everton keeper Jordan Pickford.
Luke SOUTHWOOD (Reading) Kieran DOWELL (Everton)
Freddie WOODMAN (Newcastle United) Ovie EJARIA (Liverpool) UNDER-17S
ODEFENDERS Ainsley MAITLAND-NILES (Arsenal) The young Lions narrowly lost to
Jake CLARKE-SALTER (Chelsea) Sheyi OJO (Liverpool) Spain in the Final of the European
Callum CONNOLLY (Everton) Josh ONOMAH (Tottenham H) Championship. They conceded a
Dael FRY (Middlesbrough) OFORWARDS last-minute equaliser and then lost
Jonjoe KENNY (Everton) Adam ARMSTRONG (Newcastle United) the resulting penalty shoot-out.
Ezri KONSA (Charlton Athletic) Dominic CALVERT-LEWIN (Everton)
Fikayo TOMORI (Chelsea) Harrison CHAPMAN (Middlesbrough) UNDER-19S
Kyle WALKER-PETERS (Tottenham H) Ademola LOOKMAN (Everton) In July, a squad featuring the
Dominic SOLANKE (Chelsea) likes of Fulham midfielder Ryan
OMANAGER Paul SIMPSON Sessegnon competed in the
European Championship in Georgia.
FOOTBALL 2018 11
SERIOUS EXPERT
OPINION ANALYSIS
Footballs burning
Hard-hitting opinions
issues analysed by
from the games most
expert figures in
respected writers.
the game.
TALENT WORLD
SCOUT CUP GUIDES
Spotlight on the Essential previews of
talented youngsters footballs biggest
tipped for the top. tournament.
EXCLUSIVE EYEWITNESS
INTERVIEWS REPORTS
Face to face with News and features from
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THE NEW BOYS
14 FOOTBALL 2018
THE ICEMAN
COMETH
Manchester Uniteds most expensive defender will boost the Old Trafford back line
In last seasons Premier League,
Manchester United conceded far
too many soft goals. The response
of manager Jose Mourinho? Seal a
31million deal for The Iceman
Benficas up-and-coming Swedish
centre-back.
Still only 23 but already a regular for the
Swedish national team, Lindelof has become
Uniteds most expensive defender of all
time, his price tag eclipsing the 29.1m
that Alex Ferguson paid Leeds United for
Rio Ferdinand in July 2002.
And its not hard to see why so many
experts believe the Swede to be among
the best two or three young stoppers in
Europe.
Tall, quick, robust, composed and
commanding, he is strong in the tackle and
in the air and has a good understanding of
the game. Thanks to his high concentration
levels, enforced errors are kept to a
minimum and he plays with considerable
self-control, too. Indeed, the sum total of
his disciplinary black marks last term was
one solitary yellow card in 47 competitive
appearances for Benfica. Dominant beating Olivier
Crucially for United, another of Victors Giroud of France
strong suits is his technical ability. When the
Swedish under-21s triumphed at the 2015 impressing, he proved far too accomplished Euro winner
European Championship, he was their to be dropped and went on to claim a clutch Sweden under-
starting right-back and he most definitely of honours: the Portuguese title in 2015-16 21s in 2015
has the touch and the poise to bring the ball and a league-and-cup double last term.
out from the back. Ferdinand revisited. He might well have pitched up in England
Nor is he likely to be overawed by the much earlier. While a teenage hopeful at
intense atmosphere in Premier League Vasteras, he had a trial at Premier League
stadia. He is accustomed to performing in side Stoke City, only for the Potters to baulk
front of 56,000 boisterous fans at Benficas at the 300,000 asking price.
Stadium of Light and can draw upon a well And in 2015, he came within a whisker Experience in the
of Champions League experience, having of leaving Benfica for Championship outfit Champions League
gone head-to-head with the likes of Bayern Middlesbrough. On no fewer than three against Borussia
Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli. separate occasions, the Boro negotiators Dortmund thought they had a loan agreement in the
Lindelofs career bag, but could not get the deal over the
has turned full- finish line. Tired of the goalposts being
circle in the last moved, Middlesbrough walked away from
18 months. Early the negotiations in frustration.
in 2016, three- Fate, then, has taken the defender down
and-a-half years a totally different path: from success with
after he joined Benfica to a starring role for Sweden and
Benfica from now the big time at Old Trafford.
Swedish second
division side
Vasteras, he was
only on the fringes
of the Eagles
first team and
was seriously
considering a
VICTOR
move away. But,
as they say, the
darkest hours are
LINDELOF
just before dawn, Club Manchester United
and thanks a to Country Sweden
defensive injury Date of birth July 17, 1994 (aged 23)
crisis, he finally Signed from Benfica (Por)
got his upgrade. Fee 31m
Immediately
FOOTBALL 2018 15
THE NEW BOYS
EDERSON
Club Manchester City
Country Brazil
Date of birth August 17 1993 (aged 23)
Signed from Benfica (Por)
Fee 35m
Whats all the fuss about? City have paid

a whopping fee for a highly rated keeper
who recently played his way into the senior
Brazil squad.
Has a touch of Manuel Neuer about him:
hes commanding, very quick off his line,
with quick reflexes and seemingly a chest
of steel, and a confidence with the ball at
his feet. In short, hes not Claudio Bravo.
The story so far: He came through the
ranks at Sao Paulo before moving to
Portuguese side Rio Ave in 2012 and was
snapped up by Benfica in 2015. He got his
break at Benfica when fellow Brazilian Julio
Cesar was injured and he was thrown into
a crunch league game against Sporting. He
was set to play for Brazil in last years Rio
Olympics until injury struck.
What he says: I wasnt a goalkeeper [as a
kid], I was a defender. I realised I wasnt very
skilful to be a defender so I asked to
become a goalkeeper.
My career in Europe started when I was
15 years old and that taught me a lot.
Getting to Europe was important and I
was able to do a good job at Benfica. And
thank God, Im here at Manchester City.
16 FOOTBALL 2018
DAVY
KLAASSEN
Club Everton
Country Holland
Date of birth February 21, 1993 (aged 24)
Signed from Ajax (Hol)
Fee 23.6m
Whats all the fuss about? Dynamic

box-to-box midfielder with a fierce shot
who captained Ajax in last seasons Europa
League Final against Manchester United.
Nicknamed cheese straw because of his
blond hair and light complexion.
The story so far: Klaassen came though
the ranks at Ajax and has played for
Holland at all levels from under-16
upwards, including 14 times for the senior
Dutch side. Was voted the Dutch footballer
of the year for 2015-16.
What he says: I spoke a few weeks
ago with Ronald Koeman about Everton.
I wanted to come here and check if this
was the right club for me and since I came
here I feel so happy. Its a great club. Its
difficult to leave Ajax but I think this is a
good step for me now.
LAURENT DEPOITRE
Club Huddersfield Town
Country Belgium
Date of birth December 7, 1988 (aged 28)
Signed from Porto (Por)
Fee 3.5m
Whats all the fuss about? Tall, powerful Portugal, making just 13 appearances.
striker signed from Porto for a club-record What they say: I am very happy that we
fee by newly promoted Huddersfield. have made Laurent our first signing of this
The story so far: Depoitre made his name summer window. He is a proper striker; one
at Belgian side Gent, winning the league in who has played for a very good Belgium
2015, scoring 24 goals over two seasons side, featured in elite European competition
and earning a move last summer to Porto. and who has won domestic titles.
But he struggled to make an impact in Huddersfield head coach David Wagner.
FOOTBALL 2018 17
THE NEW BOYS
BOSNIAN BATTLER
Arsenals summer signing from Schalke will bring fighting qualities to the Emirates
Brought in on a free, the 24-year-old more, the best numbers of his sporting life.
Bosnian should be just what the Arsenal Also linked with Manchester City, Everton,
doctor ordered. Liverpool, Juventus and Milan, the Bosnian
Apart from his ability to play in a number battler admits he spent plenty of sleepless
of positions - left-back, left-wing-back or nights mulling over his career choices, but
midfield enforcer - Kolasinac is renowned is convinced he made the right choice in
for his grit and ferocious competitive spirit; signing a five-year deal with Arsenal.
commodities not normally associated with These past few months, I was torn, he
Arsene Wengers side in recent years. wrote on his Facebook page. Last winter I
Schalke fans traditionally prefer the up- turned down a lot of offers from big
and-at-em style to silky technique, and in European clubs. I finally decided to pursue
the combative Bosnian they saw the sort my career in London.
of warrior they easily could identify with: a My thinking was that Arsenal offered me
blue-collar keeper of the faith, rugged, the best prospects. Every boy has to leave
indomitable, hard-running and particularly his family home at some point and get some
fearsome in the tackle. new air in his lungs.
No mission or opponent fazes him, and in Born and brought up in the south-west
a sign of his single-minded effectiveness he wing-wizard Arjen Robben. Rarely does the Versatile a German city of Karlsruhe, he represented
produced a man of the match display early flying Dutchman beat a retreat without a defender, he also Deutschland at various youth levels and was
this year to neutralise Bayern Munich kick, but coming up against Kolasinac was likes to get forward a non-playing member of the German
one of those rare, fruitless occasions. under-21 squad at the 2013 European
A first-teamer at Schalke for five seasons, Championship. However, in November 2013
he thrives on responsibility, invariably looking he opted to play his senior international
to set the leadership tone. I try to push the football for Bosnia, the land of his parents.
lads on, he says. If things arent going well, He has won 23 caps to date and featured
its good to rally the boys. Thats how I am. for them at the 2014 World Cup finals.
I do play with aggression. It was a tough call, he explains. I owe
By no means, though, is he solely a the DFB [the German federation] a lot.
destroyer. When playing out wide, he loves But in the end, followed my heart.
to get forward and has improved technically A winner in every sense, he undoubtedly
Switch German-born i
but represents Bosnia over the last few of years. In all competitions will be backing himself to inject some old
last season, he scored three and made nine school steel into Arsenal.
Tough Schalke fans

loved his battling spirit
18 FOOTBALL 2018
SEAD
KOLASINAC
Club Arsenal
Country Bosnia-Herzegovina
Date of birth June 20, 1993 (aged 24)
Signed from Schalke (Ger)
Fee free
FOOTBALL 2018 19
THE NEW BOYS
and earning a move to Valencia. However,

he was sidelined with a knee injury in
September 2015 and lost his place to
MAT penalty-saving specialist Diego Alves.

In January 2017 he went on loan to
Belgian side Genk, where he was first-
RYAN choice for the second half of the season.

What they say: Im delighted that weve
been able to attract Mathew to the club, and
Club: Brighton & Hove Albion football in Belgium and Spain. Loan in goal for he will certainly be an excellent addition to
Country: Australia He joined up with his new Brighton Genk last season the squad in time for our first season in the
Date of birth: April 8, 1992 (aged 25) team-mates after playing for Australia at the Premier League.
Signed from: Valencia (Spa) Confederations Cup in Russia. He is not the For somebody of Mathews age, he has
Fee: undisclosed tallest of keepers, but he earned plaudits for very good experience, having played in the
his performances when Australia won the top divisions in Australia, Belgium and Spain.
2015 Asian Cup. He has also competed in European
Whats all the fuss about: Australias The story so far: Ryan was signed by Club competition and made a number of
first-choice keeper is a highly rated shot- Brugge in 2013 and impressed during two appearances at international level.
stopper who has already played top-level seasons in Belgium, winning the Belgian Cup Brighton manager Chris Hughton
20 FOOTBALL 2018
ROQUE
MESA
Club: Swansea City
Country: Spain
Date of Birth: June 7, 1989 (aged 28)
Signed from: Las Palmas (Spa)
Fee: 11m
Whats all the fuss about: Ball-playing

midfielder with a pencil-thin moustache who
has been one of the stars for Las Palmas
and their recent success in Spain, winning
promotion to La Liga and then establishing
themselves in the Spanish top tier. His pass
completion rates, which are very high, and
small stature, hes 5ft 7in, have earned him
comparisons with Xavi.
The story so far: A native of Gran Canaria,
he began his career at Levante, in Valencia,
before moving back to the Canary Islands,
initially to Tenerife and then Las Palmas,
where he established himself as the
lynchpin of the clubs 2015 promotion-
winning side.
What he says: The manager knows
me, he knows how I play and what I can
contribute to the team. Ill try to make the
team play. I know hes like Ancelotti: he
likes to play and wants to create a different
Premier League team which likes to play.
JAN
BEDNAREK
Club: Southampton
Country: Poland
Date of birth: April 12, 1996 (Age 21)
Signed from: Lech Poznan (Pol)
Fee: 5m
Whats all the fuss about: Promising

centre-back who agreed a five-year deal
with Saints after competing for Poland at
the European Under-21 Championship. He
was the first signing for new manager
Mauricio Pellegrino, who needs to reinforce
his defence following the departure of Jose
Fonte to West Ham in January and the
speculation over the future of Virgil Van Dijk.
The story so far: Bednarek made his
Polish league debut at the age of 17 for
Lech Poznan. He spent time on loan at
Gornik Leczna and was expected to develop
his career in Poznan, before the offer from
Southampton came through. He has played
for Poland at every level from under-16
through to under-21.
What they say: Jan is an extremely
promising young player who possesses
significant potential. We are delighted to
bring him to the club, and we believe this
will be the ideal place for him to continue
his development.
This is a particularly exciting time for
him to arrive here, as he also has the
opportunity to learn from Mauricio
Pellegrinos extensive experience of
playing the centre-back position.
Southampton vice-chairman Les Reed
FOOTBALL 2018 21
THE NEW BOYS
22 FOOTBALL 2018
MR VERSATILE
Big German defender gives Chelsea plenty of options at the back
A star of the second-string German in the past as hard but fair, his
side that triumphed in the summers Triumph aggressive performances have not
Confederations Cupi
Confederations Cup, Antonio always found favour with referees and
Rudigers sights are now firmly last season he picked up eight yellow
set on winning a starting place cards and was sent off twice.
in Chelseas first team and the Born in Berlin to a German father and
24-year-old will provide Blues Sierra Leonean mother, Rudiger grew up
boss Antonio Conte with a whole host idolising Thierry Henry and started out as
of options when it comes to deciding a striker before becoming a defender and
where to play him. joining Borussia Dortmunds youth set-up.
In Russia, Rudiger operated on the You learn football on the streets, and
left-hand side of Germanys back-three thats completely different to playing for a
the shape that was favoured by Conte club, he told an interviewer in 2014. Its
as his side won the Premier League rougher out on the street. I played for my
last season but the 6ft 3in stopper life, defeat was not an option for anyone.
is equally comfortable playing at right- You play differently.
back in a four-man defence. He had to leave Dortmund to get first-
We are pleased to be able to bring team football, and after 66 Bundesliga
in a player of proven quality who adds games for Stuttgart he joined Roma in
to our defensive options, says Chelseas 2015. After finishing third in his first Serie
technical director, Michael Emenalo. A campaign, he helped Roma to the
Antonio is still young but is runners-up spot behind Juventus last term
experienced at club and international before deciding to try his luck in England.
level and possesses all the requisite Capped 17 times by his country,
attributes to thrive in the Premier League. including in Germanys 1-0 friendly win
We have been aware of him for some over England in March, he missed Euro
time and we are confident he will fit in 2016 after tearing cruciate knee
well with the squad. ligaments and had to undergo the
A mountain of a man, it will be no third knee operation of his career.
surprise to learn that Rudiger is strong Rudiger will be hoping that a change
in the tackle and dominant in the air. of scenery will help to bring about a
But he is also quick over the ground and change in fortune as far as injuries are
comfortable in possession. concerned, and that his days on the
However, despite describing himself treatment table are now behind him.
Strong in control
against Australia
ANTONIO
RUDIGER
Club Chelsea
Country Germany
Date of birth March 3, 1993 (age 24)
Signed from Roma
Fee 35m
Runner-up
he finished second
in Serie A last season
FOOTBALL 2018 23
THE NEW BOYS
MOHAMED
SALAH
Club: Liverpool
Country: Egypt
Date of birth: June 15, 1992 (aged 25)
Signed from Roma (Ita)
Fee: 36.9 (rising to 43.9m)
Whats all the fuss about? One of the

brightest performers in Italys Serie A over
the past two-and-a-half seasons. A speedy
attacker who plays mainly on the right wing,
he is a regular goalscorer who also provides
his fair share of assists. Liverpool have paid
a club record for the Egyptian international.
The story so far: In 2012 he moved from
Egypt to Swiss side Basle, where he starred
against Chelsea in both the Europa League
and Champions League, earning a move to
London in January 2014. He failed to
impress Jose Mourinho and was sent on loan
to Fiorentina where he had an immediate
impact. Still a Chelsea player, he moved on
loan to Roma for 2015-16 before a 12m
permanent deal last summer.
What they say: His pace is incredible,
he gives us more attacking threat and we
are already strong in this area. I like that
we will make it even more competitive.
Most important though, for us, is that he
is hungry, willing and eager to be even
better and improve further.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
24 FOOTBALL 2018
Whats all the fuss about? Everton Everton swooped to trigger the 5.2m
SANDRO continued their summer spending spree

with the purchase of the Spanish under-21
striker who scored 14 goals in 30 games last
release clause in his contract.
What he says: Im very happy, this is a big
step in my career. I know Im signing for a
RAMIREZ season following his release from Barcelona.

The story so far: Born in Las Palmas in the
Canary Islands, he joined Barca as a 14-
massive club in England. Everton is the ideal
place for me, Ive got the ideal manager
who is going to give me the confidence to
Club: Everton year-old. He progressed through their improve my game. I cannot wait to wear the
Country: Spain reserves to make it to the fringes of the blue shirt in front of the Everton fans at
Date of birth: July 9, 1995 (aged 22) Camp Nou first team, but his appearances Goodison Park. Its a big jump in my career
Signed from: Malaga (Spa) were confined mostly to cup games and he coming to the Premier League and for a
Fee: 5.2m moved to Malaga last summer. He finished club like Everton which is really on the up.
the season as the clubs top scorer and They have big plans and want to succeed.
FLORIAN LEJEUNE
Club: Newcastle United
Country: France
Date of birth: May 20, 1991 (Aged 26)
Signed from: Eibar (Spa)
Fee: 8.7m
Whats all the fuss about? Versatile second-tier Girona, before moving to Eibar
defender or midfielder who was identified last summer.
by Rafa Benitez as one of his main summer What they say: I have known about him
transfer targets. Comfortable on the ball, he for a while, since he began playing for
usually plays at centre-back and will provide Villarreal. He has progressed a lot as a
competition for first-choice pairing Jamaal player in the last few years and I know he
Lascelles and Ciaran Clark. will give us something different at the back
The story so far: Lejeune was born in Paris - he is good with both feet, hes big and hes
and raised in France but has played most of good in the air also. If he settles well into
his professional career in Spain, where he English football then I am sure he will be a
starred for Eibar as they finished 10th in La success and will give us a lot of competition
Liga last season. He joined Manchester City in this area.
in 2015 but was loaned straight back to Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez
FOOTBALL 2018 25
THE NEW BOYS
SILVA SERVICE
they gave me the opportunity to play at
a very high level. But after this very nice
season, I wanted to try something different,
to leave on a high. Its a good time to do this
as a champion.
When I had the opportunity to play
The Portuguese playmaker gives Man City exciting new options in the Premier League, to be trained by
Guardiola, and to evolve with players like De
Bruyne, Aguero and Silva, I could not refuse.
Manchester City were outplayed by Bernardo Silva into a City side brimming And it was a good offer for Monaco. I am
Monaco in last seasons Champions with attacking talents? very happy. Im going to play in the best
League knockout stage. A thrilling tie City already have wide men Sane and league in the world.
ended 6-6 on aggregate, with Monaco Raheem Sterling and Guardiola is expected I spoke to Pep for about 10 minutes
progressing to the quarter-finals on to sign two new, attack-minded full-backs. after my signing. He told me that I had to
away goals. So Bernardo Silva is likely to have to adapt adapt to the league and club, and he told
The teenager Kylian Mbappe grabbed and play more of an inside-forward role, me what position he wants me to play in.
all the headlines, but the footballing competing with attacking stars David Silva Masterclass taking He sees me on the right or in the middle.
masterclass was delivered by Monacos and Kevin De Bruyne, as well as playmakers on Man City I can play both positions, but also on the left
Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva. like Ilkay if necessary.
Silva set up Mbappe for the opening goal Gundogan, who Signing for City marks the culmination
skinning City midfielder David Silva before missed much of a rapid rise for Silva. Born in Lisbon, he
brushing aside Leroy Sane, nutmegging Yaya of last season came through the ranks at the citys best-
Toure and then slipping a perfectly weighted through injury. supported club, Benfica, playing for the B
through-ball in behind the defence for It was not side before being sent on loan to Monaco.
Mbappe to fire home in the second leg. easy to leave His impact in France took everybody by
So it was no surprise when Citys first Monaco because surprise and Monaco were keen to sign
signing of the summer turned out to be I had a great him on a permanent basis in January 2015.
the tormentor-in-chief from Monaco in a time there, says That summer he starred for Portugal as
case of if you cant beat them, sign them. the 22-year-old. they finished as runners-up in the European
The new man gives City manager Pep I want to thank Under-21 Championship. He scored the
Guardiola a major headache. How will he fit everyone there, opening goal in a 5-0 rout of Germany in
26 FOOTBALL 2018
On target scoring for Portugal
at the Confederations Cup
the semi-final, a performance that put him Talent playmaker

firmly on the European map.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos was
quick to sport his potential as he embarked
on the qualifying campaign for Euro 2016.
By the end of qualifying it surprised nobody
that the Monaco man was starting for the
senior side.
Unfortunately, a thigh injury ruled him
out of the Portugal squad that triumphed
in France in last years European
Championship. But he wasted no time in
making his presence felt on his return to
the Monaco first team. The team from the
French principality won plaudits around
Europe for their attacking style as they
dethroned big-spending Paris Saint-
Germain as champions of France.
Silva played a crucial role in Monacos
success, with team-mate Fabinho admitting:
Hes maybe the most important member of
the team.
The fear for Monaco was always that they
would be forced to sell their stars and so it
was when City came calling with a mega bid.
The money from City was too good to turn
down. But for Bernardo Silva, a new chapter
is just beginning.
BERNARDO
SILVA
Club Manchester City
Country Portugal
Date of birth August 10, 1994 (aged 22)
Signed from Monaco (Fra)
Fee 43m
FOOTBALL 2018 27
THE NEW BOYS
THE NEW GAFFERS

FRANK
DE BOER
CRYSTAL PALACE
Age 47
Previous clubs: Ajax youth (Hol),
Holland (assistant), Ajax (Hol),
Internazionale (Ita)
Honours: Dutch title (2011,
2012, 2013, 2014)
Crystal Palace have taken a leap into

the unknown by appointing Frank De
Boer as their first permanent foreign
manager in place of Sam Allardyce, who
stepped down at the end of last season.
Former Ajax, Barcelona and Holland
defender De Boer coached Ajax to four
Dutch league titles in a row and helped to
lay the foundations of the side that reached
this years Europa League Final, losing to
Manchester United in Stockholm.
De Boer has promised to lead a tactical
revolution at Palace, who are keen to move
away from the defensive style that has
characterised their relegation battles of
recent seasons.
I want a team where the fans are excited
to come to our games, to see a team that
wants to win and wants to fight for every
minute, said De Boer.
Thats always the starting point for me. [At
CelebrationsWinning the
Dutch title at Ajax
Ajax] its also in our DNA to try and play

technical football and dominate. When
you do that, and do that well, its a plus,
its attractive and it looks nice.
We are not naive. I want to play
dominant when we can be dominant. But
we want to dominate with and without the
ball. You can be dominant without the ball
by trying to move the opposition where you
want them to go.
I was attracted by the opportunity of
managing in the Premier League. This is a
club that can still go further and further.
Every English club in the Premier League
has money so there is the possibility to do
something. There is a lot of perspective for
this club to be a solid Premier League club.
28 FOOTBALL 2018
MEET THE LATEST MANAGERS TO JOIN THE PREMIER LEAGUE
MAURICIO
PELLEGRINO
SOUTHAMPTON
Age: 45
Previous clubs: Liverpool assistant,
Valencia (Spa), Estudiantes (Arg),
Independiente (Arg), Alaves (Spa)
Honours: Spanish Cup runner-up (2017)
Mauricio Pellegrino Southamptons

third new manager in as many seasons
arrives in England with a reputation
as a miracle worker in Spain.
Last season the Argentinian guided newly
promoted Alaves to a comfortable ninth
place in La Liga, as well as the Spanish
Cup Final, where they lost to Barcelona.
Dedicated, committed, analytical and
obsessive are all words that have been
used to describe a fanatical coach who
hates losing.
Pellegrino played in his native Argentina,
Spain and England, and won three caps
for his country. While with Valencia he won
two Spanish league titles and played in the
2001 Champions League Final, where he
missed the crucial spot-kick in a shoot-out
defeat by Bayern Munich.
Pellegrino played under Rafa Benitez at
Valencia and went on to play a handful of
games for the Spaniard at Liverpool before
joining Benitezs coaching staff at Liverpool
and then Internazionale.
He also played a season at Barcelona
under Louis Van Gaal, who said of
Pellegrino: Hell make a great coach.
His coaching career took off when
he returned to Argentina to take
charge of Estudiantes and
Independiente before being
appointed by Alaves last summer.
I think my philosophy and the
culture of the club will work
well together, Pellegrino said
We have to be a team on
and off the pitch.
Liverpool old boy

he played in the Premier League
FOOTBALL 2018 29
THE NEW BOYS
ALEXANDRE
LACAZETTE Club: Arsenal
Country: France
Date of birth: 28, 1991 (aged 26)
Signed from: Lyon (Fra)
Fee: 45m
30 FOOTBALL 2018
GOAL
MACHINE
Arsenal broke the bank to sign a prolific striker
The word prolific could have been Garde will no doubt be delighted that,
invented for Arsenals new 45million at the age of 26, Lacazette has opted to
French hit-man, the most costly signing begin a new chapter with Arsenal. Garde,
in the history of the North London club. a midfielder for the Gunners in the late
His numbers at the point of the Lyon 1990s, remains very close to coach Arsene
attack speak for themselves: 129 goals Wenger and earlier this year publicly
in 275 matches in all competitions since advised the striker to spread his wings and
making his first-team bow in the 2009-10 quit his hometown club.
season; 113 Ligue 1 strikes in the last four Alexandre has the ability and mentality
campaigns; and a gargantuan tally of 37 in to play for the very best European clubs,
45 official fixtures last term. Put the Lyon Garde told French sports channel SFR. He
local boy on a rectangle of turf and he will has no need to sign for just anybody. A long-
prove decisive. Simple as that. ball team which by-passes midfield wouldnt
Early in his OL career, he normally really be for him. Xxxxxx
played out wide, either left or right, but In other words, he and Arsenal are made Xxxx
in the summer of 2013, he was switched for one another.
to centre-forward by then-coach Remi The challenge he faces at the Emirates
Garde, a realignment which would spark will not be one for the faint-hearted. Not
net-busting fireworks. only does he have to quickly find his feet On fire 37 goals in the goals for the Gunners.
I knew he could score goals but even I in the Premier League and spearhead an 45 games for Lyon What he would give to play regularly
was not expecting him to put away chances Arsenal renaissance, he also will be looking last season up front for France alongside good friend
in such great quantities, said Garde at the to resurrect his international prospects. Of Antoine Griezmann. He and the Atletico
time. I think he has it in him to be one of the 11 full caps he has acquired since his Madrid star came up through the Gallic
the best. debut in 2013, only three were as a starter youth ranks together, with both featuring in
I see few forwards as complete as him. and he has managed just one goal, against the under-19 side which scooped the
He doesnt only score goals. Hes technically Denmark in a friendly in 2015. European title in 2010. Indeed, if Atletico
very good and links up well with others. He has yet to be included in a French had not been subject to a transfer ban, the
For a while he had to play out of position. squad for a major tournament and if, pair might now be reunited at the Estadio
However, I believe it did him good. It built up at long last, he is to convince coach Ability taking Vicente Calderon.
his endurance levels, it widened his skill-set. Didier Deschamps, he must pile up on Juventus Atleticos loss. Arsenals gain.
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
FOOTBALL 2018 31
SIX OF THE BEST
FOOTBALL LEAGUE
THE BRIGHTEST TALENTS OUTSIDE OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE
RYAN SESSEGNON
Club: Fulham
Position: Left-back or wide midfielder
Date of birth: May 18, 2000 (aged 17)
Previous clubs: none
Linked with: Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur
1
Fulhams exciting teenager continue his development in south-west
recently agreed his first London, close to where he was born, and
professional contract with alongside his twin brother, Steven, who has
the club, signing a deal that also come through Fulhams Academy.
delighted Fulham fans but Last season I got a lot of opportunities
disappointed Tottenham so I want to continue that, says Sessegnon.
Hotspur, who were keen When you are young you just want to play
to take him to north London. as many games as you can. To play 30
The England Under-19 international made games last year was good. It is always about
his league debut against Leeds United in improving and now I want to get better.
August 2016 and a week later scored his I am just happy for it to be done now. I
first professional goal, against Cardiff City, can kick on and get ready for the season.
making him the first English player born in Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic adds: Im
the 21st century to score in a Championship pleased that Ryans performances have
match. By the end of the season he had been rewarded with his first professional
become a Fulham regular and was named contract. He is an exceptional young
in the PFA Championship Team of the Year. player who has demonstrated loyalty and
The new contract means Sessegnon will commitment by continuing to serve this club.
32 FOOTBALL 2018
TALENTS
ANDRE
GREEN
Club: Aston Villa
Position: Winger
Date of birth: July 26, 1998 (age 18)
Linked with: several Premier League sides
2
Andre Green is the
youngster that Villa fans
are most excited about.
The Solihull-born Villa
fan is a speed winger who
helped to provide hope for
the future when the club
dropped down to the Championship.
Already capped by England at under-16,
under-17, under-18 and under-19 level, he
made his Villa debut in March 2016,
appearing from the bench to replace Jordan
Veretout in a 2-0 Premier League loss to
Tottenham Hotspur to become the clubs
fifth-youngest player of all time.
Green agreed a three-year deal in August
2016 and manager Steve Bruce has tried
to manage expectations about his exciting
prospect, saying: Hes had a decent
couple of games, hes only 18 and hes
got a bright future.
Its not easy for him but hes making
himself available every week and hes right
in my thoughts. Theres nothing better. Even
in my hour of need I threw an 18-year-old in
[Green] when I needed a performance
because it lifts the crowd and gives everyone
a lift at the club.
It certainly lifts the Academy and, of
course, it gives the older players a kick up
the arse that theres a young kid breathing
down their neck.
When you look at what this academy
has produced in the past, its terrific. Im
all for having three or four players around
the squad because thats healthy. Theres
nothing better for a manager than to see
a young kid come through.
Green has already suffered setbacks,
though. He missed the final month of last
season with a hamstring injury that ruled
him out of the England Under-20 squad
that won the World Cup in South Korea.
FOOTBALL 2018 33
SIX OF THE BEST
DAVID
BROOKS
Club: Sheffield United
Position: Midfielder
Date of birth: July 8, 1997 (aged 20)
Previous clubs: Manchester City, Halifax
Town (loan) Linked with: Everton
3
English football enjoyed a
highly successful summer.
While the under-20 side
grabbed the headlines by
winning the World Cup in
South Korea, the country
also claimed victory in the
prestigious Toulon youth tournament,
where Sheffield United midfielder David
Brooks was named the player of the
tournament.
Brooks caused controversy in the weeks
before the competition after switching his
allegiances to England from Wales, who
thought they had called him up for the
tournament in France.
Brooks was named in the England
party just 11 minutes after withdrawing from
the Wales squad and went on to score
crucial goals in Toulon, where England beat
Angola, Cuba, Japan and Scotland before
winning a penalty shoot-out over Ivory Coast
in the Final.
Born in Warrington, he moved to
Sheffield United after being released from
Manchester Citys Academy in 2014. He has
since spent two months on loan at Halifax
Town and made four first-team appearances
for the Blades last season
He was set to go on loan to Chesterfield
this season, but the Blades pulled the plug
on the deal, and the indications are that the
youngster will play a role for the newly
promoted Championship side in the
2017-18 campaign.
He has been linked to Everton, whose
academy scout Jamie Hoyland has said:
Hes a lad who got released off Man City
when he was 16, so obviously his pedigree is
good. He still looks, probably, about 14 or 15.
And thats the thing about him, hes still not
developed physically [into] what he should be.
34 FOOTBALL 2018
EZRI KONSA
Club: Charlton Athletic
Position: Central defence
Date of birth: October 23, 1997 (aged 19)
Linked with: Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea
4
The England team that London, breaking into the first team at
won the Under-20 World Charlton, where he made 32 appearances
Cup this summer in South in League One last season.
Korea was dominated by At Charlton he is as highly rated as Joe
players contracted to Gomez, who joined Liverpool for 3.5m last
Premier League clubs summer. Charlton sold Ademola Lookman,
including player of another of Englands under-20 stars, to
the tournament Dominic Solanke, Everton in January, so Konsa whose
who recently moved from Chelsea contract runs until 2019 could be the next
to Liverpool, and Evertons Dominic big-money earner for the League One club.
Calvert-Lewin, the scorer of the winning Charlton manager Carl Robinson says:
goal in the Final. Hes been an outstanding player since hes
One of the few players not with a Premier moved into the first team and hes making
League club was Charlton defender Ezri an impact on our games.
Konsa, who played in the semi-final victory Reflecting on Konsas under-20 call-up,
against Italy. Charltons academy boss Steve Avory said:
Konsa was born in East London but has Hes always thought he was good enough
quickly made a name for himself in South and now he has proved that he is.
FOOTBALL 2018 35
SIX OF THE BEST
GEORGE HIRST
Club: Sheffield Wednesday
Position: Striker
Date of birth: February 15, 1999 (aged 18)
Linked with: Everton
5
Young Sheffield Wednesday The Toulon success took Hirsts tally to
striker George Hirst has 40 goals for the season in all competitions
had the perfect role model for club and country.
ever since he first kicked a Inevitably, his rapid rise has raised
football: his father David, questions about whether he can cope with
the former Wednesday and the physical demands of the Championship.
England centre-forward. Wednesdays youth boss Neil Thompson
Teenager George has made dramatic says: George had a long season in terms
steps in the past 12 months, making his of game time. It was a very demanding
senior Wednesday debut and finishing as schedule for a young boy to cope with but
top scorer as England won the Toulon youth if you are going to be a player you need to
tournament this summer. He chipped in with be able to play two or three games a week.
four goals, including a hat-trick against If you go into a first-team environment,
Cuba, although he missed a penalty in the there are 40 to 50 games a season.
shoot-out win over Ivory Coast that saw All the signs are that he has the talent
England retain their title. and the pedigree to succeed.
36 FOOTBALL 2018
JOEL
ASORO
Club: Sunderland
Position: Forward
Date of birth: April 27, 1999 (aged 18)
Previous clubs: IF Brommapojkarna (Swe)
Linked with: Arsenal
6
Sunderlands relegation
from the Premier League
was a hammer blow for
the clubs supporters after
years of battling against
the drop. But the silver
lining may come in the
form of more opportunities for young
players in the Championship.
While it was inevitable that last seasons
top scorer Jermain Defoe would leave,
Sunderland have a number of youngsters
who could step in to fill the void. One of
those is Swedish under-21 striker Joel
Asoro, who has already been the subject
of interest from Arsenal this summer.
Born in Stockholm, Asoro made his
professional debut in the league last year
against Middlesbrough, appearing as a late
sub for Duncan Watmore and becoming
Sunderlands and Swedens youngest
Premier League player.
Asoro was a member of Swedens squad
at the European Under-21 Championship
this summer but made only one substitute
appearance as the defending champions
failed to get out of their group.
Asoro has admitted that he was unsure
what to make of Arsenals interest this
summer, saying: People were a little
shocked because I have played very little
first-team football.
FOOTBALL 2018 37
FOOTBALL KITS
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14%, 14%+ 14%, 14%+ 14%, 14%+ !&$"*& "")* )/ /)$ )/

4 011 -

' ' - ' '
MISCELLANEOUS
THE TEAMS
PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE ONE LEAGUE TWO
Arsenal Aston Villa AFC Wimbledon Accrington Stanley

Bournemouth Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Barnet
Brighton & Hove Albion Birmingham City Blackpool Cambridge United
Burnley Bolton Wanderers Bradford City Carlisle United
Chelsea Brentford Bristol Rovers Cheltenham Town
Crystal Palace Bristol City Bury Chestereld
Everton Burton Albion Charlton Athletic Colchester United
Hudderseld Town Derby County Doncaster Rovers Coventry City
Leicester City Cardiff City Fleetwood Town Crawley Town
Liverpool Fulham Gillingham Crewe Alexandra
Manchester City Hull City MK Dons Exeter City
Manchester United Ipswich Town Northampton Town Forest Green Rovers
Newcastle United Leeds United Oldham Athletic Grimsby Town
Southampton Middlesbrough Oxford United Lincoln City
Stoke City Millwall Peterborough United Luton Town
Swansea City Norwich City Plymouth Argyle Manseld Town
Tottenham Hotspur Nottingham Forest Portsmouth Morecambe
Watford Preston North End Rochdale Newport County
West Bromwich Albion Reading Rotherham United Notts County
West Ham United Queens Park Rangers Scunthorpe United Port Vale
Shefeld United Shrewsbury Town Stevenage
Shefeld Wednesday Southend United Swindon Town
Sunderland Walsall Wycombe Wanderers
Wolverhampton W Wigan Athletic Yeovil Town
PREMIER LEAGUE
ARSENAL
FLASHBACK
billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who
WENGER owns a fraction under 30 per cent. FANS VIEW May 27 Aaron Ramsey
heads the winning goal
KEVIN WHITCHER
CARRIES ON Annual wage bill 195m (2016) The Gooner (onlinegooner.com)
past Thibault Courtois as
Arsenal beat Chelsea in
Annual income 354m (2016)
REGARDLESS Stadium Emirates (60,355) LAST SEASON WAS the FA Cup Final.
Nickname Gunners
This could be a landmark season Odds 12/1 to win Premier League Disappointing with a silver lining at
for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger remains the end. The team dropped from
manager but he is in charge of a second to fth in the Premier League
team that will compete in the Europa and bombed out in Europe again,
League, not the Champions League, but at least there was a trophy at the
after last seasons fth-place nish. conclusion. That should not mask the
Mays FA Cup Final success an season collapsing in the early months
astonishing third in four years and of 2017 though.
a record seventh for Wenger is
unlikely to keep the fans happy for THIS SEASON WILL BE
long, especially if they lose star man
Alexis Sanchez. Fearful of Alexis Sanchez departing,
Full-back Sead Kolasinac and more Monday night matches because
striker Alexandre Lacazette were of the Europa League, and the reality
early summer arrivals. that the season will probably collapse
when the rst daffodils are spotted.
Manager Arsene Wenger agreed
a new two-year contract over OUR BIGGEST HERO
the summer. His position was
strengthened by the boards Sanchez. Without his contribution,
acceptance of his refusal to work things would have been even worse.
with a director of football.
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Whos the Daddy? American
billionaire Stan Kroenke still holds Still in charge Arsene Wenger his arrogance, lack
the majority of shares in the club Arsene Wenger of humility and blaming the fans for
and refuses to sell to Uzbek-born the teams poor play was unforgivable.
40 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
Name Age/d.o.b. Signed/prev club
GOALKEEPERS
Petr CECH (CzR) (35) 20.05.82 2015 / Chelsea
Emiliano MARTINEZ (Arg) (24) 02.09.92 2010 / Independiente (Arg)
David OSPINA (Col) (28) 31.08.88 2014 / Nice (Fra)
Wojciech SZCZESNY (Pol) (27) 18.04.90 2006 / Legia Warsaw (Pol)
DEFENDERS
Hector BELLERIN (Spa) (22) 19.03.95 2011 / Barcelona (Spa)
Calum CHAMBERS (22) 20.01.95 2014 / Southampton
Mathieu DEBUCHY (Fra) (31) 29.07.85 2014 / Newcastle United
GABRIEL (Bra) (26) 26.11.90 2015 / Villarreal (Spa)
Kieran GIBBS (27) 26.09.89 2004 / Wimbledon
Rob HOLDING (21) 20.09.95 2016 / Bolton Wanderers
Carl JENKINSON (25) 08.02.92 2011 / Charlton Athletic
Sead KOLASINAC (Bos) (24) 20.06.93 2017 / Schalke (Ger)
Laurent KOSCIELNY (Fra) (31) 10.09.85 2010 / Lorient (Fra)
Per MERTESACKER (Ger) (32) 29.09.84 2011 / Werder Bremen (Ger)
Nacho MONREAL (Spa) (31) 26.02.86 2013 / Malaga (Spa)
Shkodran MUSTAFI (Ger) (25) 17.04.92 2016 / Valencia (Spa) AUG 12 Leicester City (h)
MIDFIELDERS Aug 19 Stoke City (a)
Santi CAZORLA (Spa) (32) 13.12.84 2012 / Malaga (Spa)
Francis COCQUELIN (Fra) (26) 13.05.91 2008 / Laval (Fra) Aug 26 Liverpool (a)
Mohamed ELNENY (Egy) (25) 11.07.92 2016 / Basle (Swi)
Ainsley MAITLAND-NILES (19) 29.08.97 2014 / youth Sep 9 Bournemouth (h)
Alex OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN (23) 15.08.93 2011 / Southampton Sep 16 Chelsea (a)
Mesut OZIL (Ger) (28) 15.10.88 2013 / Real Madrid (Spa) Chance Ainsley
Aaron RAMSEY (Wal) (26) 26.12.90 2008 / Cardiff City Maitland-Niles
Sep 23 West Brom (h)
Jeff REINE-ADELAIDE (Fra) (19) 17.01.98 2015 / Lens (Fra)
Jack WILSHERE (25) 01.01.92 2008 / youth BEST SONG LAST SEASON Sep 30 Brighton (h)
Granit XHAKA (Swi) (24) 27.09.92 2016 / Bor Mgladbach (Ger)
OCT 14 Watford (a)
Arsene Wenger, we want you to go.
FORWARDS
Chuba AKPOM (21) 09.10.95 2002 / youth Oct 21 Everton (a)
Joel CAMPBELL (CR) (25) 26.06.92 2011 / Saprissa (CR) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Olivier GIROUD (Fra) (30) 30.09.86 2012 / Montpellier (Fra) Oct 28 Swansea City (h)
Alex IWOBI (Nga) (21) 03.05.96 2004 / youth Ainsley Maitland-Niles might get a NOV 4 Man City (a)
Alexandre LACAZETTE (Fra) (26) 28.05.91 2017 / Lyon (Fra) run if the squad suffers injuries.
Lucas PEREZ (Spa) (28) 10.09.88 2016 / Dep La Coruna (Spa) Nov 18 Tottenham (h)
Alexis SANCHEZ (Chl) (28) 19.12.88 2014 / Barcelona (Spa)
Theo WALCOTT (28) 16.03.89 2006 / Southampton GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Nov 25 Burnley (a)
Danny WELBECK (26) 26.11.90 2014 / Manchester United
Spurs away at Wembley will be surreal. Nov 28 Huddersfield (h)
MANAGER
Arsene WENGER (Fra) (67) 22.10.49 1996 / Grampus Eight (Jap) Dec 2 Man United (h)
GAME TO DREAD
Dec 9 Southampton (a)
A trip to a relegation contender who
DEC 12 West Ham (a)
give us a lesson in commitment.
Dec 16 Newcastle (h)
Dec 23 Liverpool (h)
Dec 26 Crystal Palace (a)
Dec 30 West Brom (a)
JAN 1 Chelsea (h)
Jan 13 Bournemouth (a)
Jan 20 Crystal Palace (h)
Jan 30 Swansea City (a)
FEB 3 Everton (h)
Feb 10 Tottenham (a)
Feb 24 Man City (h)
MAR 3 Brighton (a)
Mar 10 Watford (h)
Mar 17 Leicester City (a)
Mar 31 Stoke City (h)
APR 7 Southampton (h)
Apr 14 Newcastle (a)
Hero Apr 21 West Ham (h)

Alexis Sanchez Apr 28 Man United (a)
LAST SEASON
MAY 5 Burnley (h)
Premier League 5th // Top scorer Alexis Sanchez 24 // FA Cup Winners // League Cup Quarter-nals May 13 Huddersfield (a)
Average attendance 59,956
FOOTBALL 2018 41
PREMIER LEAGUE
BOURNEMOUTH
FLASHBACK
Dec 4 Nathan Ake
some serious cash which led to the
CHERRIES club being ned 7.6m for breaching FANS VIEW scores in the third
minute of added time as
Financial Fairplay regulations for STEVE JENKINS
HAVE SERIOUS over-spending in the Championship. fromthesouthend.com (tftse) Bournemouth come
from 1-3 down, with
AMBITION Annual wage bill 60m (2016). LAST SEASON WAS 15 minutes left, to beat
Annual income 88m (2016). Liverpool 4-3.
Anybody still referring to plucky little Stadium Vitality Stadium (11,464). As about as good as it could get.
Bournemouth should hang their Nickname Cherries. Finishing ninth, beating Liverpool,
heads in shame. Last season saw Odds 750/1 to win Premier League. drawing with Arsenal and Manchester
Eddie Howes men record a best-ever United, and scoring six against Hull
league nish (ninth) and this summer were some of the highlights of our
there has been some serious activity most successful season.
on the south coast, with Jermain
Defoe arriving from Sunderland, and THIS SEASON WILL BE
keeper Asmir Begovic and defender
Nathan Ake joining from Chelsea. Hoping to convert draws into wins,
concede fewer goals, nish higher
Manager At 39, Eddie Howe is the than last season and get to the Final
Premier Leagues youngest manager of the FA Cup. The fear is that we
and the longest serving after Arsene will get beaten by Manchester City
Wenger, having taken charge for a (again), Callum Wilson wont come
second time in October 2012 after back as good as he once was and
a brief spell at Burnley. During his that Lewis Grabban will still be a
rst period in command, which began Bournemouth player.
in 2008, he saved Bournemouth
from relegation from the Football OUR BIGGEST HERO
League and led them to promotion
to League One. Everyone was a hero last season,
but a couple of standouts were Josh
Whos the Daddy? Secretive King coming of age and (on-loan,
Russian businessman Maxim Demin now permanent signing) Nathan Ake
made his money in pharmaceuticals Long serving...Eddie Howe scoring the last-minute winner
and has backed Bournemouth with against Liverpool.
42 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Ryan ALLSOP (25) 17.06.92 2013 / Leyton Orient
Asmir BEGOVIC (Bos) (30) 20.06.87 2017 / Chelsea
Artur BORUC (Pol) (37) 20.02.80 2015 / Southampton
Adam FEDERICI (Aus) (32) 31.01.85 2015 / Reading
DEFENDERS
Nathan AKE (Hol) (22) 18.02.95 2017 / Chelsea
Baily CARGILL (22) 05.07.95 2012 / youth Warm welcome
Steve COOK (26) 19.04.91 2012 / Brighton & HA ...Matt Ritchie
Charlie DANIELS (30) 07.09.86 2012 / Leyton Orient
Simon FRANCIS (32) 16.02.85 2012 / Charlton Athletic
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Tyrone MINGS (25) 27.02.92 2015 / Ipswich Town
Adam SMITH (26) 29.04.91 2014 / Tottenham Hotspur
Brad SMITH (Aus) (23) 09.04.94 2016 / Liverpool Matt Ritchie for going to a bigger club,
Rhoys WIGGINS (Wal) (29) 04.11.87 2016 / Shefeld Wednesday not that he has been missed. We will
Marc WILSON (RoI) (29) 17.08.87 2016 / Stoke City give him a warm welcome after we
beat Newcastle this season. AUG 12 West Brom (a)
MIDFIELDERS Aug 19 Watford (h)
Harry ARTER (RoI) (27) 28.12.89 2010 / Woking BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Lewis COOK (20) 03.02.97 2016 / Leeds United Aug 24 Man City (h)
Ryan FRASER (Sco) (23) 24.02.94 2013 / Aberdeen (Sco) If only there was one. We come
Dan GOSLING (27) 01.02.90 2014 / Newcastle United
SEPT 9 Arsenal (a)
from League Two, we come from
Emerson HYNDMAN (USA) (21) 09.04.96 2016 / Fulham League Two, were AFC Bournemouth, Sep 16 Brighton (h)
Connor MAHONEY (20) 12.02.97 2017 / Blackburn Rovers we come from League Two is a
Jordon IBE (21) 08.12.95 2016 / Liverpool Sep 23 Everton (a)
good one to bring out when beating
Marc PUGH (30) 02.04.87 2010 / Hereford United anyone. Sep 30 Leicester City (h)
Junior STANISLAS (27) 26.11.89 2014 / Burnley
Andrew SURMAN (30) 20.08.86 2014 / Norwich City OCT 14 Tottenham (a)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
FORWARDS Oct 21 Stoke City (a)
Benik AFOBE (DRC) (24) 12.02.93 2016 / Wolverhampton W US international Emerson Hyndman
went on loan to Rangers last season Oct 28 Chelsea (h)
Jermain DEFOE (34) 07.10.82 2017 / Sunderland
Lewis GRABBAN (29) 12.01.88 2016 / Norwich City and made a big impression. Were NOV 4 Newcastle (a)
Max GRADEL (IvC) (29) 30.11.87 2015 / Saint-Etienne (Fra) expecting him and England under-20
Josh KING (Nor) (25) 15.01.92 2015 / Blackburn Rovers captain Lewis Cook to be pushing Nov 18 Huddersfield (h)
Lys MOUSSET (Fra) (21) 08.02.96 2016 / Le Havre (Fra) Arter, Gosling and Surman for a place Nov 25 Swansea City (a)
Callum WILSON (25) 27.02.92 2014 / Coventry City in the starting line-up.
Nov 28 Burnley (h)
MANAGER GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Eddie HOWE (39) 29.11.77 2012 / Burnley DEC 2 Southampton (h)
The rst home game of the new Dec 9 Crystal Palace (a)
season against our old friends
Watford. Looking forward to playing Dec 12 Man United (a)
Brighton again and getting six points Dec 16 Liverpool (h)
off Man U.
Dec 23 Man City (a)
Old friends Dec 26 West Ham (h)
...Watford
Dec 30 Everton (h)
JAN 1 Brighton (a)
Jan 13 Arsenal (h)
Jan 20 West Ham (a)
Jan 31 Chelsea (a)
FEB 3 Stoke City (h)
Feb 10 Huddersfield (a)
Feb 24 Newcastle (h)
MAR 3 Leicester (a)
Mar 10 Tottenham (h)
Mar 17 West Brom (h)
Mar 31 Watford (a)
APR 7 Crystal Palace (h)
GAME TO DREAD
Apr 14 Liverpool (a)
Man City away is usually a game we
get well and truly beaten in. Hopefully Apr 21 Man United (h)
this season it will be different. Apr 28 Southampton (a)
LAST SEASON
MAY 5 Swansea City (h)
Premier League 9th // Top scorer Josh King 16 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 3rd round May 13 Burnley (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 43
PREMIER LEAGUE
BRIGHTON
FLASHBACK
Apr 17 Beram Kayal
well probably ever experience as
BACK IN THE FANS VIEW Brighton fans. Twenty years after
celebrates with team-
mates in the stands after
SCOTT MCCARTHY being made homeless, and being 15
BIG TIME wearebrighton.com minutes away from dropping out of the win at home to
Wigan Athletic secured
the Football League, and weve won
Brighton are back in the top ight LAST SEASON WAS promotion to the top ight. Its a real promotion to the
for the rst time in 34 years. In that fairy tale and of course we did it in Premier League.
time, they almost dropped out of the Absolutely incredible. From the typical Brighton style in the end by
Football League, lost their Goldstone opening day right until the end it was messing up a seven-point lead to
Ground home and found temporary one of the most memorable seasons blow the title.
accommodation at Gillingham and
the Withdean athletics track. With THIS SEASON WILL BE
the backing of Tony Bloom, they built
a brand new stadium at Falmer on I dont think there are really any
the outskirts of Brighton and clawed fears going into the Premier League.
their way back up the divisions. We will probably, and rightly so, be
among the favourites for relegation,
Manager Former Newcastle and but when so little is expected of you,
Norwich boss Chris Hughton was you dont have much to lose. Weve
appointed in December 2014 and just got to enjoy the ride and if we
agreed a four-year deal last summer. nish fourth bottom thats going to
be a success.
Whos the Daddy? Professional
gambler Tony Bloom is very secretive OUR BIGGEST HERO
about how he makes his money, but
he has ploughed almost 300m Anthony Knockaert quite rightly won
into Brighton since becoming club every award going, but without Glenn
chairman in 2009. Murray to put away the chances we
wouldnt have gone up. We missed
Annual wage bill 27.4m (2016) out on automatic promotion the
Annual income 24.6m (2016) previous season to Middlesbrough
Stadium Amex (30,750) by just two goals; having a 20-goal-
Nickname Seagulls In charge...Chris Hughton a-season striker made all the
Odds 1,000-1 to win Premier League difference.
44 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Niki MAENPAA (Fin) (32) 23.01.85 2015 / VVV Venlo (Hol)
Mathew RYAN (Aus) (25) 08.04.92 2017 / Valencia (Spa)
DEFENDERS
Gaetan BONG (Cam) (29) 25.04.88 2015 / Wigan Athletic
BRUNO (Spa) (36) 01.10.80 2012 / Valencia (Spa)
Shane DUFFY (RoI) (25) 01.01.92 2016 / Blackburn Rovers Awards...Anthony
Lewis DUNK (25) 21.11.91 2010 / youth Knockaert (front)
Connor GOLDSON (24) 18.12.92 2015 / Shrewsbury Town
Uwe HUNEMEIER (Ger) (31) 09.01.86 2015 / Paderborn (Ger)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Liam ROSENIOR (33) 09.07.84 2015 / Hull City
Alex Pritchard turned around on
MIDFIELDERS the M25, after we had agreed a deal
Pascal GROSS (Ger) (26) 15.06.91 2017 / Ingolstadt (Ger) with Spurs, to go to Norwich. Seeing AUG 12 Man City (h)
Rohan INCE (24) 08.11.92 2013 / Chelsea as the change of heart clearly had Aug 19 Leicester City (a)
Beram KAYAL (Isr) (29) 02.05.88 2015 / Celtic (Sco) nothing to do with money, it is a real
Anthony KNOCKAERT (Fra) (25) 20.11.91 2015 / Standard Liege (Blg) shame congestion on the M25 means Aug 26 Watford (a)
Kazenga LUALUA (DRC) (26) 10.12.90 2011 / Newcastle United he will be in the Championship next SEP 9 West Brom (h)
Solly MARCH (23) 20.07.94 2013 / youth season not the Premier League.
Jamie MURPHY (Sco) (27) 28.08.89 2015 / Shefeld United Sep 16 Bournemouth (a)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Oliver NORWOOD (NI) (26) 12.04.91 2016 / Reading Sep 23 Newcastle (h)
Jiri SKALAK (CzR) (25) 12.03.92 2016 / Mlada Boleslav (CzR)
Cliched and stolen from Shefeld Sep 30 Arsenal (a)
Steve SIDWELL (34) 14.12.82 2016 / Stoke City Wednesday, but Were on our way
Dale STEPHENS (28) 12.06.89 2014 / Charlton Athletic really took off around January, despite OCT 14 Everton (h)
Richie TOWELL (RoI) (26) 17.07.91 2016 / Dundalk (RoI) some of the more superstitious types Oct 21 West Ham (a)
saying it was too early to be singing
FORWARDS about going up with such condence. Oct 28 Southampton (h)
Sam BALDOCK (28) 15.03.89 2014 / Bristol City NOV 4 Swansea City (a)
Tomer HEMED (Isr) (30) 02.05.87 2015 / Almeria (Spa) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Nov 18 Stoke City (h)
Elvis MANU (Gha) (23) 13.08.93 2015 / Feyenoord (Hol)
Glenn MURRAY (33) 25.09.83 2017 / Bournemouth
Solly March is an England under- Nov 25 Man United (a)
21 but has had a terrible time with
injuries over the last two seasons, so Nov 28 Crystal Palace (h)
MANAGER ngers crossed he manages to stay t.
Chris HUGHTON (58) 11.12.58 2014 / Norwich City DEC 2 Liverpool (h)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Dec 9 Huddersfield (a)
Everton and West Brom away. We Dec 13 Tottenham (a)

havent been to The Hawthorns or Dec 16 Burnley (h)
Goodison Park in my lifetime so they
will be new grounds for many. Dec 23 Watford (h)
Dec 26 Chelsea (a)
Dec 30 Newcastle (a)
JAN 1 Bournemouth (h)
Jan 13 West Brom (a)
Jan 20 Chelsea (h)
Jan 31 Southampton (a)
FEB 3 West Ham (h)
Feb 10 Stoke City (a)
Feb 24 Swansea City (h)
MAR 3 Arsenal (h)
Mar 10 Everton (a)
Hope... Mar 17 Man City (a)
Solly March
Mar 31 Leicester City (h)
APR 7 Huddersfield (h)
GAME TO DREAD
Apr 14 Crystal Palace (a)
Crystal Palace. More often than not
in the last 20 years weve failed to Apr 21 Tottenham (h)
perform against them. Apr 28 Burnley (a)
LAST SEASON
MAY 5 Man United (h)
Championship 2nd (in Championship) // Top scorer Glenn Murray 23 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup May 13 Liverpool (a)
3rd round // Average attendance 27,995
FOOTBALL 2018 45
PREMIER LEAGUE
BURNLEY
FLASHBACK
expecting to drop, so to stay up at Nov 5 Ashley Barnes
STEADY DOES FANS VIEW the third attempt was a great feeling. scores the winning goal
JAMES BIRD Our home form was particularly
IT FOR DYCHE No Nay Never impressive for a club like us.
in the 94th minute in a
3-2 win at home to
nonaynever.net
Crystal Palace.
Burnley continued to make steady THIS SEASON WILL BE
progress last season under Sean LAST SEASON WAS
Dyche. Their outstanding home form Hopes are to stay up again if we can!
(10 wins at Turf Moor) laid the Sensational. I think we all came into My fear is denitely that our poor
foundations for a successful rst the season hoping to survive but away form carries over into the new
season back in the Premier League, season as I feel that could be what
with virtually the same side that won relegates us.
Impressive
promotion from the Championship. Sean Dyche
The Clarets avoided getting OUR BIGGEST HERO
drawn into a relegation battle and
the impressive Dyche earned more There are a few candidates for this
plaudits for his no-nonsense style. but for me its Andre Gray. He had a
rough patch early in the season with
Manager Sean Dyche took charge at his off-the-eld issues but from a
Turf Moor in October 2012 and led purely football point of view his four
the club to the Premier League in goals at home over the Christmas
2014. The 45-year-old agreed a period were huge for us.
contract extension last year.
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Whos the Daddy? Chairman Mike
Garlick is a lifelong Burnley fan who Joey Barton. He had decided to
has been on the board for a decade. leave for Scotland in the summer
before controversy at Rangers led
Annual wage bill 29m (2015) to his return. He ended the season
Annual income 79m (2015) suspended for 18 months for historic
Stadium Turf Moor (22,546) betting issues. Theres never a dull
Nickname Clarets moment with Joey but I think his
Odds 1,000/1 to win Premier reappearance at the Turf helped
League our momentum.
46 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Tom HEATON (31) 15.04.86 2013 / Bristol City
Conor MITCHELL (NI) (21) 09.05.96 2014 / youth
Nick POPE (25) 19.04.92 2016 / Charlton Athletic
Paul ROBINSON (37) 15.10.79 2016 / Blackburn Rovers
DEFENDERS
Tom ANDERSON (23) 03.09.93 2012 / youth
Tendayi DARIKWA (25) 13.12.91 2015 / Chestereld
Kevin LONG (RoI) (26) 18.08.90 2010 / Cork City (Ire)
Matthew LOWTON (28) 09.06.89 2015 / Aston Villa
Ben MEE (27) 21.09.89 2012 / Manchester City
James TARKOWSKI (24) 19.11.92 2016 / Brentford
Charlie TAYLOR (23) 18.09.93 2017 / Leeds United
Stephen WARD (RoI) (31) 20.08.85 2014 / Wolves
AUG 12 Chelsea (a)
MIDFIELDERS One to watch
Dan Agyei Aug 19 West Brom (h)
Scott ARFIELD (Can) (28) 01.11.88 2013 / Hudderseld Town
Robbie BRADY (RoI) (25) 14.01.92 2017 / Norwich City Aug 26 Tottenham (a)
Steven DEFOUR (Blg) (29) 15.04.88 2016 / Anderlecht (Blg) BEST SONG LAST SEASON SEP 9 Crystal Palace (h)
Johann Berg GUDMUNDSSON (Ice) (26) 27.10.90 2016 / Charlton Athletic
Jeff HENDRICK (RoI) (25) 31.01.92 2016 / Derby County I was rather fond of our late season Sep 16 Liverpool (a)
Dean MARNEY (33) 31.01.84 2010 / Hull City chant about our friends down the
road [Blackburn] being relegated but Sep 23 Huddersfield (h)
Aiden ONEILL (Aus) (19) 04.07.98 2012 / Brisbane Athletic (Aus)
Fredrik ULVESTAD (Nor) (25) 17.06.92 2015 / Aalesund (Nor) its not quite suitable for print. Sep 30 Everton (a)
Ashley WESTWOOD (27) 01.04.90 2017 / Aston Villa OCT 14 West Ham (h)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
FORWARDS Oct 21 Man City ( (a)
Weve had a very brief look at Dan
Dan AGYEI (20) 01.06.97 2105 / AFC Wimbledon Oct 28 Newcastle (h)
Agyei last season and hes denitely
Ashley BARNES (Aut) (27) 30.10.89 2014 / Brighton & HA the one to watch in our squad.
Andre GRAY (26) 26.06.91 2015 / Brentford NOV 4 Southampton (a)
Rouwen HENNINGS (Ger) (29) 28.08.87 2015 / Karlsruher (Ger) GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Nov 18 Swansea City (h)
Chris LONG (22) 25.02.95 2015 / Everton
Sam VOKES (Wal) (27) 21.10.89 2012 / Wolves Im looking forward to playing Nov 25 Arsenal (h)
Brighton again, normally a good Nov 28 Bournemouth (a)
MANAGER game and itll be good to play them
Sean DYCHE (46) 28.06.71 2012 / Watford at this level. DEC 2 Leicester City (a)
Dec 9 Watford (h)
GAME TO DREAD
Dec 12 Stoke City (h)
Ill go with Chelsea away and hope we
Dec 16 Brighton (a)
avoid a bloodbath.
Dec 23 Tottenham (h)
Dec 26 Man United (a)
Dec 30 Huddersfield (a)
JAN 1 Liverpool (h)
Jan 13 Crystal Palace (a)
Jan 20 Man United (h)
Jan 31 Newcastle (a)
FEB 3 Man City (h)
Feb 10 Swansea City (a)
Feb 24 Southampton (h)
MAR 3 Everton (h)
Mar 10 West Ham (a)
Mar 17 Chelsea (h)
Mar 31 West Brom (a)
APR 7 Watford (a)
Apr 14 Leicester City (h)
Villain
Joey Barton Apr 21 Stoke City (a)
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Brighton (h)
Premier League 16th // Top scorer Sam Vokes 10 // FA Cup 5th round // League Cup 2nd // Average
MAY 5 Arsenal (a)
attendance 20,558 May 13 Bournemouth (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 47
PREMIER LEAGUE
CHELSEA
FLASHBACK
May 21 Chelsea
CHAMPIONS FANS VIEW THIS SEASON WILL BE celebrate with the
JUSTIN WEIBLE
FACING NEW CFCnet I would hope to see the club press
Premier League trophy
after the game against
CFCnet.co.uk forward and make a good showing
CHALLENGES in the Champions League while
Sunderland at Stamford
Bridge.
LAST SEASON WAS comfortably nishing in the top three.
Antonio Conte brought an exciting With the top six all showing theyre
dynamism to Chelsea last season Far beyond what I expected after competitive, its going to be a real
and delivered an unexpected but a dismal 2015-2016 campaign. challenge to defend the title, though
impressive title success. The Blues While I expected to not nish 10th if we could manage it, that would
now face the challenge of being back in the league again, I did expect be some achievement. Another
in European competition, with the us to qualify for the Champions Champions League win wouldnt be
added pressure of xture congestion, League. But you could have never bad either. My biggest fear is another
while last seasons star performer convinced me that we would let down like 2015-16. We got away
Eden Hazard will miss the opening actually win the Premier League with that one, in terms of retaining
weeks of the season through injury. in Antonio Contes rst season, key players. If it happens again, we
especially with essentially the same might not be so lucky.
Manager Antonio Conte agreed squad that played so poorly the
a three-year deal in 2016 but season before. OUR BIGGEST HERO
has yet to sign a proposed contract
extension. HeroCesar Cesar Azpilicuetas ability to play on
Azpilicueta the right of the back three was the
Whos the Daddy? Roman key to the tactical switch last season,
Abramovich has spent 1.14billion and provided cover at both full-back
since buying Chelsea in 2003, positions. He does everything you
including a planned new stadium could possibly want in a defender.
rebuild.
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Annual wage bill 224m (2016)
Annual income 335m (2016) Diego Costas little strop in the winter
Stadium Stamford Bridge (41,841) transfer window and his severe lack
Nickname Blues of form towards the end of the
Odds 7/2 to win Premier League season was a bit bothersome.
48 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Willy CABALLERO (Arg) (35) 28.09.81 2017 / Manchester City
Thibaut COURTOIS (Blg) (25) 11.05.92 2011 / Genk (Blg)
EDUARDO (Por) (34) 19.09.82 2016 / Dinamo Zagreb (Cro)
DEFENDERS
Ola AINA (20) 08.10.96 2007 / youth
Marcos ALONSO (Spa) (26) 28.12.90 2016 / Fiorentina (Ita)
Cesar AZPILICUETA (Spa) (27) 28.08.89 2012 / Marseille (Fra) One to watch
Gary CAHILL (31) 19.12.85 2012 / Bolton Wanderers Nathaniel Chalobah
Andreas CHRISTENSEN (Den) (21) 10.04.96 2012 / Brondby (Den)
Jake CLARKE-SALTER (19) 22.09.97 2016 / youth
David LUIZ (Bra) (30) 22.04.87 2016 / Paris Saint-Germain (Fra) BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Baba RAHMAN (Gha) (23) 02.07.94 2015 / Augsburg (Ger)
Fikayo TOMORI (19) 19.12.97 2016 / youth Any serenading of Antonio Conte
Kurt ZOUMA (Fra) (22) 27.10.94 2014 / Saint-Etienne (Fra)
was memorable. His energy and
MIDFIELDERS passion radiates from every pore
of his body, and he truly does play AUG 12 Burnley (h)
Lewis BAKER (22) 25.04.95 2014 / youth
Nathaniel CHALOBAH (22) 12.12.94 2005 / Fulham every match with his players from Aug 19 Tottenham (a)
Cesc FABREGAS (Spa) (30) 04.05.87 2014 / Barcelona (Spa) the touchline. More importantly,
Eden HAZARD (Blg) (26) 07.01.91 2012 / Lille (Fra) hes developed a genuine connection Aug 26 Everton (h)
NGolo KANTE (Fra) (26) 29.03.91 2016 / Leicester City with the supporters. For the rst time
KENEDY (Bra) (21) 08.02.96 2015 / Fluminense (Bra) SEP 9 Leicester City (a)
in a long time it does feel as if a new
Ruben LOFTUS-CHEEK (21) 23.01.96 2004 / youth Sep 16 Arsenal (h)
era at Chelsea is beginning.
Nemanja MATIC (Ser) (28) 01.08.88 2014 / Benca (Por)
Victor MOSES (Nga) (26) 12.12.90 2012 / Wigan Athletic Sep 23 Stoke City (a)
Charly MUSONDA (Blg) (20) 15.10.96 2012 / Anderlecht I(Blg) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
NATHAN (Bra) (21) 13.03.96 2015 / Atletico Paranaense (Bra) Sep 30 Man City (h)
Lucas PIAZON (Bra) (23) 20.01.94 2011 / Sao Paolo (Bra) I would like to see Nathaniel 2OCT 21 Watford (h)
Marco VAN GINKEL (Hol) (24) 01.12.92 2013 / Vitesse (Hol) Chalobah get a bit more of a chance
WILLIAN (Bra) (28) 09.08.88 2013 / Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr) in the mideld. I think his match Oct 28 Bournemouth (a)
time has been somewhat limited
FORWARDS NOV 4 Man United (h)
due to not having the normal xture
Michy BATSHUAYI (Blg) (23) 02.10.93 2016 / Marseille (Fra)
Isaiah BROWN (20) 07.01.97 2013 / West Brom congestion. As for those players who Nov 18 West Brom (a)
Diego COSTA (Spa) (28) 07.10.88 2014 / Atletico Madrid (Spa) are coming back from loan spells
Nov 25 Liverpool (a)
PEDRO (Spa) (29) 28.07.87 2015 / Barcelona (Spa) at other clubs, I hope Andreas
Loic REMY (Fra) (30) 02.01.87 2014 / QPR Christensen will get a chance to Nov 29 Swansea City (h)
play a few matches.
MANAGER DEC 2 Newcastle (h)
Antonio CONTE (Ita) (47) 31.07.69 2016 / Italy GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Dec 9 West Ham (a)
Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in early Dec 12 Huddersfield (a)

September should be fun. Arsene Dec 16 Southampton (h)
Wengers record at Stamford Bridge
in recent years has not been great. Id Dec 23 Everton (a)
like to see that continue. Dec 26 Brighton (h)
GAME TO DREAD Dec 30 Stoke City (h)
JAN 1 Arsenal (a)
Tottenham at Wembley in the second
match of the season. The xture Jan 13 Leicester City (h)
computer must have had a wicked Jan 20 Brighton (a)
sense of humour when it conjured
that up. Theyre the one team that Jan 31 Bournemouth (h)
can match up man-for-man and give FEB 3 Watford (a)
Chelsea real problems. Playing them
so early in the season wont be a lot Feb 10 West Brom (h)
of fun. Feb 24 Man United (a)
MAR 3 Man City (a)
Mar 10 Crystal Palace (h)
Mar 17 Burnley (a)
Mar 31 Tottenham (h)
APR 7 West Ham (h)
Apr 14 Southampton (a)
Apr 21 Huddersfield (h)
Dynamic Apr 28 Swansea City (a)
Antonio Conte
MAY 5 Liverpool (h)
LAST SEASON May 13 Newcastle (a)
Premier League Champions // Top scorer Diego Costa 20 // FA Cup Runners-up // League Cup 4th round
FOOTBALL 2018 49
PREMIER LEAGUE
CRYSTAL PALACE
Stadium Selhurst Park (25,648) of consolidation, Palace gradually FLASHBACK

THINKING BIG Nickname Eagles dropped to the lower end of the Apr 1 Christian Benteke
scores as Palace beat
Odds 750/1 to win Premier League table. Alan Pardew was incapable
WITH DE BOER of nding a solution and even Sam Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford
Allardyce, his replacement, found Bridge.
The shock departure of Sam FANS VIEW it a challenge to change the clubs
Allardyce a few days after the end ROBERT SUTHERLAND fortunes. That he did, thanks largely
of last season left Palace in limbo. Five Year Plan (fypfanzine.uk) to wins over Arsenal, Chelsea and
The former England boss restored his Liverpool, deserves great credit. His
reputation by saving Palace from the LAST SEASON WAS sudden retirement was a shock but
drop, but then opted for retirement. he goes with the blessing of Palace
The hiring of Frank De Boer as A monstrosity. After signicant supporters.
Allardyces replacement is a bold spending during the summer and talk
statement of intent by a Palace board THIS SEASON WILL BE
that is keen to avoid the relegation
struggles of recent seasons. De Boer With the appointment of Frank De
says he wants to see Palace play a Boer, the hope is that Palace can
more possession-based game. push for a top-10 position while
reforming the squad with younger
Manager Former Ajax and talent. The fear is that De Boer might
Internazionale boss Frank De Boer try to be a bit too creative with this
has agreed a three-year contract. Palace side; but the failings under
Pardew arent guaranteed to be
Whos the Daddy? Chairman repeated. The managers record at
Steve Parish made his money in Ajax is excellent while Inter seems
advertising and was one of four fans to have been a wholly forgettable
who stepped in to save the club in experience for him and the club.
2010. A majority stake was sold to
American investors Josh Harris and OUR BIGGEST HERO
David Blitzer last year, but Parish now
runs the club on a day-to-day basis. Wilfried Zaha was incredible. He has
matured immeasurably over the last
New man
Annual wage bill 81m (2016) Frank De Boer two seasons, both in attitude and in
Annual income 102m (2016) performance. His work, whether in
50 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Wayne HENNESSEY (Wal) (30) 24.01.87 2014 / Wolves
Steve MANDANDA (Fra) (32) 28.03.85 2016 / Marseille (Fra)
Julian SPERONI (Arg) (38) 18.05.79 2004 / Dundee (Sco)
DEFENDERS
Scott DANN (30) 14.02.87 2014 / Blackburn Rovers
Damien DELANEY (RoI) (36) 20.07.81 2012 / Ipswich Town
Martin KELLY (27) 27.04.90 2014 / Liverpool
Jeffrey SCHLUPP (Gha) (24) 23.12.92 2017 / Leicester City
Pape SOUARE (Sen) (27) 06.06.90 2015 / Lille (Fra)
James TOMKINS (28) 29.03.89 2016 / West Ham United
Patrick VAN AANHOLT (Hol) (26) 29.08.90 2017 / Sunderland
Joel WARD (27) 29.10.89 2012 / Portsmouth Hero
Wilfried Zaha
MIDFIELDERS AUG 12 Huddersfield (h)
Hiram BOATENG (21) 08.01.96 2013 / youth
or out of possession, was a major Aug 19 Liverpool (a)
Yohan CABAYE (Fra) (31) 14.01.86 2015 / Paris Saint-Germain (Fra)
contributor in keeping Palace up last
Luke DREHER (18) 27.11.98 2016 / youth Aug 26 Swansea City (h)
season, while his goals and assists
Sullay KAIKAI (21) 26.08.95 2013 / youth
were headline-grabbing. SEP 9 Burnley (a)
LEE Chung-soo (SKo) (29) 02.07.88 2015 / Bolton Wanderers
James McARTHUR (Sco) (29) 07.10.87 2014 / Wigan Atheltic OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Sep 16 Southampton (h)
Luka MILIVOJEVIC (Ser) (26) 07.04.91 2017 / Olympiakos (Gre)
Jordon MUTCH (25) 02.12.91 2015 / QPR Sep 23 Man City (a)
Jordon Mutch. A player signed
Jason PUNCHEON (31) 26.06.86 2013 / Southampton for 4m under Pardew who failed Sep 30 Man United (a)
Bakary SAKO (Mli) (29) 26.04.88 2015 / Wolves to establish himself despite clear
Andros TOWNSEND (26) 16.07.91 2016 / Newcastle United injury problems in the side. His few OCT 14 Chelsea (h)
Jonny WILLIAMS (Wal) (23) 09.10.93 2011 / youth performances last season were the Oct 21 Newcastle (a)
Wilfried ZAHA (24) 10.11.92 2015 / Manchester United polar opposite of Zahas: slow,
disinterested and ineffective. Oct 28 West Ham (h)
FORWARDS
Keshi ANDERSON (22) 06.04.95 2015 / Barton Rovers
NOV 4 Tottenham (a)
Christian BENTEKE (Blg) (26) 03.12.90 2016 / Liverpool Nov 18 Everton (h)
Freddie LADAPO (24) 01.02.93 2016 / Margate The return of Three Little Birds,
Connor WICKHAM (24) 31.03.93 2015 / Sunderland Nov 25 Stoke City (h)
the Bob Marley song, provided some
much needed solace at the lowest Nov 28 Brighton (a)
MANAGER ebb of last season.
Frank DE BOER (Hol) (47) 15.05.79 2017/Ajax (Hol) DEC 2 West Brom (a)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Dec 9 Bournemouth (h)
Luke Dreher could see sporadic Dec 12 Watford (h)

appearances. The midelder is only Dec 16 Leicester City (a)
18 but has trained with the rst team.
Dec 23 Swansea City (a)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Dec 26 Arsenal (h)
The xture against Brighton & Hove Dec 30 Man City (h)
Albion was the rst that Palace fans JAN 1 Southampton (a)
looked for when the list was released.
Its a rivalry that those outside of our Jan 13 Burnley (h)
clubs cant understand but its a
Jan 20 Arsenal (a)
hugely passionate xture.
Jan 30 West Ham (a)
GAME TO DREAD
FEB 3 Newcastle (h)
Having beaten Liverpool so often in Feb 10 Everton (a)
recent years, the early season game
against Jurgen Klopps side might just Feb 24 Tottenham (h)
be one in which their revenge is served. MAR 3 Man United (h)
Mar 10 Chelsea (a)
Mar 17 Huddersfield (a)
Mar 31 Liverpool (h)
APR 7 Bournemouth (a)
Apr 14 Brighton (h)
Rivalry Apr 21 Watford (a)
Brighton
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Leicester City (h)
MAY 5 Stoke City (a)
Premier League 14th // Top scorer Christian Benteke 15 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 3rd round May 13 West Brom (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 51
PREMIER LEAGUE
EVERTON
necessary consolidation for Everton

FLASHBACK
EXCITING FANS VIEW under new manager Ronald Koeman Jan 15 Youngster Tom
Davies scores Evertons
LYNDON LLOYD after two poor seasons under
TIMES AHEAD Toffeeweb Roberto Martinez. The teams third goal in a 4-0 home
win against Manchester
toffeeweb.com form at Goodison Park in 2017 was
Even with the future of Romelu hugely encouraging though, even if City.
Lukaku and Ross Barkley in doubt, LAST SEASON WAS away from home the need for big
Everton fans are living in exciting improvement was sorely evident.
times. It was ultimately underwhelming but,
Clever summer signings viewed objectively, it was a season of THIS SEASON WILL BE
including goalkeeper Jordan Pickford,
defender Michael Keane, midelder Hopes are that the signicant
Davy Klaassen and forward Sandro investment in the squad that is being
Ramirez will improve the squad, undertaken this summer will translate
while promising youngsters into a genuine and successful tilt
including a number who starred at nishing in the top four. And that
in Englands Under-20 World Cup the moves are persuasive enough
victory are ready to be deployed to keep top scorer Romelu Lukaku
by Ronald Koeman. around. The fears are that last
seasons top six will remain that bit
Manager Ronald Koeman has two out of reach despite the new
years left on his Everton contract. signings, and if Lukaku does leave
that Everton wont be able to
Whos the Daddy? Iranian adequately replace his goals.
businessman Farhad Moshiri, a close
associate of Arsenal director Alisher OUR BIGGEST HERO
Usmanov, bought a 49 per cent stake
in 2016. You would have to say Romelu
Lukaku, even if there is increasingly
Annual wage bill 84m (2016) less love between player and fans as
Annual income 122m (2016) he appears to be preparing to leave.
Stadium Goodison Park (39,600) Everton fans had been waiting three
Boss
Nickname Toffees. Ronald Koeman decades for a striker to score 20
Odds 100/1 to win Premier League league goals or more in a season.
52 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Jordan PICKFORD (23) 07.03.94 2017 / Sunderland
Joel ROBLES (Spa) (27) 17.06.90 2013 / Atletico Madrid (Spa)
Maarten STEKELENBURG (Hol) (34) 22.09.82 2016 / Fulham
DEFENDERS
Leighton BAINES (32) 11.12.84 2007 / Wigan Athletic
Tyias BROWNING (23) 27.05.94 2004 / youth
Seamus COLEMAN (RoI) (28) 11.10.88 2009 / Sligo Rovers (RoI) Aiming high...
Ramiro FUNES MORI (Arg) (26) 05.03.91 2015 / River Plate (Arg) Romelu Lukaku
Mason HOLGATE (20) 22.10.96 2015 / Barnsley
Phil JAGIELKA (34) 17.08.82 2007 / Shefeld United OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Michael KEANE (24) 11.01.93 2017 / Burnley
There wasnt a player who really
Matthew PENNINGTON (22) 06.10.94 2005 / youth
Ashley WILLIAMS (Wal) (32) 23.08.84 2016 / Swansea City attracted much ire last season
apart from Lukaku with his bold
MIDFIELDERS pronouncements to the Belgian
media that he was ready for the AUG 12 Stoke City (h)
Ross BARKLEY (23) 05.12.93 2005 / youth
Gareth BARRY (36) 23.02.81 2013 / Manchester City Champions League and he already Aug 19 Man City (a)
Muhamed BESIC (Bos) (24) 10.09.92 2015 / Ferencvaros (Hun) knew where he would be in 2017-18
Tom DAVIES (19) 30.06.98 2008 / youth and it wasnt with Everton! Aug 26 Chelsea (a)
Idrissa GUEYE (Sen) (27) 26.09.89 2016 / Aston Villa
Davy KLAASSEN (Hol)
Sep 9 Tottenham (h)
(24) 21.02.93 2017 / Ajax (Hol) BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Boris MATHIS (Fra) (19) 15.08.97 2017 / Metz (Fra) SEP 16 Man United (a)
James McCARTHY (RoI) (26) 12.11.90 2013 / Wigan Athletic Probably the Morgan Schneiderlin
Aiden McGEADY (RoI) (31) 04.04.86 2014 / Spartak Moscow (Rus) one. It wasnt inventive it was Sep 23 Bournemouth (h)
Morgan SCHNEIDERLIN (Fra) (27) 08.11.89 2016 / Manchester United basically his name put to a familiar Sep 30 Burnley (h)
tune but it was a great welcome.
FORWARDS OCT 14 Brighton (a)
Yannick BOLASIE (DRC) (28) 24.05.89 2016 / Crystal Palace
Dominic CALVERT-LEWIN (20) 16.03.97 2016 / Shefeld United Oct 21 Arsenal (h)
Aaron LENNON (30) 16.04.87 2015 / Tottenham Hotspur
Ademola LOOKMAN (19) 20.10.97 2017 / Charlton Athletic Oct 28 Leicester City (a)
Romelu LUKAKU (Blg) (24) 13.05.93 2014 / Chelsea NOV 4 Watford (h)
Kevin MIRALLAS (Blg) (29) 05.10.87 2012 / Olympiakos (Gre)
Oumar NIASSE (Sen) (27) 18.04.90 2016 / Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus) Nov 18 Crystal Palace (a)
Sandro RAMIREZ (Spa) (21) 09.07.95 2017 / Malaga (Spa)
Shani TARASHAJ (Swi) (22) 07.02.95 2016 / Grasshoppers (Swi) Nov 25 Southampton (a)
Nov 29 West Ham (h)
MANAGER
Ronald KOEMAN (Hol) (54) 21.03.63 2016 / Southampton DEC 2 Huddersfield (h)
Dec 9 Liverpool (a)
Dec 16 Swansea City (h)
Exciting Dec 23 Chelsea (h)

Ademola Lookman Dec 26 West Brom (a)
Dec 30 Bournemouth (a)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
JAN 1 Man United (h)
Big things are expected of Ademola Jan 13 Tottenham (a)
Lookman, a star of Englands under-20
World Cup-winning team, while Jonjoe Jan 20 West Brom (h)
Kenny, an up-and-coming right-back,
Jan 31 Leicester City (h)
is future-captain material.
FEB 3 Arsenal (a)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Feb 10 Crystal Palace (h)
Its hard to look beyond the opening Feb 24 Watford (a)
day xture against Stoke, to be
honest, as it represents the start of a MAR 3 Burnley (a)
season that Everton fans hope will be Mar 10 Brighton (h)
the beginning of something special.
Mar 17 Stoke City (a)
GAME TO DREAD
Mar 31 Man City (h)
The Merseyside derby against APR 7 Liverpool (h)
Liverpool, always! Everton have
developed a psychological block Apr 14 Swansea City (a)
playing against our arch rivals from Apr 21 Newcastle (h)
across Stanley Park.
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Huddersfield (a)
Premier League 7th // Top scorer Romelu Lukaku 25 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 3rd round
MAY 5 Southampton (h)
Average attendance 39,310 May 13 West Ham (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 53
PREMIER LEAGUE
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
FLASHBACK
May 29 Christopher
international David Wagner took best man at his wedding.
PLAY-OFF charge in November 2015 after four
Schindler celebrates
after scoring the winning
years as boss of Borussia Dortmunds Whos the Daddy? Local
WINNERS B team. He agreed a lucrative new businessman and lifelong fan Dean penalty as Huddersfield
beat Reading in the
contract after securing promotion to Hoyle became a multi-millionaire
WITH the Premier League. Wagner is a after selling his greetings-card Championship play-off
close friend of Jurgen Klopp and was business in 2010, a year after he Final.
ATTITUDE became club chairman.
After their dramatic Wembley Annual wage bill 13.3m (2015)

play-off triumph over Reading on Annual income 10.8m (2015)
penalties, Hudderseld are back in Stadium John Smiths (24,500)
the top ight for the rst time since Nickname Terriers
1972, some 45 years ago. Odds 1,000/1 to win Premier League
Their promotion was a just reward
for manager David Wagners high-
tempo pressing game and was FANS VIEW
achieved by a team with one of SEAN MAKIN
the smallest wage bills in the
Championship. LAST SEASON WAS
The club have a rich pedigree
though; they were champions of One that will live long in the memory.
England three times in a row in the Written off by almost everyone, we
1920s and previous players include proved them wrong and now we are
Denis Law and 1966 World Premier League.
Cup-winner Ray Wilson.
Wagner plans to stick with most THIS SEASON WILL BE
of the players that won promotion.
They include Australian midelder The hope is 17th place. If we are to
Aaron Mooy, with the club having be relegated well go down with a
converted his loan deal into a ght and hopefully pull off a scalp
permanent transfer from Man City. or two along the way. The fear is that
Local heroowner Dean Hoyle well get hammered every week and
Manager German-born former USA get relegated with a whimper.
54 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Luke CODDINGTON (22) 06.06.95 2016 / Middlesbrough
Joel COLEMAN (21) 26.09.95 2016 / Oldham Athletic
Jonas LOSSL (Den) (28) 01.02.89 2017 / Mainz (Ger)
DEFENDERS
Martin CRANIE (30) 26.09.86 2015 / Barnsley
Jason DAVIDSON (Aus) (26) 29.06.91 2015 / West Brom
Jon GORENC STANKOVIC (Sln) (21) 14.01.96 2016 / Domzale (Sln)
Michael HEFELE (Ger) (26) 01.09.90 2016 / Dynamo Dresden (Ger)
Mark HUDSON (35) 30.03.82 2014 / Cardiff City
Mathias JORGENSEN (Den) (27) 23.04.90 2017 / Copenhagen (Den) CriticsRajiv
Chris LOWE (Ger) (28) 16.04.89 2016 / Kaiserslautern (Ger) Van La Parra
Scott MALONE (26) 25.03.91 2017 / Fulham
Christopher SCHINDLER (Ger) (27) 29.04.90 2016 / 1860 Munich (Ger)
Tommy SMITH (25) 14.04.92 2010 / Manchester City OUR BIGGEST HERO
MIDFIELDERS Can I say all of them? Including the AUG 12 Crystal Palace (a)
Phil BILLING (Den) (21) 11.06.96 2013 / Esbjerg (Den) manager and chairman. If I had to Aug 19 Newcastle (h)
Regan BOOTY (19) 04.03.98 2017 / youth pick one it would be Christopher
Harry BUNN (24) 21.11.92 2014 / Manchester City Schindler. A class act all season Aug 26 Southampton (h)
Jonathan HOGG (28) 06.12.88 2013 / Watford and scored the winning penalty
Tom INCE (25) 30.01.92 2017 / Derby County
SEP 9 West Ham (a)
at Wembley that saw us reach
Joe LOLLEY (24) 25.08.92 2014 / Kidderminster H the Premier League. Sep 16 Leicester City (h)
Aaron MOOY (Aus) (26) 15.09.90 2017 / Manchester City
Jack PAYNE (22) 25.10.94 2016 / Southend United Sep 23 Burnley (a)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Kasey PALMER (20) 09.11.96 2017 / Chelsea
Sep 30 Tottenham (h)
Sean SCANNELL (RoI) (26) 17.09.90 2012 / Crystal Palace
Some fans have it in for Rajiv Van La
Rajiv VAN LA PARRA (Hol) (26) 04.06.91 2016 / Wolves OCT 14 Swansea City (a)
Dean WHITEHEAD (35) 12.01.82 2015 / Middlesbrough Parra. Not me though.
Danny WILLIAMS (USA) (28) 08.03.89 2017 / Reading Oct 21 Man United (h)
Oct 28 Liverpool (a)
FORWARDS
Laurent DEPOITRE (Blg) (28) 07.12.88 2017 / Porto (Por) Aint nobody like Kachunga. NOV 4 West Brom (h)
Elias KACHUNGA (DRC) (25) 22.04.92 2017 / Ingolstadt (Ger)
Steve MOUNIE (Ben) (22) 29.09.94 2017 / Montpellier (Fra) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Nov 18 Bournemouth (a)
Collin QUANER (Ger) (26) 18.06.91 2017 / Union Berlin (Ger)
Nov 25 Man City (h)
Nahki WELLS (Ber) (27) 01.06.90 2014 / Bradford City Phil Billing. Feels like hes been
around for a while but still only 21 Nov 28 Arsenal (a)
MANAGER although he has struggled with a few
David WAGNER (Ger) (45) 19.10.71 2015 / Bor Dortmund (Ger) DEC 2 Everton (a)
niggling injuries. Showed hes got it in
the cup replay with Manchester City. Dec 9 Brighton (h)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Dec 12 Chelsea (h)

Dec 16 Watford (a)
All of them. Except for Burnley.
GAME TO DREAD Dec 26 Stoke City (h)
Bournemouth away, just because of Dec 30 Burnley (h)
the journey. JAN 1 Leicester City (a)
Jan 13 West Ham (h)
Jan 20 Stoke City (a)
Jan 30 Liverpool (h)
FEB 3 Man United (a)
Feb 10 Bournemouth (h)
Feb 24 West Brom (a)
MAR 3 Tottenham (a)
Mar 10 Swansea City (h)
Mar 17 Crystal Palace (h)
Mar 31 Newcastle (a)
APR 7 Brighton (a)
Apr 14 Watford (h)
One to watch Apr 21 Chelsea (a)
Phil Billing
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Everton (h)
MAY 5 Man City (a)
Championship 5th (Championship) // Top scorer Elias Kachunga 12 // FA Cup 5th round // League Cup May 13 Arsenal (h)
1st round // Average attendance 20,342
FOOTBALL 2018 55
PREMIER LEAGUE
LEICESTER CITY
FLASHBACK
Mar 14 Wes Morgan
Leicester in August 2010.
FOXES FANS VIEW celebrates his goal in the
2-0 win at home to
Annual wage bill 80m (2016) SVENS AMBITION
SEARCHING Annual income 129m (2016) Vital Leicester Sevilla that took
Leicester into the
Stadium King Power (32,500) leicester.vitalfootball.co.uk
FOR Nickname Foxes Champions League
Odds 200/1 to win Premier League LAST SEASON WAS quarter-finals.
STABILITY Mixed. Our Premier League form
The 2016 Premier League was about survival ultimately, and
champions are hoping for a season we successfully managed that, but
of stability after the highs and lows you cant take away the high that was
of last year: a Champions League run the Champions League campaign.
coupled with a relegation battle and I doubt few fans would change how
the sacking of title-winning coach the year went knowing it would be
Claudio Ranieri. The Foxes swooped difcult in the league, you cant but
for young defender Harry Maguire, feel it was a great season.
paying relegated Hull City 12m,
but mercurial winger Riyad Mahrez THIS SEASON WILL BE
may depart.
Hopes are to simply show a bit more
Manager Craig Shakespeare, the improvement in the league and
former Walsall, West Brom and consolidate our position for another
Grimsby midelder, was conrmed season. The fear would be losing key
as Leicester boss this summer after players. Riyad Mahrez everybody
agreeing a three-year contract. This accepts is likely to be off but hopefully
is his rst managerial job after almost we dont lose too many others.
10 years as assistant to Nigel
Pearson and Ranieri. OUR BIGGEST HERO
Whos the Daddy? Thai billionaire That prize would have to go to

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha made Kasper Schmeichel. All season long,
his fortune from the King Power ConfirmedCraig Shakespeare through the highs and the lows, his
Shopping empire and bought level of consistency was fantastic and
56 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Ben HAMER (29) 20.11.87 2014 / Charlton Athletic
Kasper SCHMEICHEL (Den) (30) 05.11.86 2011 / Leeds United
Ron-Robert ZIELER (Ger) (28) 12.02.89 2016 / Hanover (Ger)
DEFENDERS
Yohan BENALOUANE (Tun) (30) 28.03.87 2015 / Atalanta (Ita)
Ben CHILWELL (20) 21.12.96 2015 / youth
Christian FUCHS (Aut) (31) 07.04.86 2015 / Schalke (Ger) Hero
Robert HUTH (Ger) (32) 18.08.84 2015 / Stoke City Kasper Schmeichel
Harry MAGUIRE (24) 05.03.93 2017 / Hull City
Wes MORGAN (Jam) (33) 21.01.84 2012 / Nottingham Forest
he again made an important and
Danny SIMPSON (30) 04.01.87 2014 / QPR
telling contribution.
MIDFIELDERS
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Marc ALBRIGHTON (27) 18.11.89 2014 / Aston Villa AUG 12 Arsenal (a)
Daniel AMARTEY (Gha) (22) 21.12.94 2016 / Copenhagen (Den)
Probably Ahmed Musa. Many hoped Aug 19 Brighton (h)
Harvey BARNES (19) 09.12.97 2016 / youth
for more from him given his price tag.
Danny DRINKWATER (27) 05.03.90 2011 / Manchester United Aug 26 Man United (a)
Demarai GRAY (21) 28.06.96 2016 / Birmingham City
BEST SONG LAST SEASON SEP 9 Chelsea (h)
Vicente IBORRA (Spa) (29) 16.01.88 2017 / Sevilla (Spa)
Matty JAMES (25) 22.07.91 2012 / Manchester United Sep 16 Huddersfield (a)
Not picking one out in particular,
Bartosz KAPUSTKA (Pol) (20) 23.12.96 2016 / Cracovia (Pol)
but there were a couple from the
Andy KING (Wal) (28) 29.10.88 2004 / Chelsea Sep 23 Liverpool (h)
Champions League run that I imagine
Riyad MAHREZ (Alg) (26) 21.02.91 2014 / Le Havre (Fra)
will live fond in the memory for many. Sep 30 Bournemouth (a)
Nampalys MENDY (Fra) (25) 23.06.92 2016 / Nice (Fra)
Wilfred NDIDI (Nga) (20) 16.12.96 2017 / Genk (Blg) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH OCT 14 West Brom (h)
FORWARDS Oct 21 Swansea City (a)

Well-known youngsters Demarai Gray
Tom LAWRENCE (Wal) (23) 13.01.94 2014 / Manchester United and Wilfred Ndidi showed plenty of Oct 28 Everton (h)
Ahmed MUSA (Nga) (24) 14.10.92 2016 / CSKA Moscow (Rus) promise last season, so next year they
Shinji OKAZAKI (Jap) (31) 16.04.86 2015 / Mainz (Ger) NOV 4 Stoke City (a)
will be the two to look out for.
Islam SLIMANI (Alg) (29) 18.06.88 2016 / Sporting (Por) Nov 18 Man City (h)
Leonardo ULLOA (Arg) (30) 26.07.86 2014 / Brighton
Jamie VARDY (30) 11.01.87 2012 / Fleetwood Town One to watch Nov 25 West Ham (a)
Demarai Gray
Nov 28 Tottenham (h)
MANAGER
Craig SHAKESPEARE (53) 26.10.63 2017 / assistant manager DEC 2 Burnley (h)
Dec 9 Newcastle (a)
Dec 16 Crystal Palace (h)
Dec 23 Man United (h)
Dec 26 Watford (a)
Dec 30 Liverpool (a)
JAN 1 Huddersfield (h)
Jan 13 Chelsea (a)
Jan 20 Watford (h)
Jan 31 Everton (a)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO FEB 3 Swansea City (h)

Feb 10 Man City (a)
With Michael Appleton joining as
assistant gaffer, West Brom might Feb 24 Stoke City (h)
be interesting given his, and Craig MAR 3 Bournemouth (h)
Shakespeares, association with them.
Mar 10 West Brom (a)
GAME TO DREAD Mar 17 Arsenal (h)
Not really dreading any game this Mar 31 Brighton (a)
year, as Leicester have shown they
APR 7 Newcastle (h)
can more than mix it with the best
of them when were on form and its Apr 14 Burnley (a)
our day just hope we have a few
more days in 2017-18 than we did Apr 21 Southampton (h)
early on in 2016-17. Apr 28 Crystal Palace (a)
LAST SEASON
MAY 5 West Ham (h)
Premier League 12th // Top scorer Jamie Vardy 13 // FA Cup 5th round // League Cup 3rd round // May 13 Tottenham (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 57
PREMIER LEAGUE
LIVERPOOL
FLASHBACK
Champions League represents a Aug 14 Adam Lallana
ON THE UP FANS VIEW successful season but it should have scores Liverpools third
GAVIN KELLEY-DAY been even better given the way we goal in their 4-3 win
WITH KLOPP Vital Liverpool were playing pre-Christmas and away to Arsenal on the
liverpool.vitalfootball.co.uk the identity of the teams who opening day of the
Champions League football returns defeated us. season.
to Aneld this autumn as Liverpool LAST SEASON WAS
continue to make steady progress THIS SEASON WILL BE
under Jurgen Klopp. Record signing Finishing fourth and qualifying for the
Mohamed Salah, a 34m capture Hopefully silverware will nally
from Roma, will bring pace and reappear at Aneld for only
trickery to an already talented front the second time in 12 seasons.
line, where Sadio Mane and Philippe Unfortunately a title tilt could be
Coutinho shone last season. undermined by the spectre and
exertions of European football.
Manager Former Borussia
Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp OUR BIGGEST HERO
has been in charge since autumn
2015. Last summer the 50-year-old Several players shone last season
extended his contract until 2022. so its unfair to single one out. The
attacking abilities of Sadio Mane,
Whos the Daddy? American Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana
businessman John W Henry is the continually dovetailed to overcome
clubs principal owner, having bought the lack of a conventional front man.
out the deeply unpopular Tom Hicks
and George Gillett in 2010. OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Annual wage bill 208m (2016) Nobody stands out as having had
Annual income 302m (2016) a shocker on the eld last term, but
Stadium Aneld (54,074) our regular defensive frailties make
Nickname Reds the pre-season antics of Mamadou
Odds 10/1 to win Premier League Sakho, which hastened his departure
BossJurgen Klopp on loan to Crystal Palace, a source of
much frustration.
58 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Adam BOGDAN (Hun) (29) 27.09.87 2015 / Bolton Wanderers
Loris KARIUS (Ger) (24) 22.06.93 2016 / Mainz (Ger)
Simon MIGNOLET (Blg) (29) 06.03.88 2013 / Sunderland
Danny WARD (Wal) (24) 22.06.93 2012 / Wrexham
DEFENDERS
Trent ALEXANDER-ARNOLD (18) 07.10.98 2004 / youth
Nathaniel CLYNE (26) 05.04.91 2015 / Southampton
Jon FLANAGAN (24) 01.01.93 2010 / youth
Joe GOMEZ (20) 23.05.97 2015 / Charlton Athletic
Ragnar KLAVAN (Est) (31) 30.10.85 2016 / Augsburg (Ger)
Dejan LOVREN (Cro) (28) 05.07.89 2014 / Southampton
Joel MATIP (Cam (25) 08.08.91 2016 / Schalke (Ger) Main menSadio Mane
Alberto MORENO (Spa) (25) 05.07.92 2014 / Sevilla (Spa) (left) and Philippe Coutinho
Connor RANDALL (21) 21.10.95 2001 / youth
Mamadou SAKHO (Fra) (27) 13.02.90 2013 / Paris Saint-Germain (Fra)
MIDFIELDERS
ALLAN (Bra) (20) 03.03.97 2015 / Internacional (Bra) AUG 12 Watford (a)
Cameron BRANNAGAN (21) 09.05.96 2001 / youth Sadio Mane instantly impressed
Emre CAN (Ger) (23) 12.01.94 2014 / Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) upon his arrival from Southampton Aug 19 Crystal Palace (h)
Pedro CHIRIVELLA (Spa) (20) 23.05.97 2013 / Valencia (Spa) and fans responded with a fun
Ovie EJARIA (19) 18.11.97 2014 / Arsenal Aug 26 Arsenal (h)
Marko GRUJIC (Ser) (21) 13.04.96 2016 / Red Star Belgrade (Ser) and catchy Oh Mane, Mane ditty,
Jordan HENDERSON (27) 17.06.90 2011 / Sunderland to the tune of Sugar, Sugar by SEP 9 Man City (a)
Adam LALLANA (29) 10.05.88 2014 / Southampton The Archies.
LUCAS Leiva (Bra) (30) 09.01.87 2007 / Gremio (Bra) Sep 16 Burnley (h)
Lazar MARKOVIC (Ser) (23) 02.03.94 2014 / Benca (Por)
James MILNER (31) 04.01.86 2015 / Manchester City YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Sep 23 Leicester City (a)
Sheyi OJO (20) 19.06.97 2011 / MK Dons
Mohamed SALAH (Egy) (25) 15.06.92 2017 / Roma (Ita) There are several talented players Sep 30 Newcastle (a)
Kevin STEWART (24) 07.09.93 2014 / Tottenham Hotspur coming through and new acquisition
Georginio WIJNALDUM (Hol) (26) 11.11.90 2016 / Newcastle United OCT 14 Man United (h)
Dominic Solanke (signed from
FORWARDS Chelsea for 3million) is an exciting Oct 21 Tottenham (a)
Taiwo AWONIYI (Nga) (19) 12.08.97 2015 / youth forward who was recently crowned
Philippe COUTINHO (Bra) (25) 12.06.92 2013 / Internazionale (Ita) player of the tournament for England Oct 28 Huddersfield (h)
Roberto FIRMINO (Bra) (25) 02.10.91 2015 / Hoffenheim (Ger)
Danny INGS (24) 23.07.92 2015 / Burnley at the Under-20 World Cup this NOV 4 West Ham (a)
Sadio MANE (Sen) (25) 10.04.92 2016 / Southampton summer.
Divock ORIGI (Blg) (22) 18.04.95 2014 / Lille (Fra) Nov 18 Southampton (h)
Dominic SOLANKE (19) 14.09.97 2017 / Chelsea GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Daniel STURRIDGE (27) 01.09.89 2013 / Chelsea Nov 25 Chelsea (h)
Ben WOODBURN (Wal) (17) 15.10.99 2016 / youth
Any European game under the Nov 29 Stoke City (a)
MANAGER oodlights is special, and that notion
Jurgen KLOPP (Ger) (50) 16.06.67 2015 / Bor Dortmund (Ger) DEC 2 Brighton (a)
should prove especially true in front
of the fantastic new Main Stand. Dec 9 Everton (h)
GAME TO DREAD Dec 13 West Brom (h)

We shouldnt be dreading anyone
but bogey team Crystal Palace Dec 23 Arsenal (a)
have won their last three meetings Dec 26 Swansea City (h)
at Aneld and, perhaps predictably,
they represent our rst 2017-18 Dec 30 Leicester City (h)
home xture. JAN 1 Burnley (a)
Bogey team Jan 13 Man City (h)

Crystal Palace Jan 20 Swansea City (a)
Jan 30 Huddersfield (a)
FEB 3 Tottenham (h)
Feb 10 Southampton (a)
Feb 24 West Ham (h)
MAR 3 Newcastle (h)
Mar 10 Man United (a)
Mar 17 Watford (h)
Mar 31 Crystal Palace (a)
APR 7 Everton (a)
Apr 14 Bournemouth (h)
Apr 21 West Brom (a)
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Stoke City (h)

MAY 5 Chelsea (a)
Premier League 4th // Top scorer Philippe Coutinho 13, Sadio Mane 13 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup May 13 Brighton (h)
Semi-finals // Average attendance 53,039
FOOTBALL 2018 59
PREMIER LEAGUE
MANCHESTER CITY
FLASHBACK
Manager Former Barcelona Nov 1 Ilkay Gundogan
PEP PLOTTING and Bayern Munich boss Pep FANS VIEW scores twice in the 3-1
Guardiolas is under contract RIC TURNER
CHANGES with City until 2019. Blue Moon bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk
home win against
Barcelona in the
Champions League
After last seasons trophyless Whos the Daddy? Owner Sheikh LAST SEASON WAS
group stage.
campaign the rst of Pep Mansour, a member of the ruling
Guardiolas coaching career City family of Abu Dhabi, has spent Expectations were high, particularly
had a busy summer, with major new 1.21billion on City since 2008. after an exhilarating start that saw
arrivals, including Bernardo Silva us win our rst 10 games. To end the
from Monaco and keeper Ederson Annual wage bill 198m (2016) season trophy-less, and well off the
from Benca. Annual income 392m (2016) pace in the league, was something
New full-backs were also planned Stadium Etihad (55,097) of a disappointment, but Guardiola
as Guardiola implemented a major Nickname Sky Blues was hampered by an ageing defence
overhaul of an ageing City defence. Odds 15/8 to win Premier League and a team still adapting to his
methods. However, there were
Trophyless glimpses of what the future might
Pep Guardiola hold with some scintillating displays,
notably in beating United at Old
Trafford and Barcelona at The Etihad.
THIS SEASON WILL BE
The hope is to compete for the

title and progress further in the
Champions League. The fear is
that Vincent Kompanys injuries
could come back to haunt us.
OUR BIGGEST HERO
David Silva was outstanding once

again. Arguably the most underrated
player in the Premier League, its a
60 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Claudio BRAVO (Chl) (34) 13.04.83 2016 / Barcelona (Spa)
EDERSON (Bra) (23) 17.08.93 2017 / Benca (Por)
Joe HART (30) 19.04.87 2006 / Shrewbury Town
DEFENDERS
Tosin ADARABIOYO (19) 24.09.97 2003 / youth
Jason DENAYER (Blg) (22) 28.06.95 2013 / youth
Aleksandar KOLAROV (Ser) (31) 10.11.85 2010 / Lazio (Ita) Hero
Vincent KOMPANY (Blg) (31) 10.04.86 2008 / Hamburg (Ger) David Silva
Pablo MAFFEO (Spa) (20) 12.07.97 2013 / Espanyol (Spa)
Eliaquim MANGALA (Fra) (26) 13.02.91 2014 / Porto (Por)
Nicolas OTAMENDI (Arg) (29) 12.02.88 2015 / Valencia (Spa) travesty that he is so frequently
John STONES (23) 28.05.94 2016 / Everton
overlooked in the end of season
MIDFIELDERS awards.
Luke BRATTAN (Aus) (27) 08.03.90 2015 / Brisbane Roar (Aus)
Kevin DE BRUYNE (Blg) (26) 28.06.91 2015 / Wolfsburg (Ger) OUR BIGGEST OURVILLAIN
Fabian DELPH (27) 21.11.89 2015 / Aston Villa AUG 12 Brighton (a)
FERNANDINHO (Bra) (32) 04.05.85 2013 / Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr) Anthony Taylor, the Altrincham fan
FERNANDO (Bra) (29) 25.07.87 2014 / Porto (Por) Aug 19 Everton (h)
Aleix GARCIA (Spa) (20) 28.06.97 2015 / Villarreal (Spa)
from Wythenshawe who gave one of
lkay GUNDOGAN (Ger) (26) 24.10.90 2016 / Borussia Dortmund (Ger) the worst refereeing displays I have Aug 26 Bournemouth (a)
Samir NASRI (Fra) (30) 16.06.87 2011 / Arsenal seen for some time in the home SEP 9 Liverpool (h)
Olivier NTCHAM (Fra) (21) 09.02.96 2012 / Le Havre (Fra) defeat against Chelsea.
Leroy SANE (Ger) (21) 11.01.96 2016 / Schalke (Ger) Sep 16 Watford (a)
David SILVA (Spa) (31) 08.01.86 2010 / Valencia (Spa) BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Raheem STERLING (22) 08.12.94 2015 / Liverpool Sep 23 Crystal Palace (h)
Yaya TOURE (IvC) (34) 13.05.83 2010 / Barcelona (Spa)
Oleksandr ZINCHENKO (Ukr) (20) 15.12.96 2016 / Ufa (Rus) Weve got Guardiola, to the tune of Sep 30 Chelsea (a)
Bruno ZUCULINI (Arg) (24) 02.04.93 2014 / Racing (Arg) Glad All Over.
OCT 14 Stoke City (h)
FORWARDS YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Oct 21 Burnley (h)
Sergio AGUERO (Arg) (29) 02.06.88 2011 / Atletico Madrid (Spa)
Wilfried BONY (IvC) (28) 10.12.88 2015 / Swansea City Jadon Sancho and Brahim Diaz are Oct 28 West Brom (a)
Kelechi IHEANACHO (Nga) (20) 03.10.96 2014 / youth
Gabriel JESUS (Bra) (20) 03.04.97 2017 / Palmeiras (Bra)
two of the brightest prospects in the NOV 4 Arsenal (h)
Marlos MORENO (Col) (20) 20.09.96 2016 / Atletico Nacional (Col) academy. The pick of the bunch,
NOLITO (Spa) (30) 15.10.86 2016 / Celta Vigo (Spa) however, might be Phil Foden, a Nov 18 Leicester City (a)
Patrick ROBERTS (20) 05.02.97 2015 / Fulham 16-year-old midelder from Nov 25 Huddersfield (a)
Bernardo SILVA (Por) (22) 10.08.94 2017 / Monaco (Fra) Stockport. He looks like an
Ruben SOBRINO (Spa) (25) 01.06.92 2015 / Ponferradina (Spa) exceptional talent. Nov 29 Southampton (h)
MANAGER DEC 2 West Ham (h)
Pep GUARDIOLA (Spa) (46) 18.01.71 2016 / Bayern Munich (Ger) GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
The Manchester derbies are always
eagerly anticipated, even if the much- Dec 12 Swansea City (a)
hyped rivalry between Guardiola and Dec 16 Tottenham (h)
Mourinho hasnt really materialised
as yet. Dec 23 Bournemouth (h)
GAME TO DREAD
Dec 30 Crystal Palace (a)
I wouldnt say Im dreading any JAN 1 Watford (h)
xture as such, although Aneld is a
notoriously unhappy hunting ground Jan 13 Liverpool (a)
for us. Incredibly, we have only won
Jan 20 Newcastle (h)
there once in the previous 35 years.
Jan 31 West Brom (h)
FEB 3 Burnley (a)
Feb 10 Leicester City (h)
Feb 24 Arsenal (a)
MAR 3 Chelsea (h)
Mar 10 Stoke City (a)
Mar 17 Brighton (h)
Mar 31 Everton (a)
APR 7 Man United (h)
Apr 14 Tottenham (a)
Talent Apr 21 Swansea City (h)
Phil Foden
LAST SEASON Apr 28 West Ham (a)
MAY 5 Huddersfield (h)
Premier League 3rd // Top scorer Sergio Aguero 20 // FA Cup Semi-finals // League Cup 4th round May 13 Southampton (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 61
PREMIER LEAGUE
MANCHESTER UNITED
FLASHBACK
Whos the Daddy? Former banker Stadium Old Trafford (75,731) May 24 United lift the
A SPECIAL Ed Woodward advised the Glazer Nickname Red Devils Europa League trophy
for the first time in the
family on their controversial takeover Odds 10/3 to win Premier League
SUCCESSOR of the club and now runs United on clubs history after
their behalf. The Glazers ownership beating Ajax 2-0 in the
TO FERGIE? has cost United more than 700m FANS VIEW Final in Stockholm.
in interest payments since 2005. BARNEY CHILTON
Have United nally moved on from Red News
Alex Ferguson? David Moyes and Annual wage bill 232m (2016)
Louis Van Gaal both struggled to Annual income 515m (2016) LAST SEASON WAS
live up to expectations, but Jose
Mourinho has raised hopes once Indifferent league form and above-
again at Old Trafford. average cup runs. Weve been in
Mourinhos Premier League record a ux. Jose needed us, we needed
was no better than Moyes or Van him. And its worked, on the whole.
Gaal United missed out on the Considering the three seasons
Champions League places again before, last year was a big step
last season but the Special One forward, league position or not.
delivered a League Cup success
and the Europa League triumph in THIS SEASON WILL BE
Stockholm.
New signing Victor Lindelof could Much more optimism actually. Better
form a powerful central defensive signings and players should help and
partnership with Eric Bailly, while Jose is usually excellent in his second
United are also in the market for season. And hopefully better, more
a new striker to replace Zlatan attacking football. We were hard to
Ibrahimovic, who was released beat last year, which bodes well.
after just one season.
OUR BIGGEST HERO
Manager Former Porto, Chelsea,
Internazionale and Real Madrid boss Zlatan for his goals when form was
Jose Mourinho agreed a four-year patchy, Antonio Valencia for his
contract to succeed Louis Van Gaal SpecialJose Mourinho tireless shifts he put in all year, but
in 2016. Ander Herrera really grew into the
62 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
David DE GEA (Spa) (26) 07.11.90 2011 / Atletico Madrid (Spa)
Sam JOHNSTONE (24) 25.03.93 2009 / youth
Joel PEREIRA (Por) (21) 28.06.96 2012 / Neuchatel Xamax (Swi)
Sergio ROMERO (Arg) (30) 22.02.87 2015 / Sampdoria (Ita)
DEFENDERS
Eric BAILLY (IvC) (23) 12.04.94 2016 / Villarreal (Spa)
Daley BLIND (Hol) (27) 09.03.90 2014 / Ajax (Hol)
Cameron BORTHWICK-JACKSON (20) 02.02.97 2015 / youth
Matteo DARMIAN (Ita) (27) 02.12.89 2015 / Torino (Ita) Hero
Timothy FOSU-MENSAH (Hol) (19) 02.01.98 2014 / Ajax (Hol) Ander Herrera
Phil JONES (25) 21.02.92 2011 / Blackburn Rovers
Victor LINDELOF (Swe) (23) 17.07.94 2017 / Benca (Por) side and did well and hes well
Demetri MITCHELL (20) 11.01.97 2013 / youth appreciated by the fans.
Marcos ROJO (Arg) (27) 20.03.90 2014 / Sporting (Por)
Luke SHAW (22) 12.07.95 2014 / Southampton
Chris SMALLING (27) 22.11.89 2010 / Fulham OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
AUG 12 West Ham (h)
Axel TUANZEBE (19) 14.11.97 2005 / youth
Guillermo VARELA (Uru) (24) 24.03.93 2013 / Penarol (Uru) Not Marouane Fellaini for once! He Aug 19 Swansea City (a)
had a remarkable - for him - season.
MIDFIELDERS So well nominate nobody this time, Aug 26 Leicester City (h)
Michael CARRICK (35) 28.07.81 2006 / Tottenham Hotspur they all tried.
Marouane FELLAINI (Blg) (29) 22.11.87 2013 / Everton SEP 9 Stoke City (a)
Angel GOMES (16) 31.08.00 2017 / youth BEST SONG LAST SEASON Sep 16 Everton (h)
Ander HERRERA (Spa) (27) 14.08.89 2014 / Athletic BIlbao (Spa)
Adnan JANUZAJ (Blg) (22) 05.02.95 2011 / Anderlecht (Blg) Sep 23 Southampton (a)
Jesse LINGARD (24) 15.12.92 2000 / youth Well, the one that grew and paid off
Juan MATA (Spa) (29) 28.04.88 2014 / Chelsea was Follow, Follow, Follow, cos United Sep 30 Crystal Palace (h)
Henrikh MKHITARYAN (Arm) (28) 21.01.89 2016 / Bor Dortmund (Ger) are off to Stockholm, there will be
Andreas PEREIRA (Bra) (21) 01.01.96 2011 / PSV (Hol) 1,000s of Reds and well be pissed OCT 14 Liverpool (a)
Paul POGBA (Fra) (24) 15.03.93 2016 / Juventus (Ita) out of our heads, cos United are Oct 21 Huddersfield (a)
Antonio VALENCIA (Ecu) (31) 04.08.85 2009 / Wigan Athletic going to Stockholm. And a few
Ashley YOUNG (32) 09.07.85 2011 / Aston Villa strong Swedish ales were sunk. Oct 28 Tottenham (h)
FORWARDS NOV 4 Chelsea (a)
Anthony MARTIAL (Fra) (21) 05.12.95 2015 / Monaco (Fra) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Marcus RASHFORD (19) 31.10.97 2016 / youth Nov 18 Newcastle (h)
Wayne ROONEY (31) 24.10.85 2004 / Everton Well it was great seeing the Nov 25 Brighton (h)
James WILSON (21) 01.12.95 2014 / youth youngsters in that nal game against
Palace. Look out for Angel Gomes in Nov 28 Watford (a)
MANAGER the reserves, if he can stay t.
Jose MOURINHO (Por) (54) 26.01.63 2016 / Chelsea DEC 2 Arsenal (a)
Dec 9 Man City (h)
Dec 12 Bournemouth (h)
Dec 16 West Brom (a)
Dec 23 Leicester City (a)
Dec 26 Burnley (h)
Dec 30 Southampton (h)
JAN 1 Everton (a)
Jan 13 Stoke City (h)
Jan 20 Burnley (a)
Jan 31 Tottenham (a)
FEB 3 Huddersfield (h)
Feb 10 Newcastle (a)
Feb 24 Chelsea (h)
YoungsterAngel
Gomes (right) MAR 3 Crystal Palace (a)
Mar 10 Liverpool (h)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 17 West Ham (a)
Can I say the rst ve games - itll tell Mar 31 Swansea City (h)
us if we can mount a title challenge.
APR 7 Man City (a)
GAME TO DREAD Apr 14 West Brom (h)
None. Which is a pleasant change in Apr 21 Bournemouth (a)

the post Fergie years! Apr 28 Arsenal (h)
LAST SEASON
MAY 5 Brighton (a)
Premier League 6th // Top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic 17 // FA Cup Quarter-finals // League Cup Winners May 13 Watford (h)
Europa League Winners // Average attendance 75,289
FOOTBALL 2018 63
PREMIER LEAGUE
NEWCASTLE UNITED
FLASHBACK
May 7 Jamaal Lascelles
recommended it for struggling,
BOUNCING FANS VIEW toxic Premier League teams...
(left) and Jonjo Shelvey
lift the trophy after
ALEX HURST although theres always the
BACK True Faith fanzine danger of doing a Villa. Newcastle secured the
Championship title with
true-faith.co.uk
Newcastle are back in the Premier THIS SEASON WILL BE a win over Barnsley at St
League after just one season away. LAST SEASON WAS James Park.
Manager Rafa Benitez was justied I hope United compete in the top 10
in his decision to stay on Tyneside Essential. Failure to gain promotion of the Premier League aided by one
following relegation in 2016. Despite would have meant serious playing- of the worlds great managers. The
the sale of players such as Andros staff cutbacks as well as a likely manager is not here to nish 17th
Townsend and Moussa Sissoko, the managerial change. Much like last and thats a welcome change. The
new signings Dwight Gayle, Matt time, our brief stay in the second tier fear is Mike Ashley does something
Ritchie, Mo Diame and Isaac Hayden was immensely enjoyable almost bizarre and inexplicable or doesnt
quickly gelled. From October 2016 like the football club booked in for back the manager in January, which
the Magpies were never out of the a seasons therapy to cleanse the ills is what happened last season and it
Championships top two. of the previous four seasons. Would almost derailed the season. Takeover
talk refuses to disappear.
Manager Former Valencia, Liverpool
and Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez OUR BIGGEST HERO
signed a three-year contract in 2016.
Dwight Gayle was only available for
Whos the Daddy? Sports Direct half the season he played 50.1 per
boss Mike Ashley continues to attract cent of the minutes in the league
criticism but has now been the owner and he still scored 23 goals.
of the club for more than a decade.
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Annual income 126m (2016) Any Championship referee. The
Stadium St James Park (52,404) general standard of refereeing in the
Nickname Magpies Championship was a disgrace and
Odds 500/1 to win Premier League. could have cost us promotion. This
Big bossMike AshleyI sounds arrogant, but referees whose
day jobs were in Leagues One and
64 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Karl DARLOW (26) 08.10.90 2014 / Nottingham Forest
Rob ELLIOT (RoI) (31) 30.04.86 2011 / Charlton Athletic
Tim KRUL (Hol) (29) 03.04.88 2006 / Den Haag (Hol)
Freddie WOODMAN (20) 04.03.97 2014 / youth
DEFENDERS
Ciaran CLARK (RoI) (27) 26.09.89 2016 / Aston Villa
Paul DUMMETT (Wal) (25) 26.09.91 2010 / youth
Jesus GAMEZ (Spa) (32) 10.04.85 2016 / Atletico Madrid (Spa) Top gunI
Massadio HAIDARA (Fra) (24) 02.12.92 2013 / Nancy (Fra) Dwight GayleI
Grant HANLEY (Sco) (25) 20.11.91 2016 / Blackburn Rovers
Jamaal LASCELLES (23) 11.11.93 2014 / Nottingham Forest Two simply couldnt handle games at
Achraf LAZAAR (Mor) (25) 22.01.92 2016 / Palermo (Ita) St James Park or on television.
Florian LEJEUNE (Fra) (26) 20.05.91 2017 / Eibar (Spa)
Chancel MBEMBA (DRC) (22) 08.08.94 2015 / Anderlecht (Blg) BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Stefan OCONNOR (20) 23.01.97 2017 / Arsenal
Jamie STERRY (21) 21.11.95 2015 / youth AUG 12 Tottenham (h)
DeAndre YEDLIN (USA) (24) 09.07.93 2016 / Tottenham Hotspur Were Newcastle and were going
to win the league (to the tune of Aug 19 Huddersfield (a)
MIDFIELDERS Yellow Submarine). I have a feeling
Rolando AARONS (21) 16.11.95 2014 / youth itll take another relegation to be Aug 26 West Ham (h)
Christian ATSU (Gha) (25) 10.01.92 2017 / Chelsea singing that one again!
Jack COLBACK (27) 24.10.89 2014 / Sunderland SEP 9 Swansea City (a)
Siem DE JONG (Hol) (28) 28.01.89 2014 / Ajax (Hol) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 16 Stoke City (h)
Mo DIAME (Sen) (30) 14.06.87 2016 / Hull City
Yoan GOUFFRAN (Fra) (31) 25.05.86 2013 / Bordeaux (Fra) Sep 23 Brighton (a)
Isaac HAYDEN (22) 22.03.95 2016 / Arsenal Hes 22 but Isaac Hayden is
Matt RITCHIE (Sco) (27) 10.09.89 2016 / Bournemouth absolutely class. Wenger letting him Sep 30 Liverpool (h)
Henri SAIVET (Sen) (26) 26.10.90 2016 / Bordeaux (Fra) go for 2m will go down in years to
Jonjo SHELVEY (25) 27.02.92 2016 / Swansea City come as a dreadful error. OCT 14 Southampton (a)
Oct 21 Crystal Palace (h)
FORWARDS GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Adam ARMSTRONG (20) 10.02.97 2014 / youth Oct 28 Burnley (a)
Dwight GAYLE (27) 17.10.89 2016 / Crystal Palace
Aleksandar MITROVIC (Ser) (22) 16.09.94 2015 / Anderlecht (Blg)
Spurs at home on the opening day. NOV 4 Bournemouth (h)
Daryl MURPHY (RoI) (34) 15.03.83 2016 / Ipswich Town Weve an excellent record against
Ayoze PEREZ (Spa) (23) 29.07.93 2014 / Tenerife (Spa) Spurs and memorably beat Mauricio Nov 18 Man United (a)
Emmanuel RIVIERE (Fra) (27) 03.03.90 2014 / Monaco (Fra) Pochettinos side 5-1 and we had Nov 25 Watford (h)
Ivan TONEY (21) 16.03.96 2015 / Northampton Town 10 men in our last Premier League
game. It was the game that Rafa Nov 28 West Brom (a)
MANAGER Benitez decided to stay and a
Rafael BENITEZ (Spa) (57) 16.04.60 2016 / Real Madrid (Spa) DEC 2 Chelsea (a)
relegated team went out on a high
with a full stadium singing. Spurs are Dec 9 Leicester City (h)
a great side and it will be a fantastic
chance to test ourselves at St James. Dec 13 Everton (h)
Tickets will be impossible to buy for it Dec 16 Arsenal (a)
and the city will be electric.
Dec 23 West Ham (a)
Dec 26 Man City (h)
Dec 30 Brighton (h)
JAN 1 Stoke City (a)
Jan 13 Swansea City (h)
Jan 20 Man City (a)
Jan 31 Burnley (h)
FEB 3 Crystal Palace (a)
Feb 10 Man United (h)
Feb 24 Bournemouth (a)
MAR 3 Liverpool (a)
Class actI Mar 10 Southampton (h)
Isaac HaydenI
Mar 17 Tottenham (a)
GAME TO DREAD Mar 31 Huddersfield (h)
APR 7 Leicester City (a)
All of the games on the south coast.
Theyre so far. London is a six-hour Apr 14 Arsenal (h)
drive. Our closest game is Burnley,
two-and-a-half hours away, so its Apr 21 Everton (a)
technically our derby. Apr 28 West Brom (h)
LAST SEASON
MAY 5 Watford (a)
Championship 1st (Championship) // Top scorer Dwight Gayle 23 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup May 13 Chelsea (h)
Quarter-finals // Average attendance 51,106
FOOTBALL 2018 65
PREMIER LEAGUE
SOUTHAMPTON
New heightsSouthampton enjoyed one ofI
their best ever seasons at St Marys last yearI
FLASHBACK
Jan 25 Fraser Forster
this was the fourth-best season in
ALL CHANGE FANS VIEW our history, with the addition of at
acrobatically saves on
the line from Emre Can
NICK ILLINGSWORTH least three games right up there in
AT SAINTS The Ugly Inside the best I have ever been to in my in the second-leg of the
EFL Cup semi-final, as
theuglyinside.net 45 years of support in terms of
AGAIN enjoyment. Yet for the most times Southampton win 2-0
LAST SEASON WAS the football was dire and uninspiring. on aggregate.
Its been all change at Southampton
again this summer, with Mauricio Strange! On one hand it could be THIS SEASON WILL BE
Pellegrino replacing Claude Puel argued that in terms of achievement
after just one season in charge. Puel My hope is that the new manager
guided the team to the League Cup can take a decent squad and again
Final and a comfortable eighth place get it to a top-10 nish and perhaps
in the Premier League, but fans were another Final. My fear is that for a
not completely appreciative of his second time running we will not have
conservative tactics. picked the right man for the job.
Manager Mauricio Pellegrino was an OUR BIGGEST HERO

assistant to Rafa Benitez at Liverpool
and the Argentinian worked wonders Oriol Romeu stepped up to
at Spanish side Alaves last season, the plate after the departure of
reaching the Spanish Cup Final. Victor Wanyama and really added
something to the team. He looked
Whos the Daddy? Katharina like he wanted to play for the team
Liebherr inherited the club from her when some seemed unmotivated.
Swiss billionaire father Markus in 2010.
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Annual income 124m (2016) The linesman who disallowed a
Stadium St Marys (32,689) perfectly good goal at Wembley that
Nickname Saints might just have changed the result
Odds 150/1 to win Premier League was a big candidate, but even he
New manMauricio PellegrinoI could not beat Jamie Vardy of
Leicester City, who snidely raked
66 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Fraser FORSTER (29) 17.03.88 2014 / Celtic (Sco)
Paulo GAZZANIGA (Arg) (25) 02.01.92 2012 / Gillingham
Harry LEWIS (19) 20.12.97 2015 / Shrewsbury Town
Alex McCARTHY (27) 03.12.89 2016 / Crystal Palace
Stuart TAYLOR (36) 28.11.80 2016 / Leeds United
DEFENDERS
Jan BEDNAREK (Pol) (21) 12.04.96 2017 / Lech Poznan (Pol)
Ryan BERTRAND (27) 05.08.89 2014 / Chelsea
Florin GARDOS (Rom) (28) 19.10.88 2014 / Steaua (Rom)
Sam McQUEEN (22) 06.02.95 2003 / youth
Jeremy PIED (Fra) (28) 23.02.89 2016 / Nice (Fra) NastyJamie VardyI
Cedric SOARES (Por) (25) 31.08.91 2015 / Sporting (Por) on Virgil Van DijkI
Jack STEPHENS (23) 27.01.94 2011 / Plymouth Argyle
Matt TARGETT (21) 18.09.95 2003 / youth his studs down Virgil Van Dijks ankle,
Virgil VAN DIJK (Hol) (26) 08.07.91 2015 / Celtic (Sco) nishing his season and ending Saints AUG 12 Swansea City (h)
Maya YOSHIDA (Jap) (28) 24.08.88 2012 / VVV Venlo (Hol) hopes of not only a trophy but of a Aug 19 West Ham (h)
top-seven nish.
MIDFIELDERS Aug 26 Huddersfield (a)
Soane BOUFAL (Mor) (23) 17.09.93 2016 / Lille (Fra)
Jordy CLASIE (Hol) (26) 27.06.91 2015 / Feyenoord (Hol)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON SEP 9 Watford (h)
Steven DAVIS (NI) (32) 01.01.85 2012 / Fulham
Jake HESKETH (21) 27.03.96 2006 / youth We struggled with anything too Sep 16 Crystal Palace (a)
Pierre-Emile HOJBJERG (Den) (21) 05.08.95 2016 / Bayern Munich (Ger) original but this was popular:
Sep 23 Man United (h)
Nathan REDMOND (23) 06.03.94 2016 / Norwich City Les Reed went to Europe to buy a
Oriol ROMEU (Spa) (25) 24.09.91 2015 / Chelsea Lamborghini, instead he bought a Sep 30 Stoke City (a)
Josh SIMS (20) 28.03.97 2011 / youth striker, his name was Gabbiadini!
OCT 14 Newcastle (h)
Dusan TADIC (Ser) (28) 20.11.88 2014 / Twente (Hol)
James WARD-PROWSE (22) 01.11.94 2003 / youth YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Oct 21 West Brom (h)
FORWARDS Josh Sims had an electric debut and Oct 28 Brighton (a)
Charlie AUSTIN (28) 05.07.89 2016 / QPR impressed on several other occasions NOV 4 Burnley (h)
Manolo GABBIADINI (Ita) (25) 26.11.91 2017 / Napoli (Ita) with his willingness to run at
Sam GALLAGHER (21) 15.09.95 2012 / Plymouth Argyle players and create chances. Nov 18 Liverpool (a)
Shane LONG (RoI) (30) 22.01.87 2014 / Hull City
Olufela OLOMOLA (19) 05.09.97 2014 / Arsenal Nov 25 Everton (h)
Nov 29 Man City (a)
MANAGER
Mauricio PELLEGRINO (Arg) (45) 05.10.71 2017 / Alaves (Spa) DEC 2 Bournemouth (a)
Dec 9 Arsenal (h)
Dec 13 Leicester City (h)
Dec 16 Chelsea (a)
Dec 23 Huddersfield (h)
Dec 26 Tottenham (a)
JAN 1 Crystal Palace (h)
Jan 13 Watford (a)
Jan 20 Tottenham (h)
Electric debutI
Josh SimsI Jan 31 Brighton (h)
FEB 3 West Brom (a)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Feb 10 Liverpool (h)
Given the issues with Liverpool and Feb 24 Burnley (a)
their alleged tapping-up of our MAR 3 Stoke City (h)
players, the xtures against the
ex-Saints team are ones all Saints Mar 10 Newcastle (a)
fans will really want to win. Mar 17 Swansea City (a)
GAME TO DREAD Mar 31 West Ham (a)
APR 7 Arsenal (a)
Traditionally we are thumped at
Manchester United, Spurs, Manchester Apr 14 Chelsea (h)
City and, bizarrely, Everton. But in
recent years we have got results at Apr 21 Leicester City (a)
all of them. Apr 28 Bournemouth (h)
LAST SEASON
MAY 5 Everton (a)
Premier League 8th // Top scorer Charlie Austin 9 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup Runners-up May 13 Man City (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 67
PREMIER LEAGUE
STOKE CITY
Stadium Bet365 (27,902) another top-10 nish before a woeful FLASHBACK

STEADY Nickname Potters
Odds 500/1 to win Premier League
end to the campaign that, while not Apr 15 Xherdan Shaqiri
resulting in a bad position as such,
EDDIES could, if not should, have been better.
scores a spectacular goal
to secure a 3-1 win at
SEEKING FANS VIEW THIS SEASON WILL BE home to Hull City.
VITAL STOKE
MORE stoke.vitalfootball.co.uk Hoping for consistency throughout
the season enabling that forward
SPARKLE LAST SEASON WAS moving momentum again, but worst
case fears would be a middle not
Stoke are the Steady Eddies of the Down, up and down again. Recovered matching the positive middle section
Premier League, rarely leaving the from a poor start to be on for of last season we know what that
mid-table places. Manager Mark could, if not would, spell.
Hughes has moved the club on from
the safety-rst tactics of the Tony OUR BIGGEST HERO
Pulis era but big-name signings
(Shaqiri, Bojan, Imbula) have failed Marco Arnautovic, was probably the
to sparkle on a consistent level. most consistent performer, but the
Veteran midelder Darren Fletcher performances of goalkeeper Lee
was the rst signing of the summer, Grant perhaps kept Stoke in the
joining on a free from West Brom. Premier League. Jack Butland was
missed but Grant stepped up to
Manager Premier League veteran the plate.
Mark Hughes is contracted until 2019
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Whos the daddy? Chairman
Peter Coates is in his second spell Admittedly, he wasnt alone as there
as club owner. His family made their were some poor players at Stoke last
money from the Bet365 betting season, but Wilfried Bony went from
business. one of the most lethal nishers in the
Premier League to one who couldnt
Steady
Annual wage bill 82m (2016) Mark Hughes get a look-in at the Potters as his
Annual income 104m (2016) career went further off track.
68 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Jack BUTLAND (24) 10.03.93 2013 / Birmingham City
Lee GRANT (34) 27.01.83 2016 / Derby County
Jakob HAUGAARD (Den) (25) 01.05.92 2015 / Midtjylland (Den)
DEFENDERS
Phil BARDSLEY (Sco) (32) 28.06.85 2014 / Sunderland
Geoff CAMERON (USA) (32) 11.07.85 2012 / Houston Dynamo (USA)
Glen JOHNSON (32) 23.08.84 2015 / Liverpool Youngster
Marc MUNIESA (Spa) (25) 27.03.92 2013 / Barcelona (Spa) Julien Ngoy
Erik PIETERS (Hol) (28) 07.08.88 2013 / PSV (Hol)
Ryan SHAWCROSS (29) 04.10.87 2008 / Manchester United
Josh TYMON (18) 22.05.99 2017 / Hull City BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Philipp WOLLSCHEID (Ger) (28) 06.03.89 2015 / Bayer Leverkusen (Ger)
Simple, effective, I liked it and it
MIDFIELDERS makes me laugh so Im going with
this one few would agree but you AUG 12 Everton (a)
Charlie ADAM (Sco) (31) 10.12.85 2012 / Liverpool
Ibrahim AFELLAY (Hol) (31) 02.04.86 2015 / Barcelona (Spa) asked me the question so I can give Aug 19 Arsenal (h)
Joe ALLEN (Wal) (27) 14.03.90 2016 / Liverpool the answer... Lets all have a party!
Moha EL OURIACHI (Mor) (21) 13.01.96 2015 / Barcelona (Spa) Whelan, Butland, Arnie. Na na na na, Aug 26 West Brom (a)
Darren FLETCHER (Sco) (33) 01.02.84 2017 / West Brom na na na na. SEP 9 Man United (h)
Giannelli IMBULA (Fra) (24) 12.09.92 2016 / Porto (Por)
Stephen IRELAND (RoI) (30) 22.08.86 2014 / Aston Villa YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 16 Newcastle (a)
Xherdan SHAQIRI (Swi) (25) 10.10.91 2015 / Internazionale (Ita) Sep 23 Chelsea (h)
Ramadan SOBHI (Egy) (20) 27.06.97 2016 / Al Ahly (Egy) Belgian forward Julien Ngoy, 19,
Glenn WHELAN (RoI) (33) 13.01.84 2008 / Shefeld Wednesday signed from Brugge as a 15-year-old Sep 30 Southampton (h)
and was involved in the rst team last
OCT 14 Man City (a)
FORWARDS season but big things are expected
Marko ARNAUTOVIC (Aut) (28) 19.04.89 2013 / Werder Bremen (Ger) going forward, where he should play a Oct 21 Bournemouth (h)
Saido BERAHINO (23) 04.08.93 2017 / West Brom big part for Stoke. Well, assuming he
Oct 28 Watford (a)
BOJAN Krkic (Spa) (26) 28.08.90 2014 / Barcelona (Spa) doesnt get whisked away as its being
Peter CROUCH (36) 30.01.81 2011 / Tottenham Hotspur reported Monaco could see him as NOV 4 Leicester City (h)
Mame Biram DIOUF (Sen) (29) 16.12.87 2014 / Hanover (Ger) the replacement for the in-demand
Kylian Mbappe. Nov 18 Brighton (a)
JOSELU (Spa) (27) 27.03.90 2015 / Hanover (Ger)
Julien NGOY (Blg) (19) 02.11.97 2013 / Club Brugge (Blg) Nov 25 Crystal Palace (a)
Jon WALTERS (RoI) (33) 20.09.83 2010 / Ipswich Town GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Nov 29 Liverpool (h)
MANAGER Arsenal, quite simply as itll be the DEC 2 Swansea City (h)
Mark HUGHES (Wal) (53) 01.11.63 2013 / QPR rst home game of the upcoming
season. No other reason than that. Dec 9 Tottenham (a)
Dec 12 Burnley (a)
GAME TO DREAD
Dec 16 West Ham (h)
Bournemouth, again, not because Dec 23 West Brom (h)
we should fear the Cherries Stoke
shouldnt, with all due respect, but Dec 26 Huddersfield (a)
the trip to Dean Court will be the Dec 30 Chelsea (a)
longest we face this season.
JAN 1 Newcastle (h)
Hero Jan 13 Man United (a)
Lee Grant
Jan 20 Huddersfield (h)
Jan 31 Watford (h)
FEB 3 Bournemouth (a)
Feb 10 Brighton (h)
Feb 24 Leicester City (a)
MAR 3 Southampton (a)
Mar 10 Man City (h)
Mar 17 Everton (h)
Mar 31 Arsenal (a)
APR 7 Tottenham (h)
Apr 14 West Ham (a)
Apr 21 Burnley (h)
Apr 28 Liverpool (a)
LAST SEASON MAY 5 Crystal Palace (h)
Premier League 13th // Top scorer Peter Crouch 10 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 3rd round May 13 Swansea City (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 69
PREMIER LEAGUE
SWANSEA CITY
FLASHBACK
football on the pitch met civil unrest Jan 21 Fernando
SWANS FANS VIEW under new owners off it - chuck in no Llorente scores as
NIGEL DAVIES less than three managers and it was
LOOKING UP A Touch Far Vetched a rich recipe for near disaster.
Swansea take a shock
2-0 lead away to
NOT DOWN LAST SEASON WAS THIS SEASON WILL BE Liverpool before going
on to win 3-2.
Swansea are looking forward with A James Carpenter-style horror Im hoping that we make a few
condence to the new campaign story that somehow ended up with quality signings and our Champions
after the ups and downs of last a Disney-style fairytale ending. Awful League form under Paul Clement
season when three different continues, leading to a comfortable
managers (Francesco Guidolin, Bob season with a cheeky Cup win. I fear
Bradley, Paul Clement) took charge that our clueless American owners
at the Liberty stadium. And hopes will inict another Bob Bradley-type
will be further raised following a deal decision on us and undo all the good
for Spanish midelder Roque Mesa work done by Clement thus far.
and a loan for Chelsea teenager
Tammy Abraham. OUR BIGGEST HERO
Manager Paul Clement took charge Paul Clement would be the obvious
in January, agreeing a two-and-a- choice but the real hero was Leon
half-year contract. Britton. His calm inuence and
considerable skill on the eld
Whos the Daddy? An American transformed our fortunes, and his
consortium led by Jason Levien and leadership off the pitch galvanised
Steve Kaplan bought a controlling players and fans alike. Hero doesnt
interest in the club in July 2016, with even begin to cover it where this
Huw Jenkins staying on as chairman. Swans Legend is concerned.
Annual wage bill 82m (2016) OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN

Stadium Liberty (20,938) We had more super villains than a
Boss
Nickname Swans Paul Clement Marvel/DC crossover comic but chief
Odds 1,000/1 to win Premier League among them has to be chairman
70 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Mark BIRIGHITTI (Aus) (26) 07.04.91 2016 / Newcastle Jets (Aus)
Lukasz FABIANSKI (Pol) (32) 18.04.85 2013 / Arsenal
Erwin MULDER (Hol) (28) 03.03.89 2017 / Herenveen (Hol)
Kristoffer NORDFELDT (Swe) (28) 23.06.89 2015 / Heerenveen (Hol)
DEFENDERS
Kyle BARTLEY (26) 22.05.91 2012 / Arsenal
Federico FERNANDEZ (Arg) (28) 21.02.89 2014 / Napoli (Ita) Hero
Leon Britton
Stephen KINGSLEY (Sco) (22) 23.07.94 2014 / Falkirk (Sco)
Ale MAWSON (23) 19.01.94 2016 / Barnsley
Kyle NAUGHTON (28) 11.11.88 2015 / Tottenham Hotspur Huw Jenkins. His villainous act of
Martin OLSSON (Swe) (29) 17.05.88 2017 / Norwich City selling out for greed directly led to
Angel RANGEL (Spa) (35) 28.01.82 2007 / Terrassa (Spa)
the club falling into the hands of a
Mike VAN DER HOORN (Hol) (24) 15.10.92 2016 / Ajax (Hol)
pair of clueless Americans.
MIDFIELDERS AUG 12 Southampton (a)
Leon BRITTON (34) 10.09.82 2011 / Shefeld United BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Tom CARROLL (25) 28.05.92 2017 / Tottenham H Aug 19 Man United (h)
Jack CORK (28) 25.06.89 2015 / Southampton There were funnier chants but the
Nathan DYER (29) 29.11.87 2009 / Southampton best chant by far was: The Jacks are Aug 26 Crystal Palace (a)
Leroy FER (Hol) (27) 05.01.90 2016 / QPR staying UP. After staring certain
SEP 9 Newcastle United (h)
Jay FULTON (Sco) (23) 01.04.94 2014 / Falkirk (Sco) relegation in the face all season,
Matt GRIMES (22) 15.07.95 2015 / Exeter City belting out the words as we beat Sep 16 Tottenham (a)
KI Sung-yueng (SKo) (28) 24.01.89 2012 / Celtic (Sco) Everton was simply unbeatable.
Adam KING (Sco) (21) 11.10.95 2014 / Hearts Sep 23 Watford (h)
Roque MESA (Spa) (28) 07.06.89 2017 / Las Palmas (Spa) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 30 West Ham (a)
Jefferson MONTERO (Ecu) (27) 01.09.89 2014 / Morelia (Mex)
Luciano NARSINGH (Hol) (26) 13.09.90 2017 / PSV (Hol) The brightest lights from our all- OCT 14 Huddersfield Town (h)
Wayne ROUTLEDGE (32) 07.01.85 2011 / Newcastle United conquering under-23 set up from last
Gyl SIGURDSSON (Ice) (27) 08.09.89 2014 / Tottenham Hotspur Oct 21 Leicester City (h)
season will likely go out on loan. One
player that may stay and make a Oct 28 Arsenal (a)
FORWARDS
breakthrough is Adam King - the
Tammy ABRAHAM (19) 02.10.97 2017 / Chelsea NOV 4 Brighton (h)
Jordan AYEW (Gha) (25) 11.09.91 2017 / Aston Villa Scottish starlet can play a central
Modou BARROW (Gam) (24) 13.10.92 2014 / Ostersund (Swe) mideld role or out wide. Nov 18 Burnley (a)
Fernando LLORENTE (Spa) (32) 26.02.85 2016 / Sevilla Nov 25 Bournemouth (h)
Oliver McBURNIE (Sco) (21) 04.06.96 2015 / Bradford City GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Nov 29 Chelsea (a)
MANAGER Im looking forward to welcoming
Paul CLEMENT (45) 08.01.72 2017 / Derby County Hudderseld to the Liberty, not DEC 2 Stoke City (a)
least of which because of the frenzy Dec 9 West Brom (h)
it will whip up among the elitist
snobs following self-styled big Dec 12 Man City (h)
Championship clubs like Leeds,
Dec 16 Everton (a)
Forest and Shefeld Wednesday.
Dec 23 Crystal Palace (h)
Starlet Dec 26 Liverpool (a)
Adam King
Dec 30 Watford (a)
JAN 1 Tottenham (h)
Jan 13 Newcastle United (a)
Jan 20 Liverpool (h)
Jan 30 Arsenal (h)
FEB 3 Leicester City (a)
Feb 10 Burnley (h)
Feb 24 Brighton (a)
MAR 3 West Ham (h)
Mar 10 Huddersfield Town (a)
Mar 17 Southampton (h)
Mar 31 Man United (a)
GAME TO DREAD APR 7 West Brom (a)
We just cant seem to get a result Apr 14 Everton (h)

against Spurs, and Wembley will only Apr 21 Man City (a)
make the feeling of defeat worse!
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Chelsea (h)
Premier League 15th // Top scorer Fernando Llorente 15 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 3rd round
MAY 5 Bournemouth (a)
Average attendance 20,619 May 13 Stoke City (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 71
PREMIER LEAGUE
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
FLASHBACK
May 14 Harry Kane
the top ight for the rst time since
SPURS FACE FANS VIEW 1962-63, securing our highest-ever
scores Tottenhams last
goal at the old White
PAUL SMITH Premier League points total and
WEMBLEY Spurs Odyssey placing. We scored more goals, Hart Lane, before the
stadium gets rebuilt, in
spursodyssey.com conceded less and nished with
CHALLENGE a better goal difference than any the 2-1 win at home v
LAST SEASON WAS other team. We nished a home Manchester United.
After their highest league nish league season unbeaten for the
since 1963, last seasons Premier Astounding, nishing runners-up in rst time since 1964-65, winning
League runners-up are back in the 14 consecutive home games for the
Champions League and will be playing rst time since 1987.
all their home games league, Despite all the achievements,
Europe and cup at Wembley while there is more than a tinge of
a new home is built at White Hart disappointment because we did not
Lane. The big question is whether win a trophy, and ultimately lost in
Spurs can adapt to the challenge disappointing fashion in the domestic
of playing at the national stadium. cups and in European competition.
Manager Argentinian Mauricio THIS SEASON WILL BE

Pochettino joined from Southampton
in 2014 and extended his deal last Spurs exceeded expectations last
year, committing to Spurs until 2021. season, so why shouldnt they do that
again? My biggest hope is for some
Whos the Daddy? Tough silverware. My fear is we may not make
negotiator Daniel Levy has been our temporary Wembley home the
chairman since 2001. fortress we enjoyed at White Hart Lane.
Annual wage bill 100m (2016) OUR BIGGEST HERO

Stadium Wembley (90,000) Victor Wanyama was surely the
Nickname Spurs signing of the season by any club in
Odds 8/1 to win Premier League 2017-18. A rock in front of the Spurs
SuccessMauricio PochettinoI back four (or three), added plenty of
skill to his play and scored ve goals.
72 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
HeroI
Name Age/d.o.b. Signed/prev club Victor WanyamaI
GOALKEEPERS
Hugo LLORIS (Fra) (30) 26.12.86 2012 / Lyon (Fra)
Michel VORM (Hol) (33) 20.10.83 2014 / Swansea City
DEFENDERS
Toby ADERWEIRELD (Blg) (28) 02.03.89 2015 / Atletico Madrid (Spa)
Cameron CARTER-VICKERS (USA) (19) 31.12.97 2009 / youth
Ben DAVIES (Wal) (24) 24.04.93 2014 / Swansea City
Federico FAZIO (Arg) (30) 17.03.87 2014 / Sevilla (Spa)
Danny ROSE (27) 02.07.90 2007 / Leeds United
Keiran TRIPPIER (26) 19.09.90 2015 / Burnley
Jan VERTONGHEN (Blg) (30) 24.04.87 2012 / Ajax (Hol)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Kyle WALKER (27) 28.05.90 2009 / Shefeld United
Kevin WIMMER (Aut) (24) 15.11.92 2015 / Cologne (Ger) Most Spurs fans regard the signing
of Moussa Sissoko (for a club AUG 12 Newcastle (a)
MIDFIELDERS record-equalling 30m) as a poor Aug 19 Chelsea (h)
Delle ALLI (21) 11.04.96 2015 / MK Dons acquisition, but I personally think
Mousa DEMBELE (Blg) (30) 16.07.87 2012 / Fulham there is a skilled footballer in there, Aug 26 Burnley (h)
Eric DIER (23) 15.01.94 2014 / Sporting (Por) who hasnt yet been given many SEP 9 Everton (a)
Christian ERIKSEN (Den) (25) 14.02.92 2013 / Ajax (Hol) minutes in his new club colours.
Erik LAMELA (Arg) (25) 04.03.92 2013 / Roma (Ita) Sep 16 Swansea City (h)
Georges-Kevin NKOUDOU (Fra) (22) 13.02.95 2016 / Marseille (Fra) Sep 23 West Ham (a)
Josh ONOMAH (20) 27.04.97 2015 / youth
Hes magic you know! Mauricio Sep 30 Huddersfield (a)
Moussa SISSOKO (Fra) (27) 16.08.89 2016 / Newcastle United Pochettino!
Victor WANYAMA (Ken) (26) 25.06.91 2016 / Southampton OCT 14 Bournemouth (h)
Harry WINKS (21) 02.02.96 2014 / youth YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Oct 21 Liverpool (h)
FORWARDS Harry Winks broke through and Oct 28 Man United (a)
Vincent JANSSEN (Hol) (23) 15.06.94 2016 / AZ (Hol) impressed this season. The Spurs NOV 4 Crystal Palace (h)
Harry KANE (23) 28.07.93 2011 / youth development squad includes plenty of
Clinton NJIE (Cam) (23) 15.08.93 2015 / Lyon (Fra) potential stars, including 18-year-old Nov 18 Arsenal (a)
SON Heung-min (SKo) (25) 08.07.92 2015 / Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) winger Marcus Edwards. Nov 25 West Brom (h)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Nov 28 Leicester City (a)
MANAGER
Mauricio POCHETTINO (Arg) (45) 02.03.72 2014 / Southampton DEC 2 Watford (a)
The rst game at Newcastle, where
we need to extract rm revenge Dec 9 Stoke City (h)
for the pasting we took from the
relegated club on the last day of Dec 13 Brighton (h)
the 2015-16 season. Dec 16 Man City (a)
GAME TO DREAD Dec 23 Burnley (a)
Dec 26 Southampton (h)
Spurs fear nobody. However, I do dread
the last game of the season, because Dec 30 West Ham (h)
I have always hated the close season. JAN 1 Swansea City (a)
Bring on the games!
Jan 13 Everton (h)
Jan 20 Southampton (a)
Jan 30 Man United (h)
FEB 3 Liverpool (a)
Feb 10 Arsenal (h)
Feb 24 Crystal Palace (a)
MAR 3 Huddersfield (h)
Mar 10 Bournemouth (a)
Mar 17 Newcastle (h)
Mar 31 Chelsea (a)
APR 7 Stoke City (a)
Apr 14 Man City (h)
TalentI Apr 21 Brighton (a)
Harry WinksI
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Watford (h)
MAY 5 West Brom (a)
Premier League 2nd // Top scorer Harry Kane 29 // FA Cup Semi-finals // League Cup 4th round // May 13 Leicester City (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 73
PREMIER LEAGUE
WATFORD
Nickname Hornets head coach who had failed to

FLASHBACK
BIG THIWNGS Odds 1,000/1 to win Premier League ingratiate himself to supporters or Jan 31 Younes Kaboul
gives Watford the lead at
players. There were a few highlights,
EXPECTED including memorable wins against the Emirates Stadium on
FANS VIEW Manchester United and Arsenal, but their way to defeating
FROM SILVA MIKE PARKIN in truth it was a difcult and largely Arsenal 2-1.
From the Rookery End podcast forgettable campaign.
Its all change again at Vicarage Road fromtherookeryend.com
as the Hornets start the new season OUR BIGGEST HERO
with a new manager for the fth LAST SEASON WAS
successive year. Following the sacking Once again, survival has to be the
of Italian Walter Mazzarri, in comes Successful, in as much as Watford primary objective. This time, however,
Portuguese boss Marco Silva, fresh stayed in the Premier League. This owner Gino Pozzo will expect it
from his battle against relegation with was achieved against the backdrop of to be achieved with a little bit more
Hull City. an unprecedented swathe of injuries to spare. The hope for Watfords
The new man will be expected to to key performers and an unpopular supporters is that Marco Silva can
play a more attack-minded game. bring a more entertaining brand of
With that in mind, England Under-21 football to Vicarage Road, getting the
midelder Will Hughes has been best out of what is arguably the most
snapped up from Derby. talented squad in Hornets history.
The main fear is that the hangover
Manager Marco Silva agreed a from last season continues.
two-year contract just days after
leaving relegated Hull City. OUR BIGGEST HERO
Whos the Daddy? Giampaolo The Austrian international centre-
Pozzo bought Watford in 2012 and back Seb Prodl cut a composed
has been criticised for his changing and condent gure for the majority
of coaches and for moving players of the season, looking assured
between Watford and other clubs. against some of the worlds most
recognisable and dangerous
Annual wage bill 58m (2016) attackers. Marco Silva will almost
New man
Annual income 94m (2016) Marco Silva undoubtedly be building his defensive
Stadium Vicarage Road (21,577) unit around him.
74 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
2017-18 FIXTURES
Name AGE/D.O.B. Signed/prev club Has to be departed head coach,
GOALKEEPERS Walter Mazzarri. The football Watford
Giedrius ARLAUSKIS (Lit) (29) 01.12.87 2015 / Steaua (Rom) played under his stewardship was
Daniel BACHMANN (Aut) (23) 09.07.94 2017 / Stoke City attritional at best, with his side looking
Heurelho GOMES (Bra) (36) 15.02.81 2014 / Tottenham Hotspur lost and directionless in far too many
Costel PANTILIMON (Rom) (30) 01.02.87 2016 / Sunderland games. The language barrier meant
DEFENDERS that Mazzarri never forged any sort
Miguel BRITOS (Uru) (32) 17.07.85 2105 / Napoli (Ita) of relationship with the supporters.
Craig CATHCART (NI) (28) 06.02.89 2014 / Blackpool
Brice DJA DJEDJE (IvC) (26) 23.12.90 2016 / Marseille (Fra) BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Pervis ESTUPINAN (Ecu) (19) 28.01.98 2016 / LDU Quito (Ecu)
Kiko FEMENIA (Spa) (26) 02.02.91 2017 / Alaves (Spa) The most notable contribution from
Tommie HOBAN (RoI) (23) 24.01.94 2009 / Arsenal
Jose HOLEBAS (Gre) (33) 27.06.84 2015 / Roma (Ita) the crowd was the adopting of a
Daryl JANMAAT (Hol) (27) 22.07.89 2016 / Newcastle United minutes applause on the 72nd
Christian KABASELE (Blg) (26) 24.02.91 2016 / Genk (Blg) minute of each game, in memory to
Younes KABOUL (Fra) (31) 04.01.86 2016 / Sunderland the late, great Graham Taylor. Hornets
Adrian MARIAPPA (Jam) (30) 03.10.86 2016 / Crystal Palace supporters are still reeling from his
Juan Carlos PAREDES (Ecu) (30) 08.07.87 2014 / Granada (Spa) AUG 12 Liverpool (h)
Sebastian PRODL (Aut) (30) 21.06.87 2015 / Werder Bremen (Ger)
untimely death. He will be sorely
missed but forever remembered. Aug 19 Bournemouth (a)
MIDFIELDERS
Nordin AMRABAT (Mor) (30) 31.03.87 2016 / Malaga (Spa) YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Aug 26 Brighton (h)
Valon BEHRAMI (Swi) (32) 19.04.85 2015 / Hamburg (Ger)
Steven BERGHUIS (Hol) (25) 19.12.91 2015 / AZ (Hol) SEP 9 Southampton (a)
Michael Folivi has been a name on
Etienne CAPOUE (Fra) (29) 11.07.88 2015 / Tottenham Hotspur
Tom CLEVERLEY (27) 12.08.89 2017 / Everton the lips of many at Vicarage Road for Sep 16 Man City (h)
Abdoulaye DOUCOURE (Fra) (24) 01.01.93 2016 / Rennes (Fra) a few seasons now. A diminutive
striker with an excellent record in Sep 23 Swansea City (a)
Will HUGHES (22) 17.04.95 2017 / Derby County
Roberto PEREYRA (Arg) (26) 07.01.91 2016 / Juventus (Ita) Watfords various youth teams, theres Sep 30 West Brom (a)
Mario SUAREZ (Spa) (30) 24.02.87 2016 / Fiorentina (Ita) a palpable feeling that he could be
UCHE Henry Agbo (Nga) (21) 04.12.95 2016 / Udinese (Ita) the real deal. OCT 14 Arsenal (h)
Ben WATSON (32) 09.07.85 2015 / Wigan Athletic
Oct 21 Chelsea (a)
FORWARDS GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Troy DEENEY (29) 29.06.88 2010 / Walsall Oct 28 Stoke City (h)
Stefano OKAKA (Ita) (27) 09.08.89 2016 / Anderlecht (Blg) Id like to see us record a long
Obbi OULARE (Blg) (21) 08.01.96 2015 / Club Brugge (Blg) NOV 4 Everton (a)
overdue victory against Spurs, so
Adalberto PENARANDA (Ven) (20) 31.05.97 2016 / Udinese (Ita) (more in hope than expectation) Im Nov 18 West Ham (h)
Jerome SINCLAIR (20) 20.09.96 2016 / Liverpool
Isaac SUCCESS (Nga) (21) 07.01.96 2016 / Granada (Spa) looking forward to seeing what Marco
Silvas team can do against Mauricio Nov 25 Newcastle (a)
Mauro ZARATE (Arg) (30) 18.03.87 2017 / Fiorentina (Ita)
Pochettinos men. Nov 28 Man United (h)
MANAGER
Marco SILVA (Por) (40) 12.07.77 2017 / Hull City GAME TO DREAD DEC 2 Tottenham (h)
Dec 9 Burnley (a)
I must confess to being nervous about
the games in which we play teams of Dec 12 Crystal Palace (a)
a similar stature the xtures that
Dec 16 Huddersfield (h)
were expected to take points from.
A nice little rivalry has developed Dec 23 Brighton (a)
with Bournemouth, so losing to them
would be unpalatable, while West Dec 26 Leicester City (h)
Bromwich Albion were a, shall we Dec 30 Swansea City (h)
say difcult, proposition last year.
JAN 1 Man City (a)
Battling Jan 13 Southampton (h)
Etienne Capoue
Jan 20 Leicester City (a)
Jan 31 Stoke City (a)
FEB 3 Chelsea (h)
Feb 10 West Ham (a)
Feb 24 Everton (h)
MAR 3 West Brom (h)
Mar 10 Arsenal (a)
Mar 17 Liverpool (a)
Mar 31 Bournemouth (h)
APR 7 Burnley (h)
Apr 14 Huddersfield (a)
Apr 21 Crystal Palace (h)
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Tottenham (a)
Premier League 17th // Top scorer Troy Deeney 10 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 2nd round
MAY 5 Newcastle (h)
Average attendance 20,571 May 13 Man United (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 75
PREMIER LEAGUE
WEST BROMWICH
Odds 750/1 to win Premier League looks like it was a good season for
FLASHBACK
SAFETY FIRST the Baggies, but considering how Mar 18 Craig Dawson
scores with a header in
poor we were from Christmas
FROM PULIS FANS VIEW onwards it really should have been West Broms 3-1 win at
home to Arsenal.
MARK THOMAS a lot better. The majority of fans were
Last season, Tony Pulis delivered Albion Till We Die satised, however.
a top-10 nish, improving on the albiontillwedie.co.uk
previous seasons 14th place, but THIS SEASON WILL BE
his safety-rst approach continued LAST SEASON WAS
to frustrate fans, especially with The two things I am hoping for
the Baggies suffering early exits On the surface, a 10th-place nish the most are the addition of three
in the cups. or four quality players to our weak
An ageing squad is in need of and ageing squad, and that boss Tony
refreshment, with veteran midelder Pulis improves our style of play, which
Darren Fletcher the rst to depart for most of the time is awful to watch.
the Hawthorns this summer, joining My fear is neither will happen.
Stoke City on a free.
OUR BIGGEST HERO
Manager Tony Pulis agreed a new
contract in summer 2016. I think it has to be Ben Foster. On
his day there is no better English
Whos the Daddy? Chinese goalkeeper and thankfully he had
businessman Guochuan Lai bought plenty of those days last season.
the club from Jeremy Peace last Defender Jonny Evans deserves
summer in a deal reported to a mention too, with the pair head
be between 150m and 200m, and shoulders above all of their
with John Williams, previously with team-mates.
Blackburn Rovers, replacing Peace
as chairman. OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Annual wage bill 74m (2016) Baggies boss Tony Pulis really does
Annual income 98m (2016) split opinion among the Albion
Safety
Stadium Hawthorns (26,768) Tony Pulis faithful. He does have his fans but
Nickname Baggies they seem to be a dwindling number,
76 FOOTBALL 2018
ALBION
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
GOALKEEPERS
Ben FOSTER (34) 03.04.83 2012 / Birmingham City
Boaz MYHILL (Wal) (34) 09.11.82 2010 / Hull City
Alex PALMER (20) 10.08.96 2015 / youth
DEFENDERS
Chris BRUNT (NI) (32) 14.12.84 2007 / Shefeld Wednesday Hero
Craig DAWSON (27) 06.05.90 2010 / Rochdale Ben Foster
Jonny EVANS (NI) (29) 03.01.88 2015 / Manchester United
Gareth McAULEY (NI) (37) 05.12.79 2011 / Ipswich Town with more and more supporters now
Allan NYOM (Cam) (29) 10.05.88 2016 / Watford seemingly growing tired of his style
Kane WILSON (17) 11.03.00 2007 / youth
of play, tactics and excuses.

MIDFIELDERS AUG 12 Bournemouth (h)
Nacer CHADLI (Blg) (28) 02.08.89 2016 / Tottenham Hotspur Nothing really stuck in the mind to Aug 26 Stoke City (h)
Sam FIELD (19) 08.05.98 2016 / youth be honest. Much like the football
Jake LIVERMORE (27) 14.11.89 2017 / Hull City on the pitch, it was rather a bland, SEP 9 Brighton (a)
uninspiring and tedious time in the
James McCLEAN (RoI) (28) 22.04.89 2015 / Wigan Athletic Sep 16 West Ham (h)
stands too.
Callum McMANAMAN (26) 25.04.91 2015 / Wigan Athletic Sep 23 Arsenal (a)
James MORRISON (Sco) (31) 25.05.86 2007 / Middlesbrough YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Matt PHILLIPS (Sco) (26) 13.03.91 2016 / QPR Sep 30 Watford (h)
Claudio YACOB (Arg) (30) 18.07.87 2012 / Racing (Arg) The Baggies do have a good number OCT 14 Leicester City (a)
of quality youngsters in and around
the rst-team squad of whom the Oct 21 Southampton (a)
FORWARDS
pick of the bunch is winger Jonathan Oct 28 Man City (h)
Jonathan LEKO (18) 24.04.99 2015 / youth Leko. He may need a loan move away
Tyler ROBERTS (Wal) (18) 12.01.99 2016 / youth to impress though with Tony Pulis NOV 4 Huddersfield (a)
Hal ROBSON-KANU (Wal) (28) 21.05.89 2016 / Reading reluctant to use the younger players.
Nov 18 Chelsea (h)
Jay RODRIGUEZ (27) 29.07.89 2017 / Southampton
Salomon RONDON (Ven) (27) 16.09.89 2015 / Zenit (Rus) GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Nov 25 Tottenham (a)
I always look forward to the rst game Nov 28 Newcastle (h)

MANAGER of the campaign. All that new season DEC 2 Crystal Palace (h)
Tony PULIS (Wal) (59) 16.01.58 2015 / Crystal Palace
Dec 9 Swansea City (a)
Dec 13 Liverpool (a)
Dec 16 Man United (h)
Dec 23 Stoke City (a)
Dec 26 Everton (h)
Dec 30 Arsenal (h)
JAN 1 West Ham (a)
Jan 13 Brighton (h)
Jan 20 Everton (a)
Jan 31 Man City (a)
FEB 3 Southampton (h)
Youngstera Feb 10 Chelsea (a)
Jonathan Leko
Feb 24 Huddersfield (h)
MAR 3 Watford (a)
optimism, new signings, happy fans
and the sun shining. It generally goes Mar 10 Leicester City (h)
downhill fairly quickly after that Mar 17 Bournemouth (a)
though
Mar 31 Burnley (h)
GAME TO DREAD
APR 7 Swansea City (h)
Im not a fan of local derbies, I really Apr 14 Man United (a)
do not like them. However, with Villa,
Wolves and Birmingham all in the Apr 21 Liverpool (h)
Championship, I can now dread all Apr 28 Newcastle (a)
of our games equally!
LAST SEASON MAY 5 Tottenham (h)
Premier League 10th // Top scorer Salomon Rondon 8 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 2nd round
May 13 Crystal Palace (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 77
PREMIER LEAGUE
WEST HAM UNITED
FLASHBACK
leaving in a huff for Marseille. David Gold and David Sullivan made Jan 14 - Andy Carroll
HAMMERS There was criticism of Slaven Bilic their fortunes in the pornography scores with a spectacular
but he was backed by the owners industry and were previously owners
SEEKING BIG and West Ham began the summer by of Birmingham City.
bicycle kick at the
London Stadium during
chasing a number of big transfer
NAMES targets. Argentinian defender Pablo Annual wage bill 85m (2016) the 3-0 win against
Crystal Palace.
Zabaleta was rst to arrive, joining on Annual income 142m (2016)
West Ham are slowly adapting to life a free after leaving Manchester City. Stadium London Stadium (57,000)
at London Stadium. The rst season Nickname Hammers
at the former Olympic arena was Manager Slaven Bilic was appointed Odds 500/1 to win Premier League
not without its problems, with the in 2016 on a three-year contract.
previous seasons hero, Dimitri Payet,
quickly turning into a villain and Whos the daddy? Co-chairmen FANS VIEW
ROHAN TORKILDSEN
LAST SEASON WAS
A hard slog, not very enjoyable and

few high spots. However, in view of
the implications of the new stadium,
unsuccessful signings, poor form and
injuries I think we did well to nish
where we did.
THIS SEASON WILL BE
I can only hope for a more injury-

free season. My fear is that the soul
of the club has diminished since
leaving the Boleyn,.
Backing...
OUR BIGGEST HERO
Slaven Bilic
Michail Antonio showed real spirit
78 FOOTBALL 2018
THE SQUAD
2017-18 FIXTURES
Name Age/d.o.b. Signed/prev club Nationality
GOALKEEPERS
ADRIAN (Spa) (30) 03.01.87 2013 / Real Betis (Spa)
Darren RANDOLPH (RoI) (30) 12.05.87 2015 / Birmingham City
DEFENDERS
Reece BURKE (20) 02.09.96 2003 / youth
Sam BYRAM (23) 16.09.93 2016 / Leeds United
James COLLINS (Wal) (33) 23.08.83 2012 / Aston Villa
Aaron CRESSWELL (27) 05.12.89 2014 / Ipswich Town
Jose FONTE (Por) (33) 22.12.83 2017 / Southampton
Doneil HENRY (Can) (24) 20.04.93 2015 / Apollon (Cyp)
Arthur MASUAKU (Fra) (23) 07.11.93 2016 / Olympiakos (Gre)
Angelo OGBONNA (Ita) (29) 23.05.88 2015 / Juventus (Ita) Huff...
Winston REID (NZ) (29) 03.07.88 2010 / Midtjylland (Den) Dimitri Payet
Declan RICE (RoI) (18) 14.01.99 2014 / youth
Pablo ZABALETA (Arg) (32) 16.01.85 2017 / Manchewster City and boundless enthusiasm, despite
frequently being played out of
MIDFIELDERS position. Lanzini was great and most
Michail ANTONIO (27) 28.03.90 2015 / Nottngham Forest players had their moments. AUG 12 Man United (a)
Soane FEGHOULI (Alg) (27) 26.12.89 2016 / Valencia (Spa)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Aug 19 Southampton (a)
Edimilson FERNANDES (Swi) (21) 15.04.96 2016 / Sion (Swi)
Cheikhou KOUYATE (Sen) (27) 21.12.89 2014 / Anderlecht (Blg Aug 26 Newcastle (a)
Manuel LANZINI (Arg) (24) 15.02.93 2016 / Al Jazira (UAE) It would be easy to opt for Payet, but
I think the operators of the London SEP 9 Huddersfield (h)
Mark NOBLE (30) 08.05.87 2003 / none
Stadium edge it for me. Corporate Sep 16 West Brom (a)
Pedro OBIANG (Spa) (25) 27.03.92 2015 / Sampdoria (Ita)
self-interest in a microcosm of
Domingos QUINA (Por) (17) 18.11.99 2016 / Chelsea Sep 23 Tottenham (h)
football as a whole.
Robert SNODGRASS (Sco) (29) 07.09.87 2017 / Hull City Sep 30 Swansea City (h)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON OCT 14 Burnley (a)
FORWARDS
Andre AYEW (Gha) (27) 17.12.89 2016 / Swansea City The Lanzini song to Rufus and Chaka Oct 21 Brighton (h)
Andy CARROLL (28) 06.01.89 2013 / Liverpool Khans Aint Nobody, or maybe Oct 28 Crystal Palace (a)
Ashley FLETCHER (21) 02.10.95 2016 / Manchester United Tottenham Hotspur its happening
Diafro SAKHO (Sen) (27) 24.12.89 2014 / Metz (Fra) again! NOV 4 Liverpool (h)
Enner VALENCIA (Ecu) (27) 04.11.89 2014 / Pachuca (Mex) Nov 18 Watford (a)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
MANAGER Nov 25 Leicester City (h)
Slaven BILIC (Cro) (48) 11.09.68 2015 / Besiktas (Tur) The club sends them off too readily Nov 29 Everton (a)
on loan for my liking, but either
Fernandes, Quina or Declan Rice DEC 2 Man City (a)
look the most likely to make a name Dec 9 Chelsea (h)
for themselves.
Dec 12 Arsenal (h)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Dec 16 Stoke City (a)
Dec 23 Newcastle (h)
The surprise 4-1 away win at Arsenal.
GAME TO DREAD Dec 30 Tottenham (a)
Manchester City. JAN 1 West Brom (h)
Jan 13 Huddersfield (a)
Jan 20 Bournemouth (h)
Jan 30 Crystal Palace (h)
FEB 3 Brighton (a)
Feb 10 Watford (h)
Feb 24 Liverpool (a)
MAR 3 Swansea City (a)
Mar 10 Burnley (h)
Mar 17 Man United (h)
Mar 31 Southampton (h)
APR 7 Chelsea (a)
Apr 14 Stoke City (h)
Spirit... Apr 21 Arsenal (a)
Michail Antonio
LAST SEASON Apr 28 Man City (h)
MAY 5 Leicester City (a)
Premier League 11th // Top scorer Michail Antonio 9 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup Quarter-finals May 13 Everton (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 79
CHAMPIONSHIP
ASTON VILLA
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Hull City (h)
Aug 12 Cardiff City (a)
Aug 15 Reading (a)
Aug 19 Norwich City (h)
Aug 26 Bristol City (a)
SEP 9 Brentford (h)
Sep 12 Middlesbrough (h)
Sep 16 Barnsley (a)
Sep 23 Nottm Forest (h)
Sep 26 Burton Albion (a)
Sep 30 Bolton (h)
0CT 14 Wolves (a)
Oct 21 Fulham (h)
Oct 28 Birmingham City (a)
Oct 31 Preston (a)
NOV 4 Sheffield Wed (h)
Nov 18 QPR (a)
Nov 21 Sunderland (h)
Nov 25 Ipswich Town (h)
DEC 2 Leeds United (a)
Whos the Daddy? Chinese much everywhere on the road and
VILLA PLOT businessman Tony Xie bought the
club from American Randy Lerner
had great attendances at Villa Park
considering we were so average. Plus
Dec 9 Millwall (h)
PREMIER for a reported 76m last year. Jonathan Kodjia for his goals.
Dec 16
Dec 23
Derby County (a)
Sheffield United (h)
LEAGUE Stadium Villa Park (42,660)
Nickname Villains
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Dec 26 Brentford (a)
RETURN Odds 5/2 to win promotion I just cant abide our long-standing Dec 30 Middlesbrough (a)
striker [Gabby Agbonlahor], he JAN 1 Bristol City (h)
After a difcult rst season back in turned it on for one game (v Blues)
the second tier, Villa are the bookies FANS VIEW and that was it. But collectively too Jan 13 Nottm Forest (a)
favourites to win promotion to the JONATHAN FEAR many went into hiding and that is not Jan 20 Barnsley (h)
Premier League. Vital Villa good enough.
Jan 27 Sheffield United (a)
Villa have all the ingredients
an experienced manager, talented LAST SEASON WAS BEST SONG LAST SEASON FEB 3 Burton Albion (h)
players and enthusiastic fans to Feb 10 Birmingham City (h)
make that happen. Bang average. There is no excuse It wasnt so much the best chant
But there are many examples with the expensively assembled or song, it was the fact we bossed Feb 17 Fulham (a)
Wolves, Forest, Derby of big clubs players we have, and the wages that the league, attendance and noise- Feb 20 Preston (h)
who have struggled to recapture they take, that so many went missing wise. Plenty of opposition fans were
former glories. at crucial times. We should have posting on social media that we were Feb 24 Sheffield Wed (a)
made the play-offs and actually, the loudest and best theyd seen visit. MAR 3 QPR (h)
without the goals from Kodjia...gulp. Its an incredible supporter base for a
club that has had so little success in Mar 6 Sunderland (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE recent years. Mar 10 Wolves (h)
Mar 17 Bolton (a)
The fear is we dont hit the ground YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
running and have another average Mar 31 Hull City (a)
season. Aston Villa is set up as Andre Green. Trust me. The least APR 2 Reading (h)
a Premiership club the size, the hyped of our youth products and he
stadium, the fan base and if we will be our best. The lad is so exciting. Apr 7 Norwich City (a)
dont get up this time we could be Apr 10 Cardiff City (h)
stuck in the Football League a long GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
time. Hopes? Our players realise how Apr 14 Leeds United (h)
lucky they are: turn up and turn it Each and every one. I love it, I live it! Apr 21 Ipswich Town (a)
on. They should be playing with
Rolling contract swagger and entertaining this GAME TO DREAD Apr 28 Derby County (h)
Steve Bruce amazing fanbase. MAY 6 Millwall (a)
Unlike many Villa fans, I am not
Manager Steve Bruce replaced OUR BIGGEST HERO always a massive fan of the local
Roberto Di Matteo in October last derby because of the off-eld
year on a rolling contract. The 12th man. We sold out pretty issues. I sort of love it and hate it.
LAST SEASON
Championship 13th // Top scorer Jonathan Kodjia 19 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round Hero
Average attendance 32,107 Jonathan Kodjia
80 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
BARNSLEY
AUG 5 Bristol City (a)
2017-18 FIXTURES
Aug 12 Ipswich (h)
Aug 15 Nottm Forest (h)
Aug 19 Sheffield United (a)
Aug 26 Sunderland (h)
SEP 9 Preston (a)
Sep 12 Reading (a)
Sep 16 Aston Villa (h)
Sep 23 Wolves (a)
Sep 26 QPR (h)
Sep 30 Millwall (a)
OCT 14 Middlesbrough (h)
Oct 21 Hull City (h)
Oct 28 Sheffield Wed (a)
Oct 31 Burton Albion (a)
NOV 4 Birmingham City (h)
Nov 18 Norwich City (a)
Nov 21 Cardiff City (h)
Nov 25 Leeds United (h)
DEC 2 Bolton (a)
Odds 33/1 to win promotion OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
TYKES BATTLE Dec 9 Derby County (h)
Sam Winnall. This man lacked class.
AGAINST THE FANS VIEW While in the past there has been
Dec 16
Dec 23
Brentford (a)
Fulham (a)
IAN WILKINSON trafc between Barnsley and
ODDS onthepontyend.com Shefeld Wednesday (more often in Dec 26 Preston (h)
the reverse direction), when the big
Dec 30 Reading (h)
The Tykes return to the LAST SEASON WAS club came knocking, Sam and his
Championship last year was agent didnt even have the decency JAN 1 Sunderland (a)
threatened by the departures of Overall it has to be considered a to prevent a leak on Twitter which Jan 13 Wolves (h)
striker Sam Winnall (Wednesday) success. The January transfer window revealed the transfer and the sharing
and captain Conor Hourihane (Villa) had denitely wobbled the ship, and of their inated nancial glee. Jan 20 Aston Villa (a)
in January, but hopes are high that at times seemed to snatch a good Jan 27 Fulham (h)
Paul Heckingbottom can continue season from something that could BEST SONG LAST SEASON
to achieve success against the odds. have been remarkable. FEB 3 QPR (a)
Marley Watkins Baby or Heres to Feb 10 Sheffield Wed (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE you Conor Hourihane.
Feb 17 Hull City (a)
The play-offs are still an ambitious YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Feb 20 Burton Albion (h)
target for a club of our stature, but
Feb 24 Birmingham City (a)
could be achieved with our talented Sessi DAlmeida originally joined the
head coach and team. However, the Reds from Paris Saint-Germain B MAR 3 Norwich City (h)
cynic at Oakwell always believes that in summer 2016. Sadly missing in Mar 6 Cardiff City (a)
worse weather is around the corner. his rst season after tearing knee
We remain susceptible to every club ligaments. A powerful and energetic Mar 10 Middlesbrough (a)
who can offer improved personal defensive midelder, he could be just Mar 17 Millwall (h)
terms to our gems and increase our the man to replace Josh Scowen.
clubs operating coffers. That is the Mar 31 Bristol City (h)
Local hero reality. But our success against this GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO APR 2 Nottm Forest (a)
Paul Heckingbottom backdrop is always sweeter.
The derbies are always big occasions. Apr 7 Sheffield United (h)
Manager Barnsley-born Paul OUR BIGGEST HERO Perhaps if I had to select one, it Apr 10 Ipswich Town (a)
Heckingbottom was conrmed as would be the game against a
Apr 14 Bolton (h)
permanent manager in summer Conor Hourihane. This man was the resurgent Shefeld United (away)
2016 after two spells as caretaker. ultimate ambassador for Barnsley on August 19. It will be a real test to Apr 21 Leeds United (a)
Football Club, not only on the pitch, see if we are now an established Apr 28 Brentford (h)
Whos the Daddy? Chairman but also in his capacities as club Championship team.
Maurice Watkins was previously captain and within our community. MAY 6 Derby County (a)
a director of Manchester United. Personally, Im 98 to 100 per cent GAME TO DREAD
sure that Dr Tony Xia at Villa will
Stadium Oakwell (23,009) never appreciate and love this man Fulham (away). They murdered us
Nickname Tykes the way that Reds supporters will. last season, at home and away.
LAST SEASON
Championship 14th // Top scorer Sam Winnall 11 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round Villain
Average attendance 13,857 Sam Winnall
FOOTBALL 2018 81
CHAMPIONSHIP
BIRMINGHAM CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Ipswich Town (a)
Aug 12 Bristol City (h)
Aug 15 Bolton (h)
Aug 19 Burton Albion (a)
Aug 26 Reading (h)
SEP 9 Norwich City (a)
Sep 12 Leeds United (a)
Sep 16 Preston (h)
Sep 23 Derby County (a)
Sep 26 Sheffield Wed (h)
Sep 30 Hull City (a)
OCT 14 Cardiff City (h)
Oct 21 Millwall (a)
Oct 28 Aston Villa (h)
Oct 31 Brentford (h)
NOV 4 Barnsley (a)
Nov 18 Nottm Forest (h)
Nov 21 Middlesbrough (a)
Nov 25 Sheffield United (a)
Zola - it backred and almost cost DEC 2 Wolves (h)

HEADY TIMES FANS VIEW the club dearly. Zola was a very Dec 9 Fulham (a)
ROB WILDEY likeable man but was severely lacking
AHEAD WITH Vital Birmingham in the most basic of managerial nous.
Dec 16
Dec 23
QPR (h)
Sunderland (a)
HARRY? LAST SEASON WAS BEST SONG LAST SEASON Dec 26 Norwich City (h)
Interesting times lie ahead for A big disappointment. We looked Blues fans were very patient with Dec 30 Leeds United (h)
the blue half of Birmingham. Fresh to be challenging for the play-offs Zola under trying circumstances. But JAN 1 Reading (a)
from saving the club from relegation until the club pressed the self- the Easter weekend was the nal
after being parachuted in for the nal destruct button and replaced Gary straw - the fans nally turned on the Jan 13 Derby County (h)
few games of last season, Harry Rowett with Gianfranco Zola. In the Italian. At Rotherham and against Jan 20 Preston (a)
Redknapp has decided to stick end, it was a relief to stay up - thanks Burton at home, We want Zola out
around for the whole of this season. to Harry Redknapp. was the theme of the afternoon. An
Jan 27 Sunderland (h)
Several deals are in the pipeline, hour after the Burton game, he was FEB 3 Sheffield Wed (a)
with former favourite Craig Gardner THIS SEASON WILL BE gone. It was important that the fans Feb 10 Aston Villa (a)
rejoining the club from West Brom let Zola know that they had lost
and keeper David Stockdale moving If Redknapp can build a decent patience before it was too late. Feb 17 Millwall (h)
from Brighton. team, the expectation must be to Feb 20 Brentford (a)
at least challenge for the top six. The YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Championship is a difcult league in Feb 24 Barnsley (h)
which Birmingham City could end In previous years I have been the MAR 3 Nottm Forest (a)
up anywhere between 1st and 24th. curse of the youngsters, so I am
The fans have embraced Redknapp reluctant to say, but itll be interesting Mar 6 Middlesbrough (h)
though and the hope has returned to see Josh Dacres-Cogley continue Mar 10 Cardiff City (a)
to the blue half of the second city. his development under an
experienced manager.
Mar 17 Hull City (h)
Relegation escape
Harry Redknapp OUR BIGGEST HERO Mar 31 Ipswich Town (h)
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO APR 2 Bolton (a)
Manager Harry Redknapp was the Harry Redknapp. It may be
surprise choice to replace Gianfranco premature to label him a hero The derbies against Villa (our record Apr 7 Burton Albion (h)
Zola in April. He agreed a one-year but he saved us from inevitable against them in recent years is Apr 10 Bristol City (a)
contract this summer. relegation to League One. terrible surely a win is due) and
seeing if Redknapp can push the club Apr 14 Wolves (a)
Whos the Daddy? Panos Pavlakis, OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN on to the next level. Apr 21 Sheffield United (h)
who ran the club on behalf of owners
Trillion Trophy Asia, stepped down as Panos Pavlakis and Gianfranco Zola. GAME TO DREAD Apr 28 QPR (a)
a director in May. I feel harsh writing that as Pavlakis MAY 6 Fulham (h)
dictated the takeover which saved The derbies against Villa, for the
Stadium St Andrews (30,016) the club from the previous regime. reasons stated above. And any game
Nickname Blues But the biggest decision he made last that Sky Sports decides to rearrange
Odds 6/1 to win promotion season was to sack Rowett and hire to the most inconvenient of times.
LAST SEASON
Championship 19th // Top scorer Lukas Jutkiewicz 12 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round Youngster
Average attendance 18,717 Josh Dacres-Cogley
82 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
BOLTON
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 6 Leeds United (h)
Aug 12 Millwall (a)
Aug 15 Birmingham City (a)
Aug 19 Derby County (h)
Aug 26 Hull City (a)
SEP 9 Middlesbrough (h)
Sep 12 Sheffield United (h)
Sep 16 Ipswich Town (a)
Sep 23 Brentford (h)
Sep 26 Bristol City (a)
Sep 30 Aston Villa (a)
OCT 14 Sheffield Wed (h)
Oct 21 QPR (h)
Oct 28 Fulham (a)
Oct 31 Sunderland (a)
NOV 4 Norwich City (h)
Nov 18 Preston (a)
Nov 21 Reading (h)
Nov 25 Wolves (a)
DEC 2 Barnsley (h)
Stadium Macron (28,723) OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
BOUNCING Nickname Trotters
Odds 33/1 to win promotion
Dec 9 Nottm Forest (a)
How can you pick a villain from
BACK UNDER a team that nished second in
Dec 16
Dec 23
Burton Albion (h)
Cardiff City (h)
the league? A big disappointment
PARKINSON FANS VIEW was James Henry, who spent the Dec 26 Middlesbrough (a)
CHRIS MANN campaign on loan from Wolves.
Bolton are back in the second tier Burnden Aces Dec 30 Sheffield United (a)
of English football after just one year BEST SONG LAST SEASON JAN 1 Hull City (h)
away, having bounced back under LAST SEASON WAS
the strong leadership of manager Our response to conceding a goal Jan 13 Brentford (a)
Phil Parkinson. Dropping into League One was at Fleetwood Town in March. Jan 20 Ipswich Town (h)
This summer they have signed a hammer blow, especially in the Their connection to the shores is
Jan 27 Cardiff City (a)
experience in the form of full-back manner we did, but seeing the club well-known, with their nickname
Andrew Taylor (Wigan), striker Adam bounce back so well rejuvenated being the Cod Army, but playing the FEB 3 Bristol City (h)
Le Fondre (permanent deal) and a previously demoralised fan base. theme tune from Captain Pugwash Feb 10 Fulham (h)
right-back Mark Little (Bristol City). Off-eld issues continue to be a was greeted with the ironic laughter
source of frustration, but 2016-17 was it deserved. Feb 17 QPR (a)
Manager Former Colchester, a huge success on the eld and there Feb 20 Sunderland (h)
Charlton and Bradford boss Phil is now renewed optimism under the YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Parkinson agreed a two-year contract management of Phil Parkinson. Feb 24 Norwich City (a)
in summer 2016. England under-18 goalkeeper MAR 3 Preston (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Jake Turner is possibly our biggest
prospect and could be in for a very Mar 6 Reading (a)
Surely Bolton cant be as bad as bright 12 months. Mar 10 Sheffield Weds (a)
they were in their last Championship
Mar 17 Aston Villa (h)
campaign. A winning mentality is GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
back at Macron Stadium for the rst Mar 31 Leeds United (a)
time since our Premier League days No disrespect to some of the teams APR 2 Birmingham City (h)
but the only hope is to avoid the drop we played last season, but midweek
- anything after that would be a games against the likes of Bristol Apr 7 Derby County (a)
bonus given where weve come from. Rovers and Gillingham just dont have Apr 10 Millwall (h)
the same feel as Aston Villa and
Recovery OUR BIGGEST HERO Sunderland. Apr 14 Barnsley (a)
Phil Parkinson Apr 21 Wolves (h)
Released after ve injury-hit years GAME TO DREAD
Whos the Daddy? at the club, David Wheater returned Apr 28 Burton Albion (a)
The Sports Shield consortium, on trial and ultimately signed a one- Other than Preston North End, MAY 6 Nottm Forest (h)
owned by Ken Anderson, bought the year contract on vastly reduced who neither set of supporters
controlling share of previous owner terms. He put his injury woes behind would list as rivals, we have no derby
Eddie Davies in 2016, with Davies him, making 49 appearances and matches following the relegations of
writing off the clubs extensive debts. scoring an incredible nine goals. Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic.
LAST SEASON
League One 2nd // Top scorer Gary Madine 10, Josh Vela 10 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round Hero
Average attendance 14,934 David Wheater
FOOTBALL 2018 83
CHAMPIONSHIP
BRENTFORD
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Sheffield United (a)
Aug 12 Nottm Forest (h)
Aug 15 Bristol City (h)
Aug 19 Ipswich Town (a)
Aug 26 Wolves (h)
SEP 9 Aston Villa (a)
Sep 12 Sheffield Wed (a)
Sep 16 Reading (h)
Sep 23 Bolton (a)
Sep 26 Derby County (h)
Sep 30 Middlesbrough (a)
OCT 14 Millwall (h)
Oct 21 Sunderland (h)
Oct 28 Preston (a)
Oct 31 Birmingham City (a)
NOV 4 Leeds United (h)
Nov 18 Cardiff City (a)
Nov 21 Burton Albion (h)
Nov 25 QPR (a)
DEC 2 Fulham (h)
for Aston Villa in January. When he Newcastle game from a Saturday
BEES EYEING went, we were even better - scoring
the second-highest number of goals
to Monday knowing the date would
be moved back to the Saturday at
Dec 9 Hull City (a)
STABILITY in the Championship in 2017. If we

had started the way we nished, we
a mere seven days notice if either
Newcastle or Brentford were involved
Dec 16
Dec 23
Barnsley (h)
Norwich City (a)
Brentford continue to move and would have easily made the play-offs. in an FA Cup replay. Needless to say, Dec 26 Aston Villa (h)
shake in the transfer market, bringing Newcastle drew with Birmingham in
in lower-league players who can THIS SEASON WILL BE the cup. A lot of return train tickets Dec 30 Sheffield Wed (h)
be sold for a prot. But the club and hotel rooms went to waste. JAN 1 Wolves (a)
are also seeking more stability as My biggest hope is we can come
they establish themselves in the out of the summer window with the BEST SONG LAST SEASON Jan 13 Bolton (h)
Championship. squad intact while buying the three Jan 20 Reading (a)
Spanish striker Jota has agreed a key players who will make us real Jota had a song penned to the tune
Jan 27 Norwich City (h)
deal to stay on until summer 2018. candidates for promotion: striker, of The Logical Song by Supertramp:
defensive midelder and one more. Oh his name is Jota. Oh he is so FEB 3 Derby County (a)
Manager Former Walsall boss Dean wonderful. He scores a goal. Oh hes Feb 10 Preston (h)
Smith has been head coach since OUR BIGGEST HERO beautiful, magical, magical. When he
November 2015. runs down the winghes as fast as Feb 17 Sunderland (a)
If I had to give it to one person, lighteningits frightening. And he Feb 20 Birmingham City (h)
Whos the Daddy? Professional I would give it to captain Harlee makes all the boys singdo do do
gambler Matthew Benham also do do do do do do do. Feb 24 Leeds United (a)
owns Danish club Midtjylland. MAR 3 Cardiff City (h)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Stadium Grifn Park (12,573) Mar 6 Burton Albion (a)
Nickname Bees Brentford had the youngest average Mar 10 Millwall (a)
Odds 9/1 to win promotion age squad in the Championship last
Mar 17 Middlesbrough (h)
season - 23 years - making it hard
to choose one youngster. England Mar 31 Sheffield United (h)
under-20 international Rico Henry
FANS VIEW (19), Tom Field (20) and Sergi Canos
APR 2
Apr 7
Bristol City (a)
Ipswich Town (h)
BILL GRANT (BillyTheBee99) (20) are all great young prospects.
Beesotted (Beesotted) Apr 10 Nottm Forest (a)
Captain GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
LAST SEASON WAS Harlee Dean Apr 14 Fulham (a)
We play Shefeld United away rst Apr 21 QPR (h)
Our fourth consecutive season in Dean has really come of age and game of the season. Brilliant awayday
the Championship approaches and showed real leadership quality is Shefeld. Fulham away in April is Apr 28 Barnsley (a)
at no time have we looked like being in the centre of defence. always lively. But the designated BG MAY 6 Hull City (h)
relegated. For Brentford fans that (big game) is at Sunderland in
says it all. Scott Hogan was scoring OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN February, although it could be
for fun and people thought that our scuppered by the FA Cup 5th
season would collapse when he left It has to be Sky TV for moving the round on the same day.
LAST SEASON
Championship 10th // Top scorer Lasse Vibe 15 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 1st round Head coach
Average attendance 10,491 Dean Smith
84 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
BRISTOL CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Barnsley (h)
Aug 12 Birmingham (a)
Aug 15 Brentford (a)
Aug 19 Millwall (h)
Aug 26 Aston Villa (h)
SEP 9 Reading (a)
Sep 12 Wolves (a)
Sep 23 Norwich City (a)
Sep 26 Bolton (h)
OCT 14 Burton Albion (h)
Oct 21 Leeds United (h)
Oct 28 Sunderland (a)
Oct 31 Fulham (a)
NOV 4 Cardiff City (h)
Nov 18 Sheffield Wed (a)
Nov 21 Preston (h)
Nov 25 Hull City (a)
DEC 2 Middlesbrough (h)
the fan base wanted Lee Johnson
LIFE AFTER FANS VIEW
PAUL BINNING
sacked, and many still do, so its got
to be him. A chirpy character, hes
Dec 9 Sheffield United (a)
ABRAHAM? The Exiled Robin a great TV and radio option when

Dec 16
Dec 23
Nottm Forest (h)
QPR (a)
things are going well, but many still
In their second campaign back in LAST SEASON WAS point at his inexperience and question Dec 26 Reading (h)
the Championship, City irted with if hes up to managing at this level.
relegation but did enough to beat Less than middling, overall. A Dec 30 Wolves(h)
the drop. They were grateful for the fantastic, exciting start, a truly BEST SONG LAST SEASON JAN 1 Aston Villa (a)
goals of Tammy Abraham, but the miserable, dreadful middle, then a
youngster has headed back to parent decent recovery to end. We showed Signing Matty Taylor from rivals Jan 13 Norwich City (h)
club Chelsea, with City breaking their we can compete with the best teams Bristol Rovers their top scorer Jan 20 Derby County (a)
transfer record to sign Senegal striker home or away, but also showed were for three years in a row for just
Jan 27 QPR (h)
Famara Diedhiou for 5.3m from capable of going on long, losing runs 300,000 gave us some of our
Angers as his replacement. without scoring goals. best moments of the season (which FEB 3 Bolton (a)
says a lot about the rest) and the Feb 10 Sunderland (h)
Manager Lee Johnson has been in THIS SEASON WILL BE songs that followed were suitably
charge since February 2016. mocking and abusive. Feb 17 Leeds United (a)
A solid top-half nish would be the Feb 20 Fulham (h)
limit of ambition, especially given the YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
money other clubs will be spending. Feb 24 Cardiff City (a)
If we can consistently eradicate the Irish international winger Callum MAR 3 Sheffield Wed (h)
defensive slips and bring in a couple ODowda grew in stature during last
of extra truly quality players then we season and could play a big role, Mar 6 Preston (a)
could have a sniff of the play-offs. while Josh Brownhill has put in some Mar 10 Burton Albion (a)
However, as last season showed its excellent mideld performances.
Mar 17 Ipswich Town (h)
a really tough division, so if we lose a
key player or two, we could struggle. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 31 Barnsley (a)
APR 2 Brentford (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO We havent played at the Stadium
of Light for 20 years so I guess that Apr 7 Millwall (a)
Tammy Abraham without a shadow will be the trip many fans look out Apr 10 Birmingham City (h)
Gaffer
Lee Johnson of a doubt. The teenager led the line, for and hopefully a weekend in
scored our goals and nished the Newcastle to boot. Apr 14 Middlesbrough (a)
season as our on-eld motivator too. Apr 21 Hull City (h)
Whos the Daddy? Local He came as a lanky, slightly weak, GAME TO DREAD
businessman Steve Lansdown is string of a boy, and left a stronger, Apr 28 Nottm Forest (a)
a billionaire who also owns Bristol established man who can lead a line Personally for me its the Cardiff MAY 6 Sheffield United (h)
Rugby club. with condence. A star of the future. games. I live that side of the Severn
Bridge and weve got a dreadful
Stadium Ashton Gate (16,600) OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN record against them recently. We
Nickname Robins havent played Millwall in a while
Odds 11/1 to be promoted At one point around 95 per cent of either so that could be tasty.
LAST SEASON
Championship 17th // Top scorer Tammy Abraham 23 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 2nd round Signing
Average attendance 19,256 Matty Taylor
FOOTBALL 2018 85
CHAMPIONSHIP
BURTON ALBION
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Cardiff City (h)
Aug 15 Middlesbrough (a)
Aug 19 Birmingham City (h)
Aug 26 Sheffield Wed (h)
SEP 9 Leeds United (a)
Sep 12 Norwich City (a)
Sep 16 Fulham (h)
Sep 23 QPR (a)
Sep 26 Aston Villa (h)
Sep 30 Wolves (h)
OCT 14 Bristol City (a)
Oct 21 Nottm Forest (a)
Oct 28 Ipswich Town (h)
Oct 31 Barnsley (h)
NOV 4 Millwall (a)
Nov 18 Sheffield United (h)
Nov 21 Brentford (a)
Nov 25 Sunderland (h)
DEC 2 Derby County (a)
for a second spell in December 2015
ALBION and was linked with a move to Dec 9 Preston (h)
Nottingham Forest in January.
CONTINUE Dec 16
Dec 23
Bolton (a)
Reading (a)
Whos the Daddy? Chairman Ben
TO DEFY THE Robinson has been on the Albion Dec 26 Leeds United (h)
board since the 1970s and has
CRITICS overseen the clubs incredible
Youngster
Dec 30 Norwich City (h)
rise through the divisions. JAN 1 Sheffield Wed (a)
Marcus Dinanga
Burtons incredible rise through
the divisions continues. Eight years Stadium Pirelli (6,912) Jan 13 QPR (h)
after the promotion to the Football Nickname Brewers OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Jan 20 Fulham (a)
League, Nigel Cloughs side ended Odds 40/1 to win promotion
Jan 27 Reading (h)
their historic rst season in the I think there were a lot of villains last
second tier safe from relegation season, pretty much everybody that FEB 3 Aston Villa (a)
after a campaign in which they FANS VIEW said wed go straight back down and Feb 10 Ipswich Town (a)
again confounded the critics. LIAM EATON didnt deserve to be in the
This season, Clough plans to stick Burton Albion Supporters FC Championship. Feb 17 Nottm Forest (h)
with the same nucleus of players but Feb 20 Barnsley (a)
LAST SEASON WAS BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Feb 24 Millwall (h)
Phenomenal! Its a true testament Sung to any away crowd droning on MAR 3 Sheffield United (a)
to how well run we actually are as a about how small we are. How shit
football club and hopefully another must you be, its Burton away. Mar 6 Brentford (h)
sign of things to come as we Mar 10 Bristol City (h)
continue to progress. YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Mar 17 Wolves (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Marcus Dinanga banged the goals in Mar 31 Cardiff City (a)
last year for Matlock Town. Hopefully APR 2 Middlesbrough (h)
My hopes are to remain in the hell get a chance at playing in a
Second spell Championship for another year, higher division this season. Apr 7 Birmingham City (a)
Nigel Clough but I do fear that a few teams may Apr 10 Hull City (h)
have sussed us out now and it could GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
has added Northern Ireland potentially be even tougher than Apr 14 Derby County (h)
international striker Liam Boyce, last season. Im most looking forward to Derby Apr 21 Sunderland (a)
the top scorer in last years Scottish County away, especially as its on
Premiership with 23 goals for Ross OUR BIGGEST HERO a Saturday afternoon this time! Apr 28 Bolton (h)
County, signed for a club record fee, MAY 6 Preston (a)
believed to be 500,000. Michael Kightly had such a dramatic GAME TO DREAD
impact and just had that little bit of
Manager Former Shefeld United magic every now and again that Millwall away - because who actually
and Derby boss Nigel Clough returned could turn a game on its head. likes going to Millwall?
LAST SEASON
Championship 20th // Top scorer Jackson Irvine 10 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 2nd round Excited
Average attendance 5,227 ...Derby
86 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
CARDIFF CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Burton Albion (a)
Aug 15 Sheffield United (h)
Aug 19 Wolves (a)
Aug 26 QPR (h)
SEP 9 Fulham (a)
Sep 12 Preston (a)
Sep 16 Sheffield Wed (h)
Sep 23 Sunderland (a)
Sep 26 Leeds United (h)
OCT 14 Birmingham City (a)
Oct 21 Middlesbrough (a)
Oct 28 Millwall (h)
Oct 31 Ipswich Town (h)
NOV 4 Bristol City (a)
Nov 18 Brentford (h)
Nov 21 Barnsley (a)
Nov 25 Nottm Forest (a)
DEC 2 Norwich City (h)
rallied and nished top half. out of rst team contention and left
THINKING the club. Very disappointing. Dec 9 Reading (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE
BIG WITH BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Dec 16
Dec 23
Hull City (h)
Bolton (a)
I hope we are top six at the very
WARNOCK least. We now have a proven We are not great with creative chants. Dec 26 Fulham (h)
manager at this level who is looking Many of the players have a song but
Cardiffs form was turned around in for one nal promotion before his they are to tunes that you hear at Dec 30 Preston (h)
dramatic style by Neil Warnock after retirement. Things should be positive all grounds. Now that hes been JAN 1 QPR (a)
the veteran boss arrived in October going forward. At this moment we transferred, we will miss: He does
and they now have realistic hopes should have nothing to fear. what he wants, he does what he Jan 13 Sunderland (h)
of involvement in a promotion wants, Peter Whittingham, he does Jan 20 Sheffield Wed (a)
battle. A new contract was agreed OUR BIGGEST HERO what he wants.
Jan 27 Bolton (h)
for defender Bruno Ecuele Manga
while veteran midelder Peter The manager, Neil Warnock. He YOUNGSTER TO WATCH FEB 3 Leeds (a)
Whittingham left the club. turned around a disastrous start Feb 10 Millwall (a)
Kenneth Zohore. After a very average
Manager Neil Warnock signed a start he came through last season Feb 17 Middlesbrough (h)
contract extension to stay until the showing power, pace and goals. Im Feb 20 Ipswich Town (a)
end of the 2017-18 season. hoping he pushes on this season to
be one of the leading strikers in the Feb 24 Bristol City (h)
Whos the Daddy? Controversial division MAR 3 Brentford (a)
Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan
also owns Bosnian club FK Sarajevo GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 6 Barnsley (h)
and Belgians KV Kortrijk. Mar 10 Birmingham City (h)
Flunked... The opening day. Burton away. On
Mar 17 Derby County (a)
Stadium Cardiff City (33,280) Lex Immers a terrace behind the goal. Nice
Nickname Bluebirds compact ground and full of hope Mar 31 Burton Albion (h)
Odds 9/1 to win promotion to the season and completed the for the new season. APR 2 Sheffield United (a)
campaign in play-off form. Hes
brought a new level of hope and GAME TO DREAD Apr 7 Wolves (h)
FANS VIEW comradeship. People are now Apr 10 Aston Villa (a)
MICHAEL MORRIS interested in Cardiff City again. I dont dread any game unless
cardiffcity-mad.com there was one that could get us Apr 14 Norwich City (a)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN relegated. Some can be a little bit Apr 21 Nottm Forest (h)
LAST SEASON WAS uncomfortable like Bristol City and
Lex Immers. At the end the 2015-16 Leeds. Cardiff fans have mellowed Apr 28 Hull City (a)
A two-part season. After 11 games season he was on loan and was a lot but games like these can MAY 6 Reading (h)
the club was hurtling towards League putting in performances that bring tension and more of an edge
One and boss Paul Trollope was in were good enough to earn him a between supporters. Already the
free fall. But then he was dismissed, permanent contract. But once that Bristol City away game is an early
Neil Warnock came in and the club was signed he unked. He dropped kick off on police advice.
LAST SEASON
Championship 12th // Top scorer Kenneth Zohore 12 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 3rd round Veteran...
Average attendance 16,564 Neil Warnock
FOOTBALL 2018 87
CHAMPIONSHIP
DERBY COUNTY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 4 Sunderland (a)
Aug 12 Wolves (h)
Aug 15 Preston (h)
Aug 19 Bolton (a)
Aug 26 Sheffield United (a)
SEP 9 Hull City (h)
Sep 12 Ipswich Town (h)
Sep 16 Bristol City (a)
Sep 23 Birmingham City (h)
Sep 26 Brentford (a)
Sep 30 Cardiff City (a)
OCT 14 Nottm Forest (h)
Oct 21 Sheffield Wed (h)
Oct 28 Norwich City (a)
Oct 31 Leeds United (a)
NOV 4 Reading (h)
Nov 18 Fulham (a)
Nov 21 QPR (h)
Nov 25 Middlesbrough (a)
DEC 2 Burton Albion (h)
Stadium Pride Park (33,597) OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
ROWETT TO Nickname Rams
Dec 9 Barnsley (a)
Overall Id say Nigel Pearson. Trying
THE RESCUE? to implement a new system and style
Dec 16
Dec 23
Aston Villa (h)
Millwall (h)
without signing a single player to
Last season was chaotic for County. FANS VIEW support it before deadline day was Dec 26 Hull City (a)
Former Leicester City boss Nigel CHRIS SMITH madness. Not surprisingly, it didnt
Pearson was sacked after less than ramspace.co.uk work out but also killed our season Dec 30 Ipswich Town (a)
ve months in charge and replaced before it started. JAN 1 Sheffield United (h)
by Steve McClaren, 17 months after LAST SEASON WAS
he himself had been red. BEST SONG LAST SEASON Jan 13 Birmingham City (a)
McClarens second spell lasted Owner Mel Morris described it as Jan 20 Bristol City (h)
just until March but he departed after a disaster. With the Nigel Pearson Couple of contenders here. The
Jan 27 Millwall (a)
a run of one win in nine games, to debacle, the Steve McClaren asco, Abdoul Camara song (We found
be replaced by Gary Rowett, who the farcical Chris Martin saga and him in Calais by the side of the road FEB 3 Brentford (h)
had been unlucky to be sacked by the team generally going backwards, in a Vauxhall Zaphira) was good for Feb 10 Norwich City (h)
Birmingham earlier in the season. its tough to disagree with that a time, there was also the highly
Rowett must make do without Will assessment. repetitive but fun Steve McClaren & Feb 17 Sheffield Wed (a)
Hughes, sold to Watford, but has Powell chant, but my favourite was Feb 20 Leeds United (h)
reinforced his defence with Andre THIS SEASON WILL BE when 3-0 up against Forest on 60
Wisdom (Liverpool) and Curtis minutes: Its happening again, its Feb 24 Reading (a)
Davies (Hull City). With the resources at our disposal, happening again, Nottingham Forest, MAR 3 Fulham (h)
by a pure law of averages, somebody its happening again.
Manager Gary Rowett is Countys at some point will get it right and Mar 6 QPR (a)
fth permanent manager in less we will nally make it back to the YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Mar 10 Nottm Forest (a)
than two years. Premier League. My hope is that man
Mar 17 Cardiff City (h)
is Gary Rowett, my fear is he doesnt I call Max Lowe every year and he did
make it to Christmas! nally break through last season. If Mar 31 Sunderland (h)
he can stay t, he could be a regular APR 2 Preston (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO at left-back this time around.
Apr 7 Bolton (h)
Although Scott Carson swept the GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Apr 10 Wolves (a)
board in the end-of-season player-of
-the-year awards, I would say Tom Forest, Villa and Shefeld Wednesday Apr 14 Burton Albion (a)
Ince. Despite the Rams being in an are the obvious standouts. It will be Apr 21 Middlesbrough (h)
High hopes almost constant state of ux, Ince great to have Shefeld United back
Gary Rowett was remarkably consistent and with on the xture list. Apr 28 Aston Villa (a)
an all new work ethic to add to his MAY 6 Barnsley (h)
Whos the Daddy? Mel Morris undoubted quality, had a cracking GAME TO DREAD
made his fortune from computer season. Will be in the Premier
games and has been criticised for his League next season, having joined Norwich away is a personal dread, we
trigger-happy attitude to managers. Hudderseld. always get hammered there.
LAST SEASON
Championship 9th // Top scorer Tom Ince 14 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 3rd round Quality
Average attendance 29,042 Tom Ince
88 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
FULHAM
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Norwich City (h)
Aug 12 Reading (a)
Aug 15 Leeds United (a)
Aug 19 Sheffield Wed (h)
Aug 26 Ipswich Town (a)
SEP 9 Cardiff City (h)
Sep 12 Hull City (h)
Sep 23 Middlesbrough (h)
Sep 26 Nottm Forest (a)
Sep 30 QPR (a)
OCT 14 Preston (h)
Oct 21 Aston Villa (a)
Oct 28 Bolton (h)
Oct 31 Bristol City (h)
NOV 4 Wolves (a)
Nov 18 Derby County (h)
Nov 21 Sheffield United (a)
Nov 25 Millwall (h)
DEC 2 Brentford (a)
Manager Former Chelsea and
JOKANOVIC Serbia midelder Slavisa Jokanovic Dec 9 Birmingham City (h)
was appointed in December 2015,
TURNS THE replacing Kit Symons.
Dec 16
Dec 23
Sunderland (a)
Barnsley (h)
TIDE Whos the Daddy? American Dec 26 Cardiff City (a)
billionaire Shahid Khan paid
Fulham earned plaudits for their Mohamed Al Fayed a reported Dec 30 Hull City (a)
attacking football last season. Slavisa 180m for the club in 2013. He also JAN 1 Ipswich Town (h)
Jokanovic turned around the fortunes owns American NFL side the
of a team that were 18th in the table Jacksonville Jaguars. Jan 13 Middlesbrough (a)
when he arrived in 2015 and staring Jan 20 Burton Albion (h)
at a relegation battle. Stadium Craven Cottage (15,700)
Jan 27 Barnsley (a)
The Cottagers were joint top Nickname Cottagers
scorers (with Newcastle and Norwich) Odds 5/2 to win promotion FEB 3 Nottm Forest (h)
and had the best goal difference Feb 10 Bolton (a)
after Newcastle and Brighton. They
had the most shots (711), the highest FANS VIEW Feb 17 Aston Villa (h)
possession (62 per cent) and the DAVID PRESTON Feb 20 Bristol City (a)
most accurate passes (83 per cent)
but they suffered from inconsistency, LAST SEASON WAS Feb 24 Wolves (h)
Youngster
losing key games that ultimately cost Ryan Sessegnon MAR 3 Derby County (a)
them dear. Brilliant (apart from the play-offs).
We overachieved. Mar 6 Sheffield United (h)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON Mar 10 Preston (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE
Mar 17 QPR (h)
Slavisa, wwhoooaaa. He comes from
Hoping that the chairman backs the Serbia, hell f**kin murder ya. Mar 31 Norwich City (a)
manager with some transfer funds APR 2 Leeds United (h)
and we go up as champions. Fearful YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
that the chairman doesnt back the Apr 7 Sheffield Wed (a)
manager with transfer funds and the The Sessegnon twins, Ryan and Apr 10 Reading (h)
manager leaves. Stephane.
Apr 14 Brentford (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Apr 21 Millwall (a)
Slavisa Jokanovic. All of them, but mainly Reading. We Apr 28 Sunderland (h)
owe them for last season. MAY 6 Birmingham City (a)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Impact
GAME TO DREAD
Slavisa Jokanovic Chris Martin - thankfully back on the
train to Derby. All of them.
LAST SEASON
Championship 6th // Top scorer Tom Cairney 13 // FA Cup 5th round // League Cup 3rd round Villain
Average attendance 19,198 Chris Martin
FOOTBALL 2018 89
CHAMPIONSHIP
HULL CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Aston Villa (a)
Aug 12 Burton Albion (h)
Aug 15 Wolves (h)
Aug 19 QPR (a)
Aug 26 Bolton (h)
SEP 9 Derby County (a)
Sep 12 Fulham (a)
Sep 16 Sunderland (h)
Sep 23 Reading (a)
Sep 26 Preston (h)
OCT 14 Norwich City (a)
Oct 21 Barnsley (a)
Oct 28 Nottm Forest (h)
Oct 31 Middlesbrough (h)
NOV 4 Sheffield United (a)
Nov 18 Ipswich Town (h)
Nov 21 Millwall (a)
Nov 25 Bristol City (h)
DEC 2 Sheffield Wed (a)
Stadium KCOM (25,450) with a modicum of dignity and in
SILVA GOES, Nickname Tigers all honesty stole the fans hearts. Dec 9 Brentford (h)
SLUTSKY IN OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Dec 16
Dec 23
Cardiff City (a)
Leeds United (a)
Hull are preparing for life back in the FANS VIEW Yet again for the third season Dec 26 Derby County (h)
Championship without Marco Silva, IAN WATERSON running now, is it? the Allams. For
who quit after narrowly failing to pull City Independent goodness sake, just go, like you stated Dec 30 Fulham (h)
off a miracle escape from relegation. cityindependent.net you would within 24 hours. Your JAN 1 Bolton (a)
The appointment of Russian words, not ours, three-and-a-half
Leonid Slutsky to replace Silva was LAST SEASON WAS years ago. Theyre killing our club. Jan 13 Reading (h)
a surprise and the new man faces a Jan 20 Sunderland (a)
challenge to keep hold of players: The most ill-prepared promotion to BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Jan 27 Leeds United (h)
Harry Maguire was sold to Leicester the Premier League in living memory,
while Curtis Davies moved to Derby. utterly compounded by incompetent With Hull appointed UK City of FEB 3 Preston (a)
owners hell bent on maintaining Culture, City of Culture, we know Feb 10 Nottm Forest (a)
Manager Former CSKA Moscow their vindictive nature against the what we are! got plenty of airings,
boss Leonid Slutsky agreed a fans. When you know youre already along with Youve only come for the Feb 17 Barnsley (h)
two-year deal this summer. relegated in July, it was an unmitigated culture and City of Culture, youll Feb 20 Middlesbrough (a)
disaster from start to nish and the never sing that!
Whos the Daddy? The Allam blame lays squarely at boardroom level. Feb 24 Sheffield United (h)
family remain in charge of the club, YOUNGSTER TO WATCH MAR 3 Ipswich Town (a)
despite their attempts to sell up. THIS SEASON WILL BE
There was promising left-back Josh Mar 6 Millwall (h)
The hope is the club nally gets Tymon who is only 18 but is now in Mar 10 Norwich City (h)
some desperately needed new the Premier League with Stoke City,
Mar 17 Birmingham City (a)
owners who actually have the thanks to the total mismanagement
commitment to full the potential of his contract. Mar 31 Aston Villa (h)
at Hull City. The fear is the club APR 2 Wolves (a)
continues in its purgatory state of GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
ux and the Allams continue with Apr 7 QPR (h)
their vice-like grip on a club they The Allams nal game, just like Apr 10 Burton Albion (a)
claim they dont even want. they triumphantly claimed in their
programme notes last season that Apr 14 Sheffield Wed (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO the Manchester United game was Apr 21 Bristol City (a)
supposed to be their last match in
Marco Silvas appointment as charge. If only... Apr 28 Cardiff City (h)
manager in January was a lefteld MAY 6 Brentford (a)
appointment for all manner of GAME TO DREAD
reasons, but he provided a glimmer
Surprise
Leonid Slutsky of hope when there was absolutely While the Allams remain... all of
none. He allowed us to be relegated them.
LAST SEASON
Premier League 18th // Top scorer Robert Snodgrass 9 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup Semi-finals Relegated
Average attendance 20,761 Oumar Niasse
90 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
IPSWICH TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Birmingham City (h)
Aug 12 Barnsley (a)
Aug 15 Millwall (a)
Aug 19 Brentford (h)
Aug 26 Fulham (h)
SEP 9 QPR (a)
Sep 12 Derby County (a)
Sep 16 Bolton (h)
Sep 23 Leeds United (a)
Sep 30 Bristol City (h)
OCT 14 Sheffield United (a)
Oct 21 Norwich City (h)
Oct 28 Burton Albion (a)
Oct 31 Cardiff City (a)
NOV 4 Preston (h)
Nov 18 Hull City (a)
Nov 21 Sheffield Wed (h)
Nov 25 Aston Villa (a)
DEC 2 Nottm Forest (h)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
FRUSTRATION FANS VIEW Dec 9 Middlesbrough (a)
PHIL HAM To many fans it was a toss-up
MOUNTING AT Editor, TWTD.co.uk between boss Mick McCarthy - for
the lack of on-eld success and
Dec 16
Dec 23
Reading (h)
Wolves (a)
PORTMAN RD LAST SEASON WAS functional football not in keeping
with the clubs traditions - and owner
Dec 26 QPR (h)
These are frustrating times at Thoroughly underwhelming and Marcus Evans for the lack of cash Dec 30 Derby County (h)
Portman Road. Ipswich failed to fractious. Having nished sixth and made available to his manager. JAN 1 Fulham (a)
get close to the play-off places last seventh in the previous two seasons,
season, with manager Mick McCarthy Town never looked like challenging BEST SONG LAST SEASON Jan 13 Leeds United (h)
insisting he wont walk away from the for the play-offs this time around Jan 20 Bolton (a)
job despite criticism from fans and leading to frustrations with manager Nothing really stands out on that
Jan 27 Wolves (h)
a lack of cash to improve matters. Mick McCarthy and owner Marcus front. It was that kind of season.
Joe Garner from Rangers was Towns Evans to be made clear from the FEB 3 Sunderland (a)
deal of the summer. terraces. An embarrassing live-on- YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Feb 10 Burton Albion (h)
national TV FA Cup exit at the hands
Manager Former Sunderland of then-non-league Lincoln City Quite a number are on the way Feb 17 Norwich City (a)
boss Mick McCarthy took charge in added to the woe. through but Andre Dozzell, the son Feb 20 Cardiff City (h)
November 2012. Last year he agreed of former Blue Jason, is probably the
a contract extension until 2018 THIS SEASON WILL BE most notable. The teams overall lack Feb 24 Preston (a)
of form has not been conducive to MAR 3 Hull City (h)
Whos the Daddy? Chairman A play-off nish is the only realistic blooding youngsters but after turning
Marcus Evans is a controversial gure target. Given the much bigger money 18 over the summer, the England Mar 6 Sheffield Wed (a)
available to so many other clubs, that under-19 international should make Mar 10 Sheffield United (h)
would be signicantly overachieving more of a mark in 2017-18.
Mar 17 Bristol City (a)
budget-to-league position-wise. The
biggest fear is the Blues, who were GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 31 Birmingham City (a)
16th last season, ve points off the APR 2 Millwall (h)
bottom three, underachieve to what The derbies with Norwich City are
would be a lesser extent and go down. the obvious highlights. Last seasons Apr 7 Brentford (a)
games both ended 1-1 and Town Apr 10 Barnsley (h)
Frustrated OUR BIGGEST HERO havent claimed local bragging rights
Mick McCarthy Apr 14 Nottm Forest (a)
since a 3-2 win at Portman Road in
Keeper Bartosz Bialkowski carried off April 2009 which all but relegated Apr 21 Aston Villa (h)
in the sports hospitality business and most of the player of the year awards the Canaries to League One. A Blues
has been described as the worlds for the second season running in a victory is well overdue. Apr 28 Reading (a)
biggest ticket tout. series of landslides which would turn MAY 6 Middlesbrough (h)
Theresa May green with envy. Tom GAME TO DREAD
Stadium Portman Road (30,311) Lawrence, who spent the year on
Nickname Tractor Boys loan from Leicester, netted 11 goals For just the same reasons, those
Odds 20/1 to win promotion and was the other standout performer. derbies.
LAST SEASON
Championship 16th // Top scorer Tom Lawrence 11 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round Derby clash
Average attendance 16,980 Norwich
FOOTBALL 2018 91
CHAMPIONSHIP
LEEDS UNITED
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 6 Bolton (a)
Aug 12 Preston (h)
Aug 15 Fulham (h)
Aug 19 Sunderland (a)
Aug 26 Nottm Forest (a)
SEP 9 Burton Albion (h)
Sep 16 Millwall (a)
Sep 23 Ipswich Town (h)
OCT 14 Reading (h)
Oct 21 Bristol City (a)
Oct 28 Sheffield United (h)
Oct 31 Derby County (h)
NOV 4 Brentford (a)
Nov 18 Middlesbrough (h)
Nov 21 Wolves (a)
Nov 25 Barnsley (a)
DEC 2 Aston Villa (h)
Stadium Elland Road (37,890) incredible ability and attitude on and
NEW OWNER, Nickname Whites
off the pitch made them automatic
fan favourites, also our best two
Dec 9 QPR (a)
NEW ERA players by some distance.

Dec 16
Dec 23
Norwich City (h)
Hull City (h)
Its been all change at Elland Road FANS VIEW OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Dec 26 Burton Albion (a)
this summer. Last season, Leeds MARCHING ON TOGETHER
almost made the play-offs under motforum.com Charlie Taylor. A promising young Dec 30 Birmingham City (a)
Garry Monk despite the chaotic player with a great career ahead JAN 1 Nottm Forest (h)
mismanagement of owner LAST SEASON WAS of him but badly advised by his
Massimo Cellini. agent and refused to play in a bid Jan 13 Ipswich Town (a)
Now both men have gone, with A ray of hope, after a decade of to engineer a move away and has Jan 20 Millwall (h)
new owner Andrea Radrizzani dross. Monk got us organised, and joined Burnley.
Jan 27 Hull City (a)
appointing Middlesbroughs former although it wasnt always pretty, it
head of recruitment Victor Orta as was effective for most of the season. BEST SONG LAST SEASON FEB 3 Cardiff City (h)
director of football and ex-APOEL We ran out of steam at the nish due Feb 10 Sheffield United (a)
Nicosia coach Thomas Christiansen to a lack of support in the January Pontus Janssons magic, he wears
as coach. transfer window (thanks, Massimo), a magic hat and when you throw Feb 17 Bristol City (h)
and some rumblings that all was not a brick at him. Hell head the ****** Feb 20 Derby County (a)
well between Monk and the players. back. He heads it to the left, he
heads it to the right, and when Feb 24 Brentford (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE we win the championship well MAR 3 Middlesbrough (a)
sing this song all night.
We have a new owner, a new Mar 6 Wolves (h)
manager, a new management YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Mar 10 Reading (a)
structure, and some new players.
Mar 17 Sheffield Wed (h)
On the plus side we now own Elland Ronaldo Vieira. Big name to live up
Road after 13 years. Time will tell to but he impressed last year with Mar 31 Bolton (h)
whether Christiansen will have the his incredible tackling ability and APR 2 Fulham (a)
right stuff to manage in a tough engine, crucial at times for us last
league, and whether the European season. He also bagged the winning Apr 7 Sunderland (h)
director-of-football model will work. penalty for England under-20s Apr 10 Preston (a)
New boss Buying back the stadium has got the against Ivory Coast in the nal of
Thomas Christiansen Apr 14 Aston Villa (a)
whole fan base buzzing, and we are the Toulon Tournament this summer.
starting to act like a proper football Apr 21 Barnsley (h)
Manager Thomas Christiansen club again. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
agreed a two-year contract in June. Apr 28 Norwich City (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO Boro...but only if we win. MAY 6 QPR (h)
Whos the Daddy? Italian investor
Andrea Radrizzani completed his There were two really, Chris Wood GAME TO DREAD Upended
buyout of former owner Massimo and Pontus Jansson. Everything Gaetano Berardi
Cellini in May. about both players in terms of Millwall away. They dont like us much.
LAST SEASON
Championship 7th // Top scorer Chris Wood 27 // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup Quarter-finals
92 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
MIDDLESBROUGH AUG 5 Wolves (a)
2017-18 FIXTURES
Aug 12 Sheffield United (h)
Aug 15 Burton Albion (h)
Aug 19 Nottm Forest (a)
Aug 26 Preston (h)
SEP 9 Bolton (a)
Sep 16 QPR (h)
Sep 23 Fulham (a)
Sep 26 Norwich City (h)
OCT 14 Barnsley (a)
Oct 21 Cardiff City (h)
Oct 28 Reading (a)
Oct 31 Hull City (a)
NOV 4 Sunderland (h)
Nov 18 Leeds United (a)
Nov 21 Birmingham City (h)
Nov 25 Derby County (h)
DEC 2 Bristol City (a)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON Dec 9 Ipswich Town (h)
PINNING FANS VIEW
ROBERT NICHOLS Attack Attack Attack apparently
Dec 16 Millwall (a)
THEIR HOPES Fly Me To The Moon (30th season)
fmttm.com
infuriated Aitor Karanka and led to
him turning on his own (astonished)
Dec 23 Sheffield Wed (a)
Dec 26 Bolton (h)
ON MONK LAST SEASON WAS
fans. Chants and applause for Ugo
Ehiogu after his untimely death were Dec 30 Aston Villa (h)
Middlesbrough are hoping that very moving indeed. JAN 1 Preston (a)
Garry Monk can lead an immediate A nightmare. After waiting seven
Jan 13 Fulham (h)
return to the Premier League after years to return to the top ight we YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
he was appointed as the long- had a quite disastrous campaign, Jan 20 QPR (a)
term successor to Aitor Karanka. only recording ve wins and scoring We hardly played any youngsters Jan 27 Sheffield Wed (h)
Monk will oversee an overhaul of the a meagre 27 goals. What a let down, under Karanka. We are hoping
Boro squad. Already some senior especially as we were in a strong that England Under-20 World Cup FEB 3 Norwich City (a)
gures have departed: keepers Brad position halfway through but we squad members Dael Fry and Harry Feb 10 Reading (h)
Guzan and Victor Valdes and Stewart threw it all away. Chapman get a chance to shine.
Downing have been released, while Garry Monk has certainly indicated Feb 17 Cardiff City (a)
striker Alvaro Negredo returned to THIS SEASON WILL BE the door is open. Feb 20 Hull City (h)
Spain at the end of his loan spell.
The hope has to be we can bounce GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Feb 24 Sunderland (a)
Manager Former Swansea boss back at the rst attempt. Burnley did MAR 3 Leeds United (h)
Garry Monk joined Boro this summer it, Newcastle did it. The fear is we get Wolves, August 5, the big kick-off.
Mar 6 Birmingham City (a)
after abruptly leaving Leeds. stuck again and as we know to our Am looking forward to seeing rst
cost in the past it gets more and hand the impact new manager Garry Mar 10 Barnsley (h)
more difcult the longer you stay in Monk and new players can have on Mar 17 Brentford (a)
the Championship. We need to take our squad to turn the club around.
advantage of our nancial position After a disastrous season I am Mar 31 Wolves (h)
and new manager Garry Monks excited by the prospect of scoring APR 2 Burton Albion (a)
experience and vision. goals and winning games again.
Apr 7 Nottm Forest (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO GAME TO DREAD Apr 10 Sheffield United (a)
New boss Ben Gibson. He stepped up to Leeds away. Our Yorkshire derby Apr 14 Bristol City (h)
Garry Monk the challenge of the Premier League at a toxic Elland Road where, Apr 21 Derby County (a)
and marched on into Gareth traditionally, Leeds always lift their
Apr 28 Millwall (h)
Whos the Daddy? Steve Gibson has Southgates England squad. game, we have a man sent off, and/or
invested large chunks of his fortune a controversial disallowed goal, and MAY 6 Ipswich Town (a)
in his home-town club since 1994. OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN come away with a sickening defeat.
With former Leeds boss Garry Monk
Stadium Riverside (34,742) Gaston Ramirez. He was absolutely now in charge at Boro I dont expect
Nickname Boro vital to our cause but downed tools and we will see any Yorkshire hospitality.
Odds 11/4 to win promotion played a big part in sending us down. I hope we can defy recent history.
LAST SEASON
Premier League 19th // Top scorer Alvaro Negredo 10 // FA Cup 6th round // League Cup 2nd round Youngster
Average attendance 30,449 Dael Fry
FOOTBALL 2018 93
CHAMPIONSHIP
MILLWALL
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 4 Nottm Forest (a)
Aug 12 Bolton (h)
Aug 15 Ipswich Town (h)
Aug 19 Bristol City (a)
Aug 26 Norwich City (h)
SEP 9 Wolves (a)
Sep 12 QPR (a)
Sep 23 Preston (a)
Sep 26 Reading (h)
Sep 30 Barnsley (h)
OCT 14 Brentford (a)
Oct 21 Birmingham City (h)
Oct 28 Cardiff City (a)
Oct 31 Sheffield Wed (a)
NOV 4 Burton Albion (h)
Nov 18 Sunderland (a)
Nov 21 Hull City (h)
Nov 25 Fulham (a)
DEC 2 Sheffield United (h)
Manager Club record goalscorer From potentially being driven out Dec 9 Aston Villa (a)
RISING ABOVE Neil Harris took over as permanent of The Den by Lewisham Council Dec 16 Middlesbrough (h)
manager in summer 2015 after a last September, to a late winner,
OFF-PITCH number of caretaker spells. promotion and the rst pitch invasion Dec 23 Derby County (a)
at Wembley by May. Remarkable.
PROBLEMS Whos the Daddy? American
Dec 26
Dec 30
Wolves (h)
QPR (h)
banker John Berylson took full THIS SEASON WILL BE
Last season Millwall gained more control of the club in 2011. JAN 1 Norwich City (a)
headlines off the pitch than on it. Hopes: that manager Neil Harris can
Lewisham councils controversial Stadium New Den (20,146) adapt to the tactics needed in the Jan 13 Preston (h)
plans to compulsory purchase land Nickname Lions Championship. Fears: that we are Jan 20 Leeds United (a)
around the New Den prompted the Odds 25/1 to win promotion found to be too predictable in our
Jan 27 Derby County (h)
club to consider moving out of the approach.
borough. Even the Wembley play-off FEB 3 Reading (a)
victory over Bradford City, securing FANS VIEW OUR BIGGEST HERO Feb 10 Cardiff City (h)
promotion back to the second tier NICK HART
after two seasons in League One, Achtung! Millwall podcast Steve Morison. Feb 17 Birmingham City (a)
was marred by a pitch invasion. Feb 20 Sheffield Wed (h)
But in club hero Neil Harris, LAST SEASON WAS OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Millwall have a manager who has Feb 24 Burton Albion (a)
turned matters around on the pitch. An adrenalin-lled roller-coaster ride. Lewisham mayor Steve Bullock. MAR 3 Sunderland (h)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON Mar 6 Hull City (a)
Millwall hero
Neil Harris Mar 10 Brentford (h)
Football wise: I had best not say for
Mar 17 Barnsley (a)
fear of an FA enquiry. Non football:
national hero and Lion of London Mar 31 Nottm Forest (h)
Bridge Roy Larners **** you, Im APR 2 Ipswich Town (a)
Millwall.
Apr 7 Bristol City (h)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Apr 10 Bolton (a)
Mahlon Romeo - destined for the top. Apr 14 Sheffield United (a)
Apr 21 Fulham (h)
Apr 28 Middlesbrough (a)
Leeds United is always amusing. MAY 6 Aston Villa (h)
GAME TO DREAD
None. Millwall fans dont do dread.
LAST SEASON
League One 6th // Top scorer Lee Gregory 18 // FA Cup 6th round // League Cup 2nd round // Average Youngster
attendance 9,340 Mahlon Romeo
94 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
NORWICH CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Fulham (a)
Aug 16 QPR (h)
Aug 19 Aston Villa (a)
Aug 26 Millwall (a)
SEP 9 Birmingham City (h)
Sep 12 Burton Albion (h)
Sep 16 Sheffield United (a)
Sep 30 Reading (a)
OCT 14 Hull City (h)
Oct 21 Ipswich Town (a)
Oct 28 Derby County (h)
Oct 31 Wolves (h)
NOV 4 Bolton (a)
Nov 18 Barnsley (h)
Nov 21 Nottm Forest (a)
Nov 25 Preston (h)
DEC 2 Cardiff City (a)
Whos the Daddy? Delia Smith and OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
FARKE IN her husband Michael Wynn-Jones
are still the clubs major shareholders.
Dec 9 Sheffield Wed (h)
Would have to be Ryan Bennett. Ive
AT CARROW Stadium Carrow Road (27,244)
always tried to back him, but he had
Dec 16
Dec 23
Leeds United (a)
Brentford (h)
some awful performances at centre-
ROAD Nickname Canaries
back. He was released at the end of Dec 26 Birmingham City (a)
last season, to the delight of a great
Its all change at Carrow Road, with number of our fans. Dec 30 Burton Albion (a)
Norwich going down the German JAN 1
route by appointing Daniel Farke, FANS VIEW BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Jan 13
Millwall (h)
Bristol City (a)
the coach of Borussia Dortmunds JACOB SINKINS
reserve team, as the long-term TheCarrowCrowd.com My personal favourite was our song Jan 20 Sheffield United (h)
successor to Alex Neil. for the Murphy twins, who broke into
Jan 27 Brentford (a)
Farke returned to his old team LAST SEASON WAS the rst team. Because they are
to sign central defender Christoph identical twins, you can often hear FEB 3 Middlesbrough (h)
Zimmermann and used his German A disappointment for all, but from the Barclay End chanting: When Feb 10 Derby County (a)
contacts to sign midelder Mario the ashes weve been able to theyre on the pitch, dont know
Vrancic from Darmstadt. Angus restructure the club from top to which ones which, theyre the Feb 17 Ipswich Town (h)
Gunn, son of Bryan, has rejoined bottom, and the future looks bright. Murphy twins! Feb 20 Wolves (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Feb 24 Bolton (h)
MAR 3 Barnsley (a)
I hope that well get promoted this In my opinion, next season will
season, as the Premier League is see James Maddison tear up the Mar 6 Nottm Forest (h)
where Norwich belong, as weve Championship. He impressed when Mar 10 Hull City (a)
shown with our quality in previous sent on loan to Aberdeen.
Mar 17 Reading (h)
seasons. I fear we could fail to get
promotion, and our parachute GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 31 Fulham (h)
payments would shrink further, Apr 2 QPR (a)
making promotion an even Burton away. Having spent four of the
tougher task. last six seasons in the Premier League, APR 7 Aston Villa (h)
being able to travel to a terraced Apr 10 Sunderland (a)
New boss OUR BIGGEST HERO stadium is somewhat of a rarity.
Daniel Farke Apr 14 Cardiff City (h)
Probably midelder Alex Pritchard. GAME TO DREAD Apr 21 Preston (a)
on a loan from Man City, while striker When he nally got his chance to
Marley Watkins joined from Barnsley. play, he excelled and showed the Once again, Im dreading the Apr 28 Leeds United (h)
class that Norwich so desperately prospect playing Ipswich. If we lose, MAY 6 Sheffield Wed (a)
Manager Daniel Farke, who needed during our poor periods. wed never hear the end of it.
succeeded David Wagner as coach His stunning goals and exciting Who knows, they may even add
of Borussia Dortmund ll, agreed a play brought a glimmer of hope another star to their shirt to
two-year contract in May. in a mostly dark season. commemorate the rare occasion.
LAST SEASON
Championship 8th // Top scorer Cameron Jerome 16 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 4th round Hero
Average attendance 26,335 Alex Pritchard
FOOTBALL 2018 95
CHAMPIONSHIP
NOTTM FOREST
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 4 Millwall (h)
Aug 15 Barnsley (a)
Aug 19 Middlesbrough (h)
Aug 26 Leeds United (h)
SEP 9 Sheffield Wed (a)
Sep 12 Sunderland (a)
Sep 16 Wolves (h)
Sep 26 Fulham (h)
OCT 14 Derby County (a)
Oct 21 Burton Albion (h)
Oct 28 Hull City (a)
Oct 31 Reading (a)
NOV 4 QPR (h)
Nov 18 Birmingham City (a)
Nov 21 Norwich City (h)
Nov 25 Cardiff City (h)
DEC 2 Ipswich Town (a)
Stadium City Ground (30,445) mideld and graduates from the
NEW ERA AT Nickname Forest Academy, the one thing Fawaz didnt Dec 9 Bolton (h)
Odds 11/1 to win promotion destroy.
THE CITY Dec 16
Dec 23
Bristol City (a)
Preston (a)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
GROUND FANS VIEW Undoubtedly (previous owner)
Dec 26
Dec 30
Sheffield Wed (h)
Sunderland (h)
Theres a new mood of optimism PAT RIDDELL Fawaz. Unt to run a bath, let alone
at the City Ground following the Seat Pitch a football club. Season after season JAN 1 Leeds United (a)
takeover by Greek businessman seatpitch.co.uk (SeatPitch) he stripped away our structure,
Evangelos Marinakis. Highly rated reputation and dignity. Jan 13 Aston Villa (h)
manager Mark Warburton is LAST SEASON WAS Jan 20 Wolves (a)
expected to have cash to improve BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Jan 27 Preston (h)
the squad, with striker Jason An unmitigated disaster; prevented
Cummings the rst signing of the from being completely catastrophic Capturing the mood, We dont care Feb 3 Fulham (a)
summer, joining from Hibernian. by an emphatic 3-0 win against about Fawaz. He dont care about us. FEB 10 Hull City (h)
Veteran midelder David Vaughan Ipswich Town on the nal day, All we care about is NFFC.
has agreed a new one-year deal. which saved us from relegation. The Feb 17 Burton Albion (a)
repeated errors of previous seasons YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Feb 20 Reading (h)
Manager Mark Warburton signed a all started to catch up with us. Bad
two-and-a-half year contract. decisions, bad money and bad blood. We dont talk about the number 45. Feb 24 QPR (a)
Hes played for the England MAR 3 Birmingham City (h)
Whos the Daddy? Shipping tycoon THIS SEASON WILL BE Under-19 side, hes preciously
Evangelos Marinakis also owns Greek talented and scores goals for fun. Mar 6 Norwich City (a)
club Olympiakos. Our one hope really is to be run Everyone now knows the rst rule of Mar 10 Derby County (h)
professionally and no longer be Ben Brereton Club...
Mar 17 Sheffield United (a)
Boss one of the basket cases of the
Mark Warburton division. Mark Warburton looks a GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 31 Millwall (a)
good t and the bones of a APR 2 Barnsley (h)
decent squad already exist. Our Millwall at home on the opening day
only fear is that this is Forest of the season. It might not be the Apr 7 Middlesbrough (a)
and nothing is ever as easy best game on paper it certainly Apr 10 Brentford (h)
as it should be. wont be the best game on grass
but it represents so much in terms Apr 14 Ipswich Town (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO of a new beginning, a new era. Apr 21 Cardiff City (a)
It would have been Oliver Burke GAME TO DREAD Apr 28 Bristol City (h)
but he was ogged to RB Leipzig MAY 6 Bolton (a)
before you could say 13m After last season, theres nothing
cash deal, no sell-on fee. After really to dread. Derby games are
that it was a combination of the always the most hyped, and usually
metronomic David Vaughan in the most disappointing.
LAST SEASON
Championship 21st // Top scorer Britt Assombalonga 14 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 3rd round Derby
Average attendance 20,332 local rivalry
96 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
PRESTON
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Sheffield Wed (h)
Aug 12 Leeds United (a)
Aug 15 Derby County (a)
Aug 19 Reading (h)
SEP 9 Barnsley (h)
Sep 12 Cardiff City (h)
Sep 16 Birmingham City (a)
Sep 23 Millwall (h)
OCT 14 Fulham (a)
Oct 21 Wolves (a)
Oct 28 Brentford (h)
Oct 31 Aston Villa (h)
NOV 4 Ipswich Town (a)
Nov 18 Bolton (h)
Nov 21 Bristol City (a)
Nov 25 Norwich City (a)
DEC 2 QPR (h)
Stadium Deepdale (23,404) OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
LEFT IN LIMBO Nickname Lilywhites
Dec 9 Burton Albion (a)
Jermaine Beckford: after being a
BY GRAYSON hero on loan to get us promoted, his
Dec 16
Dec 23
Sheffield United (h)
Nottm Forest (h)
two seasons after signing have been
WALK-OUT FANS VIEW blighted by injury. When he was t he Dec 26 Barnsley (a)
GAVIN WILLACY got sent off for ghting a team-mate
PNE were left in limbo when Simon and again for a stupid foul three Dec 30 Cardiff City (a)
Grayson, one of the longest-serving LAST SEASON WAS minutes into his rst game back! JAN 1 Middlesbrough (h)
managers in the Championship, left
to join Sunderland on the rst day of Another pleasant surprise. If we BEST SONG LAST SEASON Jan 13 Millwall (a)
pre-season. The club moved quickly knew in pre-season that we would Jan 20 Birmingham City (h)
to appoint Alex Neil as Graysons be without both our star strikers (Joe Ooh Aiden McGeady to Seven
Jan 27 Nottm Forest (a)
successor. Garner sold to Rangers, Jermaine Nation Army got a lot of airtime, as
Exciting young attacker Josh Beckford injured/suspended/unused), did 50 Grand, 50 Grand, Daniel FEB 3 Hull City (h)
Harrop, who scored on his club captain (John Welsh, out since Johnson when he was looking Feb 10 Brentford (a)
Manchester United debut on the October) and main summer signing sublime in the rst half of the season.
nal day of last season, has joined (Ben Pringle, injured or not selected) Feb 17 Wolves (h)
on a four-year contract. almost all season, wed have YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Feb 20 Aston Villa (a)
expected to be ghting relegation,
Manager Former Norwich boss Alex not having another top half nish. Following the success of League of Feb 24 Ipswich Town (h)
Neil agreed a one-year rolling deal. Ireland imports Daryl Horgan and MAR 3 Bolton (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Andy Boyle, the Dundalk duo who
have both adjusted well, PNE fans Mar 6 Bristol City (h)
Hoping we continue to punch above are hoping the latest arrival - prolic Mar 10 Fulham (h)
our weight under a new manager, Cork City striker Sean Maguire - will
Mar 17 Sunderland (a)
Simon Grayson having gone to have the same impact.
Sunderland on the rst day of Mar 31 Sheffield Wed (a)
pre-season; fearing that well be in GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO APR 2 Derby County (h)
the relegation battle that our budget
suggests we always should. Not excited by the Championship Apr 7 Reading (a)
newcomers, although Bolton away Apr 10 Leeds United (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO could be lively. Fulham is a great trip
and we are due a win there. Apr 14 QPR (a)
VillainJermaine
Defender Tom Clarke was Apr 21 Norwich City (h)
Beckford (right)
consistency personied and won GAME TO DREAD
Players Player of the Year, on-loan Apr 28 Sheffield United (a)
Whos the Daddy? Chairman Peter Aiden McGeady added moments of Our record at Shefeld United is MAY 6 Burton Albion (h)
Ridsdale, previously with Leeds, magic from January, but it has to be absolutely diabolical we went 20
Barnsley and Cardiff City, runs the manager Simon Grayson for working visits there without victory, although
club on behalf of owner Trevor miracles in a tough division of very we have won on two of the last three
Hemmings. wealthy opponents. trips. I wont expect much!
LAST SEASON
Championship 11th // Top scorer Jordan Hugill 12 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 4th round Song
Average attendance 12,614 Aiden McGeady
FOOTBALL 2018 97
CHAMPIONSHIP
QPR
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Reading (h)
Aug 12 Sheffield Wed (a)
Aug 16 Norwich City (a)
Aug 19 Hull City (h)
SEP 9 Ipswich Town (h)
Sep 12 Millwall (h)
Sep 23 Burton Albion (h)
Sep 26 Barnsley (a)
Sep 30 Fulham (h)
OCT 14 Sunderland (a)
Oct 21 Bolton (a)
Oct 28 Wolves (h)
Oct 31 Sheffield United (h)
NOV 4 Nottm Forest (a)
Nov 18 Aston Villa (h)
Nov 21 Derby County (a)
Nov 25 Brentford (h)
DEC 2 Preston (a)
Stadium Loftus Road (18,489) card waiting to happen, and would
HOLLOWAY Nickname Rangers
be a far better player and more of
an asset to the team if he could cut
Dec 9 Leeds United (h)
FACING out the nastier side to his game and

improve his disciplinary record.
Dec 16
Dec 23
Birmingham City (a)
Bristol City (h)
TOUGH TASK FANS VIEW BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Dec 26 Ipswich Town (a)
DAVE THOMAS
Ian Holloway has brought some A Kick Up the Rs Dec 30 Millwall (a)
much-needed stability at Rangers www.akutrs.co.uk The response to a disorganised JAN 1 Cardiff City (h)
after some tumultuous seasons performance by the surrealistic
shuttling between the Championship LAST SEASON WAS juxtaposition of the managers name Jan 13 Burton Albion (a)
and the top ight. The club is trying with degenerate gurative expression. Jan 20 Middlesbrough (h)
to bring through more youngsters Rangers started the season with a Ollie, Ollie, sordid art...
Jan 27 Bristol City (a)
while balancing the books in a tightly bang and nished it with a whimper.
contested division. A 3-0 demolition of Leeds at home YOUNGSTER TO WATCH FEB 3 Barnsley (h)
Striker Jamie Mackie has on the opening day promised a Feb 10 Wolves (a)
signed on for another year while successful season ahead; a 4-0 Josh Bowler made his debut as a late
midelder Karl Henry left the club. stufng at Norwich on the nal day substitute on the nal day of last Feb 17 Bolton (h)
Midelder Michael Doughty joined completed a nine-month downhill season and immediately showed why Feb 20 Sheffield United (a)
Peterborough and Ben Gladwin slide thereafter. he is so highly regarded at QPR -
moved to Blackburn Rovers. and why Everton were reportedly Feb 24 Nottm Forest (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE interested in him already. MAR 3 Aston Villa (a)
Manager Ian Holloway rejoined the
club in November 2016, signing a The simple hope is that Ian Holloway GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 6 Derby County (h)
two-and-a-half-year deal. can start getting the best out of a Mar 10 Sunderland (h)
decent enough squad for this level, Any games that dont get moved to
Mar 17 Fulham (a)
while also instilling a greater degree suit television will do for starters. The
of collective condence and some cost and inconvenience to fans when Mar 31 Reading (a)
desperately needed leadership on this happens is far greater than is APR 2 Norwich City (h)
the pitch. The fear is he wont. ever acknowledged. Specic games?
One day QPR will win at Nottingham Apr 7 Hull City (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO Forest but probably not in my Apr 10 Sheffield Wed (h)
lifetime.
Alex Smithies collected all the Player Apr 14 Preston (h)
of the Year awards, and was the only GAME TO DREAD Apr 21 Brentford (a)
viable contender, truth be told, with
Stability a series of consistent performances Nottingham Forest away. Its the hope Apr 28 Birmingham City (h)
Ian Holloway and a happy knack of saving penalties. that slowly kills you. Its our own MAY 6 Leeds United (a)
version of Groundhog Day, except
Whos the Daddy? Malaysian OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN that nothing ever changes. Its 32
businessman Tony Fernandes bought visits and counting, and weve never
out Bernie Ecclestone in 2011. Full-back James Perch is always a red won there.
LAST SEASON
Championship 18th // Top scorer Idrissa Sylla 10 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 3rd round Hero
Average attendance 14,615 Alex Smithies
98 FOOTBALL 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP
READING
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 QPR (a)
Aug 12 Fulham (h)
Aug 19 Preston (a)
Aug 26 Birmingham City (a)
SEP 9 Bristol City (h)
Sep 12 Barnsley (h)
Sep 16 Brentford (a)
Sep 23 Hull City (h)
Sep 26 Millwall (a)
OCT 14 Leeds United (a)
Oct 21 Sheffield United (a)
Oct 28 Middlesbrough (h)
Oct 31 Nottm Forest (h)
NOV 4 Derby County (a)
Nov 18 Wolves (h)
Nov 21 Bolton (a)
Nov 25 Sheffield Wed (h)
DEC 2 Sunderland (a)
ended in ultimate heartbreak at football team. He had no money
WILL STAM Wembley. so he had to sign them for free. Dec 9 Cardiff City (h)
McShane at the back, Rakels in
STAY? THIS SEASON WILL BE attack, Were Reading FC, were
Dec 16
Dec 23
Ipswich Town (a)
Burton Albion (h)
on our way back.
After the heartache of losing the The hope is we use Wembley as Dec 26 Bristol City (a)
Wembley play-off on penalties motivation to kick on. The fear is that YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
to Hudderseld, Reading face the tight games that went for us last Dec 30 Barnsley (a)
the task of picking themselves up season will ip the other way. Forward Yakou Meite showed ashes JAN 1 Birmingham City (h)
and launching another promotion of raw ability in his rst year over
challenge. Jaap Stam, who oversaw OUR BIGGEST HERO from France and has gone back on Jan 13 Hull City (a)
last seasons top-six place, insists he loan. If he can rene those skills he Jan 20 Brentford (h)
will be staying at the club. Im still Probably Jaap Stam himself, for could be a real handful.
Jan 27 Burton Albion (a)
happy to be here, to work here, to somehow turning a side around from
live in the area. I still have a contract bottom half strugglers to play-off GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO FEB 3 Millwall (h)
at Reading, theres nothing thats nalists. Feb 10 Middlesbrough (a)
going to take me away from the club. Fulham away is always a great day
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN out, especially now with the added Feb 17 Sheffield United (h)
Manager Former Holland defender niggle from the play-offs last season. Feb 20 Nottm Forest (a)
Jaap Stam was the surprise choice as The Wembley penalty spot.
Royals boss in summer 2016 when GAME TO DREAD Feb 24 Derby County (h)
he signed a two-year contract. BEST SONG LAST SEASON MAR 3 Wolves (a)
Sunderland away. A long trip and we
Whos the Daddy? Chinese Jaap Stam had a dream, to build a dont have a great record there. Mar 6 Bolton (h)
businessman Dai Yongge recently Mar 10 Leeds United (h)
bought a 75 per cent stake in the Penalty agony Mar 17 Norwich City (a)
club, having previously tried to buy losing at Wembley
Hull City. Former owner John Mar 31 QPR (h)
Madesjski remains chairman. APR 2 Aston Villa (a)
Stadium Madesjski (24,161) Apr 7 Preston (h)
Nickname Royals Apr 10 Fulham (a)
Odds 11/2 to win promotion.
Apr 14 Sunderland (h)
Apr 21 Sheffield Wed (a)
FANS VIEW Apr 28 Ipswich Town (h)
DAN WIMBUSH
From the Tilehurst End MAY 6 Cardiff City (a)
LAST SEASON WAS
A very unexpected journey that
LAST SEASON
Championship 3rd // Top scorer Yann Kermorgant 19 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 4th round // Hero
Average attendance 17,504 Jaap Stam
FOOTBALL 2018 99
CHAMPIONSHIP
SHEFFIELD UNITED
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Brentford (h)
Aug 19 Barnsley (h)
Aug 26 Derby County (h)
SEP 9 Sunderland (a)
Sep 12 Bolton (a)
Sep 26 Wolves (h)
OCT 14 Ipswich Town (h)
Oct 21 Reading (h)
Oct 28 Leeds United (a)
Oct 31 QPR (a)
NOV 4 Hull City (h)
Nov 18 Burton Albion (a)
Nov 21 Fulham (h)
Nov 25 Birmingham City (h)
DEC 2 Millwall (a)
Stadium Bramall Lane (32,702) been outplayed at Bramall Lane or
WILDER Nickname Blades
congratulate us on promotion. Dec 9 Bristol City (h)
BRINGS BEST SONG LAST SEASON

Dec 16
Dec 23
Preston (a)
Aston Villa (a)
THE GOOD There were a few new chants but
FANS VIEW Jack OConnells Magic Hat led to an
Dec 26 Sunderland (h)
TIMES BACK IAN RANDS away end of magic hats at MK and Dec 30 Bolton (h)
unitedview.com the man himself heading a foam JAN 1 Derby County (a)
The good times are back at Bramall brick thrown at him by Billy Sharp.
Lane after Chris Wilder conrmed LAST SEASON WAS Jan 13 Sheffield Wed (h)
his growing reputation by steering YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Jan 20 Norwich City (a)
the Blades to promotion to the After an early wobble Chris Wilder
Jan 27 Aston Villa (h)
Championship after six seasons brought good times back to Bramall It looks as though we have cancelled
in League One. Lane. 100 points, 92 goals and the potential loan of David Brooks to FEB 3 Wolves (a)
Early summer signings included six years of frustration brought Chestereld, purportedly to include Feb 10 Leeds United (h)
defender George Baldock from MK to an end. him in pre-season with the rst
Dons, left-back Enda Stevens from team, but the player of the Toulon Feb 17 Reading (a)
Portsmouth and midelder Nathan THIS SEASON WILL BE tournament may end up in the Feb 20 QPR (h)
Thomas from Hartlepool. Premier League before the season
Hoping that we carry the unity, begins. Feb 24 Hull City (a)
Success team spirit and momentum into the MAR 3 Burton Albion (h)
Chris Wilderi new season and secure mid-table GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
security. Fearing defeats to our rivals Mar 6 Fulham (a)
across the city and the ensuing stick There are many tasty xtures in a Mar 10 Ipswich Town (a)
that follows, but secretly thinking we Championship packed with decent
Mar 17 Nottm Forest (h)
might surprise them. draws. The return of the Shefeld
derby will have many fans licking Mar 31 Brentford (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO their lips, and with a feeling around APR 2 Cardiff City (h)
the club very similar to that of the
It has to be Chris Wilder. Fan, ball hugely successful Dave Bassett era Apr 7 Barnsley (a)
Manager Former United defender boy, player, manager and the man you can believe the team will enter Apr 10 Middlesbrough (h)
and Halifax Town, Oxford United and who moulded a team in his image. each clash with a great deal of ght
Northampton Town boss Chris Wilder Closely followed by a captain in Billy and passion. Apr 14 Millwall (h)
was appointed in May 2016 on a Sharp who is following a similar path. Apr 21 Birmingham City (a)
three-year contract. GAME TO DREAD
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Apr 28 Preston (h)
Whos the Daddy? Property The Shefeld derby will have many MAY 6 Bristol City (a)
developer Kevin McCabe owns 50 Ken Anderson, Bolton chairman and fans stressed with nerves. A game is
per cent of the club, along with Saudi one of the most ungracious men in as much about not losing as winning.
investor Prince Abdullah, who bought football. Could not bring himself to Months of bragging rights between
a 50 per cent stake in 2013. recognise how much his team had xtures rest on them.
LAST SEASON
League One Champions // Top scorer Billy Sharp 30 // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 1st round // Champions
Average attendance 21,892 ...in April
100 FOOTBALL 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP
SHEFFIELD WED
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Preston (a)
Aug 12 QPR (h)
Aug 19 Fulham (a)
Aug 26 Burton Albion (a)
SEP 9 Nottm Forest (h)
Sep 26 Birmingham City (a)
OCT 14 Bolton (a)
Oct 21 Derby County (a)
Oct 28 Barnsley (h)
Oct 31 Millwall (h)
NOV 4 Aston Villa (a)
Nov 18 Bristol City (h)
Nov 21 Ipswich Town (a)
Nov 25 Reading (a)
DEC 2 Hull City (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE white stripes and black shorts. I
HEADING IN believe that that will not be Dec 9 Norwich City (a)
We have to hope that we can hold happening again this season.
THE RIGHT on to key players who are deservedly
Dec 16
Dec 23
Wolves (h)
Middlesbrough (h)
the subject of transfer interest, or BEST SONG LAST SEASON
DIRECTION adequately replace them. It would Dec 26 Nottm Forest (a)
also be nice to see a more effective Were on our way. It feels like we
Defeat on penalties to Hudderseld way of controlling the games where are. We proved last season that the Dec 30 Brentford (a)
in the semi-nals was a second the opposition are keeping men season before was no uke. JAN 1 Burton Albion (h)
successive season that the Owls behind the ball. Ultimately the hope
have failed in the play-offs. But the is that were part of the promotion YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Jan 13 Sheffield United (a)
club is moving in the right direction race again in our 150th anniversary Jan 20 Cardiff City (h)
under former Sporting Lisbon boss year. George Hirst. He is the son of club
Jan 27 Middlesbrough (a)
Carlos Carvalhal. legend and former England striker
David. A regular scorer for the Owls FEB 3 Birmingham City (h)
Manager Portuguese boss Carlos under-18s and under-23s, goals for Feb 10 Barnsley (a)
Carvalhal took charge in 2015 and England in the Toulon Tournament
recently extended his Owls contract. took Hirst to the total of 40 for the Feb 17 Derby County (h)
season. Theres already talk of Premier Feb 20 Millwall (a)
Whos the Daddy? Thai League clubs showing interest in the
businessman Dejphon Chansiri 18-year-old. Feb 24 Aston Villa (h)
bought the club in 2015. Progress MAR 4 Bristol City (a)
Carlos Carvalhal GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Stadium Hillsborough (39,732) Mar 6 Ipswich Town (h)
Nickname Owls The Shefeld derby. As much as we Mar 10 Bolton (h)
Odds 4/1 to win promotion OUR BIGGEST HERO love to hate them, Uniteds promotion
Mar 17 Leeds United (a)
is a good thing for the city and with
The heroes of last season were both clubs having been Premier Mar 31 Preston (h)
owner Dejphon Chansiri and head League clubs during its inaugural
FANS VIEW coach Carlos Carvalhal for rescuing season it would be wonderful to have
APR 2
Apr 7
Sunderland (a)
Fulham (h)
RICHARD BROOK the season almost before it began. this xture being played in the top
The way they handled the transfer tier again very soon. Apr 10 QPR (a)
LAST SEASON WAS speculation surrounding Fernando
Forestieri last August protected the GAME TO DREAD Apr 14 Hull City (a)
Has to be seen as progress by morale of the entire squad. Apr 21 Reading (h)
Wednesday fans, in retrospect. Theres no reason for Wednesday
At the time struggling to claw our OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN to dread any xture. We have fought Apr 28 Wolves (a)
way into sixth spot in the midst of it out at the top end of the MAY 6 Norwich City (h)
a late wobble didnt feel like it, The home kit. No disrespect to Championship for the last two
but we actually nished with a Ipswich Town but I like our own seasons and last season did the
bigger points tally than the identity. A Shefeld Wednesday kit, double over Newcastle United. A
season before. for a lot of fans, is equal blue and little more consistency is the key.
LAST SEASON
Championship 4th // Top scorer Sam Winnall 14 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round Unloved
Average attendance 27,129 too blue kit
FOOTBALL 2018 101

CHAMPIONSHIP
SUNDERLAND
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 4 Derby County (h)
Aug 12 Norwich City (a)
Aug 15 Sheffield Wed (a)
Aug 19 Leeds United (h)
Aug 26 Barnsley (a)
SEP 9 Sheffield United (h)
Sep 12 Nottm Forest (h)
Sep 23 Cardiff City (h)
Sep 30 Preston (a)
OCT 14 QPR (h)
Oct 21 Brentford (a)
Oct 28 Bristol City (h)
Oct 31 Bolton (h)
NOV 4 Middlesbrough (a)
Nov 18 Millwall (h)
Nov 21 Aston Villa (a)
Nov 25 Burton Albion (a)
DEC 2 Reading (h)
Nickname Black Cats OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
STATE OF FLUX Odds 11/2 to win promotion Dec 9 Wolves (a)
All the players who didnt work for Dec 16 Fulham (h)
Sunderland were a club in a state of the team, so theres a few. If I had
ux this summer. While owner Ellis FANS VIEW to choose one it would be Adnan Dec 23 Birmingham City (h)
Short negotiated the sale of the club PATRICK HOLLIS Januzaj. I was very optimistic when Dec 26 Sheffield United (a)
with various interested parties, Simon A Love Supreme we secured his services, however I
Grayson was eventually announced a-love-supreme.com cant think of a lazier player. David Dec 30 Nottm Forest (a)
as David Moyes replacement. Moyes would keep him in the side JAN 1 Barnsley (h)
As expected, a number of players LAST SEASON WAS week in week out, but in all honesty
left following relegation from the he was a poor, lethargic player who Jan 13 Cardiff City (a)
Premier League. Keeper Jordan I think to say we were poor was the robbed the club blind. Jan 20 Hull City (h)
Pickford was sold to Everton for understatement of the century. Our
Jan 27 Birmingham City (a)
25m in a deal that could rise to squad was weak and we had too BEST SONG LAST SEASON
30m, while veterans John OShea many players who either werent FEB 3 Ipswich Town (h)
and Seb Larsson were released. good enough or didnt care. Unfortunately, probably our best song Feb 10 Bristol City (a)
was about Januzaj. This was of course
Manager Former Preston boss Simon THIS SEASON WILL BE made soon after he signed and it was Feb 17 Brentford (h)
Grayson signed a three-year contract. scarcely heard after Christmas. It came Feb 20 Bolton (a)
My only real fear is that we continue from Stone Roses Made of Stone
to struggle in the Championship. and was wasted on a poor player. Feb 24 Middlesbrough (h)
Things have been going very slowly MAR 3 Millwall (a)
at the club over the summer and we YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
took our time in appointing Grayson. Mar 6 Aston Villa (h)
However, I hope we can still hit the A young striker Joel Asoro looks to be Mar 10 QPR (a)
ground running and give performances an exciting prospect.
Mar 17 Preston (h)
which fans can be proud of.
GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Mar 31 Derby County (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO APR 2 Sheffield Wed (h)
The away games to the Shefeld
This is a 50/50 split. Jordan Pickford clubs and Leeds are sure to be Apr 7 Leeds United (a)
had an amazing season and he really stand out games and the atmosphere Apr 10 Norwich City (h)
earned his move to Everton. He was should be fantastic. And the
passionate and stepped up in a Birmingham home game as its Apr 14 Reading (a)
New boss season of very few highlights. My just two days before Christmas. Apr 21 Burton Albion (h)
Simon Graysoni other hero from last year was
Jermain Defoe. To notch up 15 goals GAME TO DREAD Apr 28 Fulham (a)
Whos the Daddy? American for a side that rarely moved out of MAY 6 Wolves (h)
nancier Ellis Short has been looking the relegation zone all season is Burton Albion, especially away.
to sell the club for some time. incredible. He sealed his place as a Theyre a tough little unit and we
Sunderland legend and he deserves have a history of struggling against
Stadium Stadium of Light (49,000) to remain in the Premier League. teams who are strong defensively.
LAST SEASON
Premier League 20th // Top scorer Jermain Defoe 15 // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 4th round Prospecti
Average attendance 41,286 Joel Asoroi
102 FOOTBALL 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP
WOLVES
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Middlesbrough (h)
Aug 12 Derby County (a)
Aug 19 Cardiff City (h)
SEP 9 Millwall (h)
Sep 23 Barnsley (h)
Sep 26 Sheffield United (a)
OCT 14 Aston Villa (h)
Oct 21 Preston (h)
Oct 28 QPR (a)
Oct 31 Norwich City (a)
NOV 4 Fulham (h)
Nov 18 Reading (a)
Nov 21 Leeds United (h)
Nov 25 Bolton (h)
DEC 2 Birmingham City (a)
what was ultimately a disappointing OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
INTO THE campaign. Dec 9 Sunderland (h)
Although its probably not a popular
UNKNOWN THIS SEASON WILL BE answer, Im going to say Fosun.
Dec 16
Dec 23
Sheffield Wed (a)
Ipswich Town (h)
Although they stumped up some
WITH NUNO The hope is we see some genuine money and showed good intentions, Dec 26 Millwall (a)
progress under our ambitious owners their decision-making from start to
Interesting times at Molineux, where and that continued investment gets nish was highly questionable. They Dec 30 Bristol City (a)
Chinese owners Fosun have brought us in the promotion shake-up. The created instability and that was a JAN 1 Brentford (h)
in Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito fear is more of what we saw last breeding ground for our inconsistent
Santo, whose time at Valencia was season: wasted money, instability season on the pitch. Jan 13 Barnsley (a)
short-lived amid criticism of his close and a bottom-half nish. Jan 20 Nottm Forest (h)
links to super-agent Jorge Mendes. BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Jan 27 Ipswich Town (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO
Manager Former Valencia and Porto I quite like (to the tune of Achy FEB 3 Sheffield United (h)
coach Nuno Espirito Santo agreed a Helder Costa, who was easily the Breaky Heart) Weve got Edwards, Feb 10 QPR (h)
three-year contract in May. pick of our numerous signings. Had Super Dave Edwards, I just dont
it not been for his goals and assists think youd understand. Hes Paul Feb 17 Preston (a)
Whos the Daddy? Jeff Shi I dread to think what might have Lamberts man. Hes better than Feb 20 Norwich City (h)
runs the club on behalf of Chinese happened. Id be surprised if he was Zidane. Weve got super Dave
investment company Fosun still a Wolves player come August Edwards. Classic terrace humour. Feb 24 Fulham (a)
International, who bought the and if he does go, theres one hell MAR 3 Reading (h)
club in summer 2016. of a gap to ll. YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Mar 6 Leeds United (a)
Stadium Molineux (31,700) Loads. Weve got a great academy Mar 10 Aston Villa (a)
Nickname Wolves and havent been afraid to push
Mar 17 Burton Albion (h)
Odds 11/2 to win promotion kids through into the rst team.
Im looking forward to seeing if Mar 31 Middlesbrough (a)
striker Niall Ennis can break through.
FANS VIEW APR 2
Apr 7
Hull City (h)
Cardiff City (a)
THOMAS BAUGH GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
wolvesblog.com Apr 10 Derby County (h)
The local derbies against Birmingham
LAST SEASON WAS and Villa are always important games. Apr 14 Birmingham City (h)
Im expecting all three teams to step Apr 21 Bolton (a)
Not very good. We had new owners up next season so how those matches
(Fosun) and signicant investment in pan out will be very interesting. Apr 28 Sheffield Wed (h)
the team but another mid-table nish MAY 6 Sunderland (a)
and an occasional irtation with the GAME TO DREAD
bottom three. Some decent results
New boss
in the cup, most notably victory over Nuno Middlesbrough away. We never get
Liverpool at Aneld, couldnt mask anything from the Riverside.
LAST SEASON
Championship 15th // Top scorer Helder Costa 12 // FA Cup 5th round // League Cup 3rd round Breakthrough I
Average attendance 21,570 Niall Ennis i
FOOTBALL 2018 103

LEAGUE ONE
AFC WIMBLEDON
2017-18 FIXTURES
and you messed it up AUG 5 Scunthorpe (a) Dec 26 Portsmouth (a)
FANS VIEW summed it up. Except we
Aug 12 Shrewsbury (h) Dec 30 Gillingham (a)
CHARLIE TALBOT didnt sing messed.
Aug 19 Fleetwood (a) JAN 1 Southend Utd (h)
LAST SEASON WAS YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Aug 26 Doncaster (h) Jan 6 Blackburn (h)
An incredible achievement Hopefully Ale Egan nally SEP 2 Blackpool (a) Jan 13 MK Dons (a)
on paper to stay up so easily, gets a run of games to show
Sep 9 Portsmouth (h) Jan 20 Blackpool (h)
oddly dull to watch in reality what he can do. And this
with a second-half slump to Celebration could be the year Will Sep 12 Gillingham (h) Jan 27 Bradford City (a)
make fans nervous about this beating MK Nightingale stays t enough
Sep 16 Blackburn (a) FEB 3 Rotherham (a)
campaign. to stake a claim as a regular
centre-back. Sep 23 MK Dons (h) Feb 10 Northampton (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE supplied by Lyle Taylor sealing
Sep 26 Southend (a) Feb 13 Plymouth (a)
the home win over the GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
The fear is we continue our franchise. Sep 30 Rochdale (h) Feb 17 Bristol Rovers (h)
2017 form and nd points The 44 league games against
OCT 7 Oxford Utd (a) Feb 24 Peterborough (a)
very hard to come by. The OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN proper football clubs are all
hope is Neal Ardley rebuilds equally eagerly anticipated, Oct 14 Northampton (a) MAR 3 Charlton (h)
a new squad to keep us in Karl Robinson. More revisionist but we are most excited about
Oct 17 Rotherham (h) Mar 10 Oxford Utd (h)
league one. nonsense and pot-stirring counting down the days to
dissembling from a man who our return to Plough Lane, Oct 21 Plymouth (h) Mar 17 Rochdale (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO should learn to keep his hopefully for the start of
Oct 28 Charlton (a) Mar 24 Shrewsbury (a)
mouth shut. next season.
Overall, Tom Elliott. His goals Nov 11 Peterborough (h) Mar 31 Fleetwood (h)
and hold-up play will be BEST SONG LAST SEASON GAME TO DREAD
Nov 18 Bristol Rovers (a) APR 2 Doncaster (a)
sorely missed. But the iconic
moment of the season was Seeing MK in the esh was We have another two games Nov 21 Oldham (a) Apr 7 Scunthorpe (h)
much more cathartic than I scheduled against a team that
Nov 25 Walsall (h) Apr 14 Walsall (a)
expected: You stole a club shouldnt exist.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Bury (a) Apr 21 Oldham (h)
Dec 16 Wigan (h) Apr 28 Wigan (a)
League One 15th // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Bradford City (h) MAY 5 Bury (h)
LEAGUE ONE
BLACKBURN ROVERS
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Southend (a) Dec 26 Rochdale (h)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Doncaster (h) Dec 30 Scunthorpe (h)
SIMON SMITH Mahoney, Mahoney,
Aug 19 Bradford (a) JAN 1 Rotherham Utd (a)
Lancashire Telegraph Mahoneeeeeey, a version of
Polices So Lonely in tribute Aug 26 MK Dons (h) Jan 6 AFC Wimbledon (a)
LAST SEASON WAS to Connor, our now departed
SEP 2 Fleetwood (h) Jan 13 Shrewsbury (h)
wing-wizard.
Miserable, gloomy and even Sep 9 Rochdale (a) Jan 20 Fleetwood (a)
when it nally rained soup YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Sep 12 Scunthorpe (a) Jan 27 Northampton (h)
we all had forks.
Willem Tomlinson looks good Sep16 AFC Wimbledon (h) FEB 3 Plymouth (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE but may struggle for a place
Sep 23 Shrewsbury (a) Feb 10 Oldham (h)
with new signings. Free-
Hoping that we have enough scoring Lewis Mansell may Sep 26 Rotherham (h) Feb 13 Portsmouth (a)
to get straight back up and get his chance this season.
Sep 30 Gillingham (h) Feb 17 Bury (h)
emerge stronger than before.
Fearing that we sink into the GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO OCT 7 Blackpool (a) Feb 24 Walsall (a)
doldrums and lose all key Youngster
Willem Tomlinson Oct 14 Oldham (a) MAR 3 Wigan (h)
players. Blackpool away. It may be
October but Gary Bowyer Oct 17 Plymouth (h) Mar 10 Blackpool (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN will get a warm reception
Oct 21 Portsmouth (h) Mar 17 Gillingham (a)
from us lot.
Charlie Mulgrew. Scored Too easy to say the Oct 28 Wigan (a) Mar 24 Doncaster (a)
winners in both games teetotaller who drove us all GAME TO DREAD
NOV 11 Walsall (h) Mar 31 Bradford (h)
against the champions to drink Owen Columba
Newcastle and was a Coyle so Shane Duffy: Oxford in late November. A Nov 18 Bury (a) APR 2 MK Dons (a)
rock when all we had scored four against us in his midweek xture at a ground
Nov 21 Oxford Utd (a) Apr 7 Southend Utd (h)
was rubble. four league games (three that two young lads got rinsed
while a Rovers player) of their wallets and trainers at Nov 25 Bristol Rovers (h) Apr 14 Bristol Rovers (a)
LAST SEASON costing us vital points. a cup match two seasons ago.
Dec 9 Peterborough (a) Apr 21 Peterborough (h)
Dec 16 Charlton (h) Apr 28 Charlton (a)
Championship 22nd // FA Cup 5th round // League Cup 3rd round
Dec 23 Northampton (a) MAY 5 Oxford Utd (h)
104 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE ONE
BLACKPOOL
2017-18 FIXTURES
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN AUG 5 Bradford (a) Dec 26 Scunthorpe (h)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 MK Dons (h) Dec 30 Plymouth (h)
PETER GILLATT We have 30million for a
Blackpool FC on This Day rainy day, so nishing 7th in Aug 19 Doncaster (a) JAN 1 Rochdale (a)
League Two is underachieving.
Aug 26 Oldham (h) Jan 6 Oxford Utd (a)
LAST SEASON WAS Not a criticism of the manager
and players but of the owners. SEP 2 AFC Wimbledon (h) Jan 13 Bristol Rovers (h)
Manager Gary Bowyer arrived
Sep 9 Scunthorpe (a) Jan 20 AFC Wimbledon (a)
at a club which looked as BEST SONG LAST SEASON
if its life support had been Wembley success Sep 12 Plymouth (a) Jan 27 Charlton (h)
switched off, with around half Gary Bowyer There really wasnt any home
Sep 16 Oxford Utd (h) FEB 3 Bury (a)
a dozen players who were support last season but the
demoralised and dejected. mantra was support the Sep 23 Bristol Rovers (a) Feb 10 Walsall (h)
Playing to empty home gates Court in what could prove to team, not the regime.
Sep 26 Rochdale (h) Feb 13 Wigan (a)
and in testing circumstances, be one of British footballs
he turned things around and most expensive legal actions. YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 30 Southend Utd (a) Feb 17 Peterborough (h)
fully deserved our respect.
OCT 7 Blackburn (h) Feb 24 Portsmouth (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO Bright Osayi-Samuel has been
THIS SEASON WILL BE linked with loads of clubs. Oct 14 Walsall (a) MAR 3 Northampton (h)
Although 5,800 were at the
Oct 17 Bury (h) Mar 10 Blackburn (a)
Clearly the events at the play-off nal at Wembley, GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
courtroom are keeping us there were a further 5,000 Oct 21 Wigan (h) Mar 17 Southend Utd (h)
all occupied and quite rightly or more fans out there, who Neighbours Fleetwood Town.
Oct 28 Northampton (a) Mar 24 MK Dons (a)
because that will affect where are suffering from our It is a good gauge of how far
the club goes next. A bitter NAPM (Not A Penny More) weve fallen but also how far NOV 11 Portsmouth (h) Mar 31 Doncaster (h)
battle between Blackpool FCs campaign. Each and every we will have recovered.
NOV 18 Peterborough (a) APR 2 Oldham (a)
owners and its president is one can be very proud
being fought out at the High indeed of our shared ultimate GAME TO DREAD Nov 21 Gillingham (h) Apr 7 Bradford (h)
sacrice and standing up for
Nov 25 Fleetwood (a) Apr 14 Fleetwood (h)
our morals and principles. See previous!
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Rotherham (h) Apr 21 Gillingham (a)
Dec 16 Shrewsbury (a) Apr 28 Shrewsbury (h)
League Two 7th // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Charlton (a) MAY 5 Rotherham (a)
LEAGUE ONE
BRADFORD CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Blackpool (h) Dec 26 Peterborough (h)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Gillingham (a) Dec 30 Oxford Utd (h)
JASON McKEOWN We got him from West Ham,
Aug 19 Blackburn (h) JAN 1 Fleetwood (a)
Width of a Post hes better than Zidane, weve
widthofapost.com got Joshua Cullen. Great Aug 26 Walsall (a) Jan 6 Rotherham (a)
song for the young West
SEP 2 Bristol Rovers (h) Jan 13 Northampton (h)
LAST SEASON WAS Ham loanee who became
a massive fans favourite. Sep 9 Peterborough (a) Jan 20 Bristol Rovers (a)
After a difcult summer of
Youngster Sep 12 Oxford Utd (a) Jan 27 AFC Wimbledon (h)
change, to perform as well as YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
we did over the season was Danny Devine Sep 16 Rotherham (h) FEB 3 Oldham (a)
well beyond expectations. It Danny Devine and Ellis
Sep 23 Northampton (a) Feb 10 Bury (h)
was heartbreaking to lose the OUR BIGGEST HERO Hudson made strong
play-off Final at Wembley, but impressions when given Sep 26 Fleetwood (h) Feb 13 Charlton (a)
still a brilliant season. Stuart McCalls return proved opportunities last season.
Sep 30 Doncaster (h) Feb 17 Wigan (h)
inspired, as he demonstrated
THIS SEASON WILL BE he was a better all-round GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO OCT 7 MK Dons (a) Feb 24 Plymouth (a)
manager than his rst spell,
Oct 14 Bury (a) MAR 3 Portsmouth (h)
Weve seen a worryingly high got the team playing some Having come so close to the
number of departures this excellent football and so Championship, the releasing Oct 17 Oldham (h) Mar 10 MK Dons (h)
summer, which means an nearly took us all the way of another years set of
Oct 21 Charlton (h) Mar 17 Doncaster (a)
unexpectedly large rebuilding to the Championship. League One xtures was
job. If the club who last depressing. Looking forward Oct 28 Portsmouth (a) Mar 24 Gillingham (h)
season introduced a transfer OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN to a trip to Blackburn though.
NOV 11 Plymouth (h) Mar 31 Blackburn (a)
committee approach
continues to recruit strongly, The Millwall supporters who GAME TO DREAD Nov 18 Wigan (a) APR 2 Walsall (h)
we should push for promotion invaded the Wembley pitch at
Nov 21 Scunthorpe (h) Apr 7 Blackpool (a)
again. But its a big if. full time of the play-off Final, Its difcult to get excited
especially those who ran over about yet another long trip Nov 25 Shrewsbury (a) Apr 14 Shrewsbury (h)
LAST SEASON to goad McCall and the team. to Gillingham.
DEC 9 Rochdale (h) Apr 21 Rochdale (a)
Dec 16 Southend Utd (a) Apr 28 Southend Utd (h)
League One 5th // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 AFC Wimbledon (a) May 5 Scunthorpe (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 105

LEAGUE ONE
BRISTOL ROVERS
2017-18 FIXTURES
James, a striker who hadnt AUG 5 Charlton (a) Dec 26 Walsall (a)
FANS VIEW scored all year, took it. The
Aug 12 Peterborough (h) Dec 30 Oldham (a)
NATHAN BEES chant was If Luke James
scores, were on the pitch! Aug 19 Bury (a) JAN 1 Portsmouth (h)
LAST SEASON WAS He missed.
Aug 26 Fleetwood (h) Jan 6 Wigan (h)
Successful. After back-to- YOUNGSTER TO WATCH SEP 2 Bradford (a) Jan 13 Blackpool (a)
back promotions from the
Sep 9 Walsall (h) Jan 20 Bradford (h)
National League to League Ryan Broom is the only one
One, a top-10 nish Impressive... who comes to mind. He hasnt Sep 12 Oldham (h) Jan 27 Doncaster (a)
represented another terric Billy Bodin made a huge impact on the
Sep 16 Wigan (a) FEB 3 Shrewsbury (h)
year of progression. rst team as yet, but he is
highly thought of by the Sep 23 Blackpool (h) Feb 10 Oxford Utd (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE season and scored a number coaching staff.
Sep 26 Portsmouth (a) Feb 13 Rochdale (h)
of very impressive goals.
My hope is we improve on last GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 30 Plymouth (h) Feb 17 AFC Wimbledon (a)
season and compete for a OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
OCT 7 Northampton (a) Feb 24 Scunthorpe (h)
play-off place. I fully believe I am looking forward to visiting
that with Clarke at the helm Matty Taylor was loved by Fratton Park again because Oct 14 Oxford Utd (h) MAR 3 MK Dons (a)
anything is possible. My Gasheads but he showed his we always take big support.
Oct 17 Shrewsbury (a) Mar 10 Northampton (h)
biggest fear is that we do not true colours by jumping ship If we could grab a win down
get positive news on our to Bristol City. Any other club there it has the potential to Oct 21 Rochdale (a) Mar 17 Plymouth (a)
proposed new stadium. and he would have been be a superb away day.
Oct 28 MK Dons (h) Mar 24 Peterborough(h)
wished all the luck in the
OUR BIGGEST HERO world, but moving to that lot is GAME TO DREAD NOV 11 Scunthorpe (a) Mar 31 Bury (h)
absolutely unforgivable.
Nov 18 AFC Wimbledon (h) APR 2 Fleetwood (a)
Billy Bodin came into his own Southend United is a long old
in the second half of the BEST SONG LAST SEASON trip on the nal day of the Nov 21 Rotherham (h) Apr 7 Charlton (h)
season, especially as it is
Nov 25 Blackburn (a) Apr 14 Blackburn (h)
We had a penalty and Luke currently a 5.30pm kick-off.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Southend Utd (h) Apr 21 Rotherham (a)
Dec 16 Gillingham (a) Apr 28 Gillingham (h)
League One 10th // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Doncaster (h) MAY 5 Southend Utd (a)
LEAGUE ONE
BURY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Walsall (h) Dec 26 Rotherham (h)

we hate Bolton, we hate
FANS VIEW Bolton and we hate Bolton, Aug 12 Wigan (a) Dec 30 Fleetwood (h)
NICK HOLT we are the Bolton haters.
Aug 19 Bristol Rovers (h) JAN 1 Scunthorpe (a)
mannyroadend.co.uk Im almost glad they got
promoted so we dont have to Aug 26 Rochdale (a) Jan 6 Plymouth (a)
LAST SEASON WAS go there this season.
SEP 2 Scunthorpe (h) Jan 13 Charlton (h)
Up and Down. A run of 12 YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 9 Rotherham (a) Jan 20 Oxford Utd (a)
consecutive defeats took us
Goals... Sep 12 Fleetwood (a) Jan 27 Peterborough (h)
from 2nd in September to George Miller progressed
22nd by Christmas. David James Vaughan from the academy and did Sep 16 Plymouth (h) FEB 3 Blackpool (h)
Flitcroft was red and Lee well as did Callum Styles.
Sep 23 Charlton (a) Feb 10 Bradford (a)
Clark came in before we kept us in League One. Also Hopefully Lee Clark will give
recovered and nished 19th, Ryan Lowe because hes the youngsters a chance this Sep 26 Oxford Utd (h) Feb 13 Southend Utd (h)
avoiding relegation by a point. always our hero. season.
Sep 30 MK Dons (h) Feb 17 Blackburn (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO OCT 7 Oldham (a) Feb 24 Gillingham (h)
Oct 14 Bradford (h) MAR 3 Doncaster (a)
I hope our new manager and David Flitcroft. League two is Ive never seen us play
his new squad make it to the his level but sadly he doesnt Blackburn so Im looking Oct 17 Blackpool (a) Mar 10 Oldham (h)
play-offs. I fear they wont realise it. He talks a lot of forward to those games. Got
Oct 21 Southend Utd (a) Mar 17 MK Dons (a)
and that well be left with an wafe, is a bit thick and lacks a few local games this year
expensive but unsuccessful tactical knowledge. He would and Im looking forward to Oct 28 Doncaster (h) Mar 24 Wigan (h)
squad. have taken us down given an most of those.
NOV 11 Gillingham (a) Mar 31 Bristol Rovers (a)
extra few weeks in charge.
OUR BIGGEST HERO GAME TO DREAD Nov 18 Blackburn (h) APR 2 Rochdale (h)
Nov 21 Shrewsbury (h) Apr 7 Walsall (a)
James Vaughan. His 24 goals I never like losing to Rochdale
We hate Bolton and we hate but we always do so Im Nov 25 Northampton (a) Apr 14 Northampton (h)
LAST SEASON Bolton, we hate Bolton and getting used to it now.
DEC 9 AFC Wimbledon (h) Apr 21 Shrewsbury (a)
Dec 16 Portsmouth (a) Apr 28 Portsmouth (h)
Dec 23 Peterborough (a) MAY 5 AFC Wimbledon (a)
106 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE ONE
CHARLTON ATHLETIC
2017-18 FIXTURES
BEST SONG LAST SEASON AUG 5 Bristol Rovers (h) Dec 26 Southend Utd (a)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Plymouth (a) Dec 30 Wigan (a)
DANNY CARLIER Last summers England dirge
forum.charltonlife.com Dont take me home was Aug 19 Northampton (h) JAN 1 Gillingham (h)
adapted to Just sell the club,
Aug 26 Rotherham (a) Jan 6 Oldham (h)
LAST SEASON WAS our famous football club, we
just dont really want you here. SEP 2 Oldham (a) Jan 13 Bury (a)
Abject nothingness. Following We want Roland out, we hate
Sep 9 Southend Utd (h) Jan 20 Walsall (h)
relegation, the club plodded Katrien Meire, we dont really
along, never threatening to Walked it... want you here. Sep 12 Wigan (h) Jan 27 Blackpool (a)
challenge nor be woeful Ricky Holmes Sep 16 Gillingham (a) FEB 3 Oxford Utd (h)
enough for relegation. Russell YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Slade was sacked after just Sep 23 Bury (h) Feb 10 Doncaster (a)
one defeat in ve, a week OUR BIGGEST HERO Next off our seemingly
Sep 26 Walsall (a) Feb 13 Bradford (h)
after our CEO had said he endless production line
was our future. Karl Robinson Ricky Holmes walked the of nancial loss-negating Sep 30 Fleetwood (a) Feb 17 MK Dons (a)
failed to generate any pickup. Player of the Year vote last youngsters will be Ezri
OCT 7 Peterborough (h) Feb 24 Shrewsbury (h)
season. Konsa, a versatile defender.
THIS SEASON WILL BE Oct 14 Doncaster (h) MAR 3 AFC Wimbledon (a)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Oct 17 Oxford Utd (a) Mar 10 Peterborough (a)
Hope beyond hope that our
absent Belgian owner and his Keith Stroud. Our record Portsmouth at The Valley, 25 Oct 21 Bradford (a) Mar 17 Fleetwood (h)
sidekick nally leave and we versus South London rivals years to the week of when
Oct 28 AFC Wimbledon (h) Mar 24 Plymouth (h)
can start the rebuild to being Millwall is worse than abysmal. they featured in our rst game
a proper football club again. Referee Stroud ruled out what back in 1992. NOV 11 Shrewsbury (a) Mar 31 Northampton (a)
My fear is Robinson just wont would have been a perfectly
Nov 18 MK Dons (h) APR 2 Rotherham (h)
be given the board support to good winning goal. Had it GAME TO DREAD
drive us forward. stood, Millwall would not have Nov 21 Rochdale (h) Apr 7 Bristol Rovers (a)
made the play-offs and then The 500-mile round trip to
Nov 25 Scunthorpe (a) Apr 14 Scunthorpe (h)
been promoted. Wigan on a Friday night.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Portsmouth (h) Apr 21 Portsmouth (a)
Dec 16 Blackburn (a) Apr 28 Blackburn (h)
League One 13th // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Blackpool (h) MAY 5 Rochdale (a)
LEAGUE ONE
DONCASTER ROVERS
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Gillingham (h) Dec 26 Northampton (h)

Football League? Its you
FANS VIEW John, John, John, to the tune Aug 12 Blackburn (a) Dec 30 Rochdale (h)
TOM BILTCLIFFE of The Crystals.
Aug 19 Blackpool (h) JAN 1 Peterborough (a)
LAST SEASON WAS YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Aug 26 AFC Wimbledon (a) Jan 6 Scunthorpe (a)
SEP 2 Peterborough (h) Jan 13 Plymouth (h)
A case of job done in the end Liam Mandeville came
for the club who returned to through the ranks and Sep 9 Northampton (a) Jan 20 Shrewsbury (a)
League 1 at the rst time of plundered 10 goals in 27
Return...James Sep 12 Rochdale (a) Jan 27 Bristol Rovers (h)
asking. However, the title was appearances last season.
ours to lose and we did, Coppinger Quick feet, deceptive pace Sep 16 Scunthorpe (h) FEB 3 Portsmouth (a)
picking up one point from and hits a sweet dead ball.
Sep 23 Plymouth (a) Feb 10 Charlton (h)
the nal ve games. worked his socks off and
scored more Football League GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 26 Shrewsbury (h) Feb 13 Walsall (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE goals in one season than
Sep 30 Bradford (a) Feb 17 Fleetwood (h)
anyone else in 40 years Rotherham. Its a decade
The hope is consolidation for Doncaster. since we crossed swords with OCT 7 Southend Utd (h) Feb 24 Rotherham (a)
at the very least and even arguably our biggest South
Oct 14 Charlton (a) MAR 3 Bury (h)
perhaps a top ten nish, using OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Yorkshire rivals.
momentum from last season Oct 17 Portsmouth (h) Mar 10 Southend Utd (a)
ala Burton Albion. The fear is Lutons Danny Hylton he GAME TO DREAD
Oct 21 Walsall (h) Mar 17 Bradford (h)
collapsing at the end of the and Marquis competed
season similar to previously. ercely for the Golden Despite the game against Oct 28 Bury (a) Mar 24 Blackburn (h)
Boot all season and their Blackpool at Bloomeld Road
NOV 11 Rotherham (h) Mar 31 Blackpool (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO physicality boiled over when being on Good Friday, our
the sides met. record on the Fylde coast is Nov 18 Fleetwood (a) APR 2 AFC Wimbledon (h)
John Marquis. He arrived on a awful so it could be a long
Nov 21 Wigan (a) Apr 7 Gillingham (a)
free transfer from Millwall, BEST SONG LAST SEASON Easter weekend. Weve yet to
win against Fleetwood in four Nov 25 MK Dons (h) Apr 14 MK Dons (a)
LAST SEASON Whos the best striker in the attempts, too.
DEC 9 Oxford Utd (a) Apr 21 Oxford Utd (h)
Dec 16 Oldham (h) Apr 28 Oldham (a)
League Two 3rd // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Bristol Rovers (a) MAY 5 Wigan (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 107

LEAGUE ONE
FLEETWOOD TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Rotherham (h) Dec 26 Oldham (a)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Northampton (a) Dec 30 Bury (a)
JOHN WOOLFENDEN
Aug 19 AFC Wimbledon (h) JAN 1 Bradford (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
Aug 26 Bristol Rovers (a) Jan 6 Portsmouth (h)
Absolute superb top-four SEP 2 Blackburn (a) Jan 13 Southend Utd (a)
season after nearly getting
Sep 9 Oldham (h) Jan 20 Blackburn (h)
relegated the season before.
Ran out of steam towards the Sep 12 Bury (h) Jan 27 Gillingham (a)
end, but brilliant overall.
Sep 16 Portsmouth (a) FEB 3 Scunthorpe (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Sep 23 Southend Utd (h) Feb 10 Rochdale (a)
Sep 26 Bradford (a) Feb 13 Shrewsbury (h)
Another upper-table nish
would be nice. My biggest fear Top-four... Sep 30 Charlton (h) Feb 17 Doncaster (a)
is we dont beat Blackpool. playing Bradford
OCT 7 Plymouth (a) Feb 24 MK Dons (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO BEST SONG LAST SEASON Theres plenty of young Oct 14 Rochdale (h) MAR 3 Oxford Utd (a)
English and Welsh talent in
Oct 17 Scunthorpe (a) Mar 10 Plymouth (h)
It has to be Cian Bolger. Cian Bolgers magic he wears our squad.
Magnicent giant, ginger a magic hat, if you throw a Oct 21 Shrewsbury (a) Mar 17 Charlton (a)
Irishman! brick at him hell head it back. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Oct 28 Oxford Utd (h) Mar 24 Northampton (h)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN YOUNGSTER TO WATCH The games home and away NOV 11 MK Dons (a) Mar 31 AFC Wimbledon (a)
against Blackpool.
Nov 18 Doncaster (h) APR 2 Bristol Rovers (h)
That Nick Ajose. Scored We have plenty of quality
against us yet again! youngsters. Web Burns, Ash GAME TO DREAD Nov 21 Walsall (a) Apr 7 Rotherham (a)
Hunter, Kyle Dempsey, George
Nov 25 Blackpool (h) Apr 14 Blackpool (a)
Glendon and Conor McAleny. See above.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Wigan (a) Apr 21 Wigan (h)
Dec 16 Peterborough (h) Apr 28 Peterborough (a)
League One 4th // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Gillingham (h) MAY 5 Walsall (h)
LEAGUE ONE
GILLINGHAM
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Doncaster (a) DEC 26 Oxford Utd (h)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Bradford (h) Dec 30 AFC Wimbledon (h)
KEITH PESTELL We sadly heard a lot of
Aug 19 MK Dons (a) JAN 1 Charlton (a)
Gillingham Independent Youre not t to wear the
Supporters Club shirt. The Last Waltz has Aug 26 Southend Utd (h) Jan 6 Shrewsbury (a)
become a terrace favourite.
Sep 2 Shrewsbury (h) Jan 13 Rochdale (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 9 Oxford Utd (a) Jan 20 Scunthorpe (a)
Awful. A massive contrast
In charge... Sep 12 AFC Wimbledon (a) Jan 27 Fleetwood (h)
from the season before. We Noel Mbo. He recently signed
had hoped to build on the Adrian Pennock his rst professional contract Sep 16 Charlton (h) FEB 3 Wigan (a)
success and challenge for the for the Gills and scores goals
Sep 23 Rochdale (a) Feb 10 Peterborough (h)
play-offs. Condence and Bradley Dack and Cody for fun for the youth team.
expectations were high, but McDonald. If we dont, the Sep 26 Scunthorpe (h) Feb 13 Northampton (a)
the season never lived up to fear is we end up in another GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Sep 30 Blackburn (a) Feb 17 Walsall (h)
them. Justin Edinburgh failed relegation battle.
to get anything out of the Home games against local OCT 7 Portsmouth (h) Feb 24 Bury (a)
squad, before Adrian OUR BIGGEST HERO sides always have a good
Oct 14 Peterborough (a) MAR 3 Rotherham (h)
Pennock took over. atmosphere. The game
Josh Wright won Player of the against Northampton will Oct 17 Wigan (h) Mar 10 Portsmouth (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Year, scoring some key goals have some added spice -
Oct 21 Northampton (h) Mar 17 Blackburn (h)
from mideld including three with former manager Justin
The hope is to have a better penalties against Scunthorpe. Edinburgh in charge. Oct 28 Rotherham (a) Mar 24 Bradford (a)
season than last - most Gills
NOV 11 Bury (h) Mar 31 MK Dons (h)
fans will take a quiet season OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN GAME TO DREAD
in mid-table. We have to Nov 18 Walsall (a) APR 2 Southend Utd (a)
improve in defence and Justin Edinburgh, who turned Not really dreading any but
Nov 21 Blackpool (a) Apr 7 Doncaster (h)
replace key players, especially a team full of promise into an hope we dont get hit for six
absolute farce, with players when we come up against the Nov 25 Oldham (h) Apr 14 Oldham (a)
LAST SEASON played out of position. bigger sides.
DEC 9 Plymouth (a) Apr 21 Blackpool (h)
Dec 16 Bristol Rovers (h) Apr 28 Bristol Rovers (a)
League One 20th // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 3rd round
Dec 23 Fleetwood (a) MAY 5 Plymouth (h)
108 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE ONE
MK DONS
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Wigan (h) Dec 26 Plymouth (h)
FANS VIEW BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Aug 12 Blackpool (a) Dec 30 Peterborough (h)
ADAM FAIERS
Simple: Du du du-du-du Aug 19 Gillingham (h) JAN 1 Oxford Utd (a)
LAST SEASON WAS Robbie Muirhead. If one song
Aug 26 Blackburn (a) Jan 6 Rochdale (a)
galvanised the club it was that
Tale of two halves. Frustration one. Robbie had a slow start SEP 2 Oxford Utd (h) Jan 13 AFC Wimbledon (h)
until December, then hope but really started ring late in
Sep 9 Plymouth (a) Jan 20 Northampton (a)
with the new manager. We the summer.
were lucky with the stability Sep 12 Peterborough (a) Jan 27 Rotherham (h)
Karl Robinson brought to the Strong...Brandon YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Sep 16 Rochdale (h) FEB 3 Walsall (a)
club, but the team and our Thomas-Asante
play grew lethargic and Brandon Thomas-Asante. Sep 23 AFC Wimbledon (a) Feb 10 Portsmouth (h)
predictable. Robbie Neilson OUR BIGGEST HERO Strong, powerful, skilful.
Sep 26 Northampton (h) Feb 13 Oldham (a)
brought hope and excitement
in the second half of the year. George Williams. A real rags GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 30 Bury (a) Feb 17 Charlton (h)
to riches story having been let
OCT 7 Bradford Feb 24 Fleetwood (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE go a few years ago and Portsmouth. If I could have a
coming back to us and second club it would be that Oct 14 Portsmouth (a) MAR 3 Bristol Rovers (h)
My hope is that the team winning player of the year. one. The fans are amazing
Oct 17 Walsall (h) Mar 10 Bradford (a)
really start to show the and its a great area to spend
potential that Robbie OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN a long weekend! Oct 21 Oldham (h) Mar 17 Bury (h)
Neilson can bring. Hes
Oct 28 Bristol Rovers (a) Mar 24 Blackpool
multidimensional and Its got to be Karl Robinson, GAME TO DREAD
changes tactics throughout sadly. Villain might be a bit NOV 11 Fleetwood (h) Mar 31 Gillingham (a)
the game. My biggest fear harsh but from promotion to Probably Bradford. We drew
Nov 28 Charlton (a) APR 2 Blackburn (h)
is that it could become too irting with relegation is not a away last year but its a tough
confusing for our players. great career move. The team place to go. If we do well Nov 21 Southend Utd (h) Apr 7 Wigan (a)
were getting slow and lazy as against them, I think weve got
Nov 25 Doncaster (a) Apr 14 Doncaster (h)
well. Sorry Karl! a chance this year.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Shrewsbury (h) Apr 21 Southend Utd (a)
Dec 16 Scunthorpe (a) Apr 28 Scunthorpe (h)
League One 12th // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Rotherham (a) MAY 5 Shrewsbury (a)
LEAGUE ONE
NORTHAMPTON TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Shrewsbury (a) Dec 26 Doncaster (a)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Fleetwood (h) Dec 30 Portsmouth (a)
DANNY BROTHERS
Aug 19 Charlton (a) JAN 1 Wigan (h)
LAST SEASON WAS Aug 26 Peterborough (h) Jan 6 Southend Utd (h)
SEP 2 Wigan (a) Jan 13 Bradford (a)
Id have taken mid-table at
the start of the season. Could Sep 9 Doncaster (h) Jan 20 MK Dons (h)
have been a lot better had
Sep 12 Portsmouth (h) Jan 27 Blackburn (a)
Rob Page not taken us in the
wrong direction, but could Sep 16 Southend Utd (a) FEB 3 Rochdale (h)
have been a lot worse if Justin Newcomer...
Leon Lobjoit Sep 23 Bradford (h) Feb 10 AFC Wimbledon (a)
Edinburgh hadnt steadied the
ship mid-season. Sep 26 MK Dons (a) Feb 13 Gillingham (h)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Buckingham Town towards
Sep 30 Rotherham (a) Feb 17 Scunthorpe (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE the end of last season having
Rob Page. Cup exit to hit 62 goals in 36 games, OCT 7 Bristol Rovers (h) Feb 24 Oxford Utd (h)
Hopefully we can kick on Stourbridge was the albeit in the 10th tier.
Oct 14 AFC Wimbledon (h) MAR 3 Blackpool (a)
towards a top-half nish but beginning of the end.
its a tough league once GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Oct 17 Rochdale (a) Mar 10 Bristol Rovers (a)
again. BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Oct 21 Gillingham (a) Mar 17 Rotherham (h)
The games against Oxford
OUR BIGGEST HERO Not a vintage year for new have started to become Oct 28 Blackpool (h) Mar 24 Fleetwood (a)
chants so Weve got OToole, tastier as the years go on
NOV 11 Oxford Utd (a) Mar 31 Charlton (h)
Another good season from John-Joe OToole... remains and, of course, Peterborough
talisman John-Joe OToole pick of the bunch. home and away. Nov 18 Scunthorpe (h) APR 2 Peterborough (a)
who stepped back up to
Nov 21 Plymouth (a) Apr 7 Shrewsbury (h)
League One impressively. YOUNGSTER TO WATCH GAME TO DREAD
Nov 25 Bury (h) Apr 14 Bury (a)
LAST SEASON Leon Lobjoit signed from Wigan away.
DEC 9 Oldham (a) Apr 21 Plymouth (h)
Dec 16 Walsall (h) Apr 28 Walsall (a)
League One 16th // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 3rd round
Dec 23 Blackburn (h) MAY 5 Oldham (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 109

LEAGUE ONE
OLDHAM ATHLETIC
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Oxford Utd (h) Dec 26 Fleetwood (h)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Walsall (a) Dec 30 Bristol Rovers (h)
WAYNE AUSTIN
Aug 19 Wigan (h) JAN 1 Shrewsbury (a)
LAST SEASON WAS
Aug 26 Blackpool (a) Jan 6 Charlton (a)
Groundhog day. As he did the SEP 2 Charlton (h) Jan 13 Rotherham (h)
season before, John Sheridan
Sep 9 Fleetwood (a) Jan 20 Peterborough (a)
came back to save us. We
went from certain relegation Sep 12 Bristol Rovers (a) Jan 27 Plymouth (h)
candidates to promotion form.
Returning Sep 16 Shrewsbury (h) FEB 3 Bradford (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE John Sheridan Sep 23 Rotherham (a) Feb 10 Blackburn (a)
Sep 26 Peterborough (h) Feb 13 MK Dons (h)
Hoping we can kick on and Christmas without these two. by George Edmundson,
maybe threaten the play-offs. Kallum Mantack and Ill Sep 30 Portsmouth (a) Feb 17 Rochdale (a)
We only need to add a bit OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN throw in Darius Osei.
OCT 7 Bury (h) Feb 24 Southend Utd (h)
more quality. The fear is
that we revert to type and Calvin Andrew, subsequently GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Oct 14 Blackburn (h) MAR 3 Scunthorpe (a)
a relegation ght. banned for 12 games for GBH
Oct 17 Bradford (a) Mar 10 Bury (a)
on Clarke. I am looking forward to
OUR BIGGEST HERO welcoming Blackburn Rovers Oct 21 MK Dons (a) Mar 17 Portsmouth (h)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON and going to Ewood Park.
Oct 28 Scunthorpe (h) Mar 24 Walsall (h)
A toss up between Conor
Ripley and Peter Clarke. Ill Weve got (clap, clap) Conor GAME TO DREAD NOV 11 Southend Utd (a) Mar 31 Wigan (a)
marginally give it to Clarke Ripley.
Nov 18 Rochdale (h) APR 2 Blackpool (h)
(our captain), a man mountain, Im not really dreading any,
Wed be relegated by YOUNGSTER TO WATCH though Im glad Millwall have Nov 21 AFC Wimbledon (h) Apr 7 Oxford Utd (a)
gone up. Bradford will be
Nov 25 Gillingham (a) Apr 14 Gillingham (h)
Jamie Stott followed closely tough, theyre a good team.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Northampton (h) Apr 21 AFC Wimbledon (a)
Dec 16 Doncaster (a) Apr 28 Doncaster (h)
Dec 23 Plymouth (a) MAY 5 Northampton (a)
LEAGUE ONE
OXFORD UNITED
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Oldham (a) Dec 26 Gillingham (a)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Portsmouth (h) Dec 30 Bradford (a)
SCOTT WALKINSHAW The cult of full-back Joe
Aug 19 Scunthorpe (a) JAN 1 MK Dons (h)
Oxblogger Skarz was fun while it lasted,
as the song goes, he is the Aug 26 Shrewsbury (h) Jan 6 Blackpool (h)
LAST SEASON WAS best defender in the land.
SEP 2 MK Dons (a) Jan 13 Walsall (a)
Consolidation after promotion YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 9 Gillingham (h) Jan 20 Bury (h)
was the objective. Throw in
Wembley Sep 12 Bradford (h) Jan 27 Wigan (a)
a couple of cup giant-killings, Republic of Ireland under-17
a visit to Wembley [in the Checkatrade loss international Canice Carroll is Sep 16 Blackpool (a) FEB 3 Charlton (a)
Checkatrade Trophy Final] the latest homegrown talent
Sep 23 Walsall (h) Feb 10 Bristol Rovers (h)
and a derby win or two and OUR BIGGEST HERO to break into the rst team.
I think we can agree it was a Sep 26 Bury (a) Feb 13 Rotherham (a)
successful year all round. Goalkeeper Simon Eastwood GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Sep 30 Peterborough (a) Feb 17 Plymouth (h)
played in every minute of our
THIS SEASON WILL BE 62-game season and was League One is a bit of OCT 7 AFC Wimbledon (h) Feb 24 Northampton (a)
deservedly player of the year. an elephants graveyard of
Oct 14 Bristol Rovers (a) MAR 3 Fleetwood (h)
We were hoping that last fallen giants. Away days to
season would be a platform OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Blackburn, Charlton, Wigan Oct 17 Charlton (h) Mar 10 AFC Wimbledon (a)
for a play-off place and and Portsmouth are all likely
Oct 21 Rotherham (h) Mar 17 Peterborough (h)
promotion. Thats still the Sean Harvey, chief executive of to be a lot of fun.
hope, but weve lost Michael the EFL and his championing Oct 28 Fleetwood (a) Mar 24 Portsmouth (a)
Appleton to Leicester City of Premier League under-23s GAME TO DREAD
NOV 11 Northampton Mar 31 Scunthorpe (h)
and the biggest fear is that in the EFL Trophy. It cast a
we cant replace him with signicant shadow over our Can you dread a game where Nov 18 Plymouth (a) APR 2 Shrewsbury (a)
someone who can maintain success in reaching the Final. the outcome is inevitable?
Nov 21 Blackburn (h) Apr 7 Oldham (h)
the momentum. His arrogance, suggesting the Next seasons dismal 2-0
experiment was a success, defeat to Southend is already Nov 25 Southend Utd (a) Apr 14 Southend Utd (h)
LAST SEASON was breathtaking. booked in the diary.
DEC 9 Doncaster (h) Apr 21 Doncaster (a)
Dec 16 Rochdale (a) Apr 28 Rochdale (h)
League One 8th // FA Cup 5th round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Wigan (h) MAY 5 Blackburn (a)
110 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE ONE
PETERBOROUGH UTD
2017-18 FIXTURES
popular with the Posh AUG 5 Plymouth (h) Dec 26 Bradford (a)
FANS VIEW supporters.
Aug 12 Bristol Rovers (a) Dec 30 MK Dons (a)
JOHN VERRALL
BEST SONG LAST SEASON Aug 19 Rotherham (h) JAN 1 Doncaster (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
Aug 26 Northampton (a) Jan 6 Walsall (h)
The ABAX Stadium wasnt the
Can only really be described most atmospheric this season, SEP 2 Doncaster (a) Jan 13 Wigan (a)
as a fairly dull one. We never due to a lack of entertainment
Sep 9 Bradford (h) Jan 20 Oldham (h)
looked like sustaining a on the pitch, so its hard to
play-off push, and the think of a particularly Sep 12 MK Dons (h) Jan 27 Bury (a)
inconsistency of our memorable chant.
Sep 16 Walsall (a) FEB 3 Southend Utd (h)
performances was a
major frustration. YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 23 Wigan (h) Feb 10 Gillingham (a)
Sep 26 Oldham (a) Feb 13 Scunthorpe (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Leo Da Silva Lopes had a solid
breakthrough year last term Sep 30 Oxford Utd (h) Feb 17 Blackpool (a)
Hoping that manager Grant Villain and he should push on
Tom Nichols OCT 7 Charlton (a) Feb 24 AFC Wimbledon (h)
McCann gets it right and we further this time around.
get promoted. Posh have Oct 14 Gillingham (h) MAR 3 Shrewsbury (a)
been stagnating in League from Spurs, with absolutely no GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Oct 17 Southend Utd (a) Mar 10 Charlton (h)
One for too long now, and experience of playing senior
really need to start showing football, but he was superb Northampton Town away. We Oct 21 Scunthorpe (a) Mar 17 Oxford Utd (a)
some signs that were heading over the entire length of the took six points off them last
Oct 28 Shrewsbury (h) Mar 24 Bristol Rovers (h)
in the right direction. campaign. season, and hopefully can do
the same again. NOV 11 AFC Wimbledon (a) Mar 31 Rotherham (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Nov 18 Blackpool (h) APR 2 Northampton (h)
GAME TO DREAD
Luke McGee signed on loan Tom Nichols may have Nov 21 Portsmouth (h) Apr 7 Plymouth (a)
nished the season as top Portsmouth away on the nal
Nov 25 Rochdale (a) Apr 14 Rochdale (h)
scorer, but hes not exactly day will be a massive test.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Blackburn (h) Apr 21 Blackburn (a)
Dec 16 Fleetwood (a) Apr 28 Fleetwood (h)
League One 11th // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Bury (h) MAY 5 Portsmouth (a)
LEAGUE ONE
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Peterborough (a) Dec 26 MK Dons (a)

wears a magic hat based
FANS VIEW on nothing at all, other than Aug 12 Charlton (h) Dec 30 Blackpool (a)
ANDY CHAPMAN adulation!
Aug 19 Southend Utd (a) JAN 1 Walsall (h)
LAST SEASON WAS YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Aug 26 Scunthorpe (h) Jan 6 Bury (h)
SEP 2 Walsall (a) Jan 13 Doncaster (a)
A promotion season that Seventeen-year old Alex
never really properly felt like Fletcher scores prolically, Sep 9 MK Dons (h) Jan 20 Wigan (h)
one. Having seemingly got made his debut against
Party Sep 12 Blackpool (h) Jan 27 Oldham (a)
top spot back from Donny, Newport in the Checkatrade
getting pipped by Pompey on promotion celebrations Trophy and even made the Sep 16 Bury (a) FEB 3 Blackburn (h)
goal difference on the nal bench for the replay with
Sep 23 Doncaster (h) Feb 10 Shrewsbury (a)
day summed it all up! weighing in with some quality Liverpool at home. He could
goals. Currently out of contract have a future. Sep 26 Wigan (a) Feb 13 AFC Wimbledon (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE with the Green Army
Sep 30 Bristol Rovers (a) Feb 17 Oxford Utd (a)
hoping he chooses to stay. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Hopes are to push on and OCT 7 Fleetwood (h) Feb 24 Bradford (h)
have another good go at it. OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Its been 25 years since we
Oct 14 Shrewsbury (h) MAR 3 Rochdale (a)
Fears are that it still feels like played Blackburn so that
the club has off-the-eld Steve McManaman with his will be good though we did Oct 17 Blackburn (a) Mar 10 Fleetwood (a)
limitations which may not be ridiculous ramblings about the play at Ewood last season
Oct 21 AFC Wimbledon (a) Mar 17 Bristol Rovers (h)
able to keep pace with the negativity of our defensive (and won) against Carlisle
progress on the pitch. display at Aneld in the FA when their ground was ooded. Oct 28 Rochdale (h) Mar 24 Charlton (a)
Cup. That won him few
NOV 11 Bradford (a) Mar 31 Southend Utd (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO plaudits, given the money that GAME TO DREAD
tie and the replay earned us. Nov 18 Oxford Utd (h) APR 2 Scunthorpe (a)
Mercurial midelder Graham Scunthorpe away well,
Nov 21 Northampton (h) Apr 7 Peterborough (h)
Carey was our talisman BEST SONG LAST SEASON there are better days out and
we rarely seem to get Nov 25 Portsmouth (a) Apr 14 Portsmouth (h)
LAST SEASON Sonny Bradleys magic, he anything there.
DEC 9 Gillingham (h) Apr 21 Northampton (a)
Dec 16 Rotherham (a) Apr 28 Rotherham (h)
League Two 2nd // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Oldham (h) MAY 5 Gillingham (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 111

LEAGUE ONE
PORTSMOUTH
2017-18 FIXTURES
BEST SONG LAST SEASON AUG 5 Rochdale (h) Dec 26 AFC Wimbledon (h)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Oxford Utd (a) Dec 30 Northampton (h)
RICHARD MOGER Jamal Lowe, (Lowe) always
believe in your soul, youve Aug 19 Walsall (h) JAN 1 Bristol Rovers (a)
LAST SEASON WAS got the power to know youre
Aug 26 Wigan (a) Jan 6 Fleetwood (a)
indestructible, always believe
An emotional roller coaster. To in Jamal Lowe (Lowe). SEP 2 Rotherham (h) Jan 13 Scunthorpe (h)
go up as a fan-owned club as
Sep 9 AFC Wimbledon (a) Jan 20 Rotherham Utd (a)
champions was unreal. Years YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
of hard work, court battles Hero Sep 12 Northampton (a) Jan 27 Shrewsbury (h)
and dark days nally paid off. Enda Stevens Jamal Lowe, pacy winger who
Sep 16 Fleetwood (h) FEB 3 Doncaster (h)
I will never forget the scenes likes to take defenders on.
at Notts County away or Sep 23 Scunthorpe (a) Feb 10 MK Dons (a)
Cheltenham at home. The OUR BIGGEST HERO GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Sep 26 Bristol Rovers (h) Feb 13 Blackburn (h)
euphoria of winning the title
was on a par with, if not better Enda Stevens was consistent Wigan, April 2, the return of Sep 30 Oldham (h) Feb 17 Southend Utd (a)
than, winning the FA Cup for the entire season. Paul Cook to Fratton Park.
OCT 7 Gillingham (a) Feb 24 Blackpool (h)
because of the emotional and Shefeld United have Pompey fans never forget.
nancial investment the fans probably made the biggest Oct 14 MK Dons (h) MAR 3 Bradford (a)
put in. steal of the summer in the GAME TO DREAD
Oct 17 Doncaster (a) Mar 10 Gillingham (h)
championship getting him
THIS SEASON WILL BE on a free. Doncaster away, Tuesday Oct 21 Blackburn (a) Mar 17 Oldham (a)
October 17, really? The league
Oct 28 Bradford (h) Mar 24 Oxford Utd (h)
Hope to be competitive in OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN computer gives out an eight
League One and hope that hour 465-mile round trip on NOV 11 Blackpool (a) Mar 31 Walsall (a)
the new owner Michael Eisner Former manager Paul Cook. a Tuesday night. I know the
Nov 18 Southend Utd (h) APR 2 Wigan (h)
does not turn out to be too He should never have said league ensure that teams play
good to be true. that he wanted to remain loyal locally over the festive period, Nov 21 Peterborough (a) Apr 7 Rochdale (a)
to the club and then promptly why cant the same be done
Nov 25 Plymouth (h) Apr 14 Plymouth (a)
leave a week later. for Tuesday night games?
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Charlton (a) Apr 21 Charlton (h)
Dec 16 Bury (h) Apr 28 Bury (a)
League Two 1st // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Shrewsbury (a) MAY 5 Peterborough (h)
LEAGUE ONE
ROCHDALE
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Portsmouth (a) Dec 26 Blackburn (a)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Scunthorpe (h) Dec 30 Doncaster (a)
COL CAVANAH We went all Christmas crazy
Aug 19 Shrewsbury (a) JAN 1 Blackpool (h)
last season, belting out Wham
LAST SEASON WAS for Steven Davies and E17 for Aug 26 Bury (h) Jan 6 MK Dons (h)
Keith Keane.
SEP 2 Southend Utd (a) Jan 13 Gillingham (a)
A season of ups and downs,
nishing a lot higher than we YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 9 Blackburn (h) Jan 20 Southend Utd (h)
should have. We came close
Hero Sep 12 Doncaster (h) Jan 27 Walsall (a)
to the play-offs, so overall was Weve got loads coming
a pleasing season. Keith Hill through! The next one on Sep 16 MK Dons (a) FEB 3 Northampton (a)
the Keith Hill conveyor belt is
Sep 23 Gillingham (h) Feb 10 Fleetwood (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE a better English manager 17-year-old Aaron Morley.
out there. And anyone Hes already played for the Sep 26 Blackpool (a) Feb 13 Bristol Rovers (a)
The hopes are that we go disagreeing cant remember rst team and we picked him
Sep 30 AFC Wimbledon (a) Feb 17 Oldham (h)
that one bit further than the Rochdale of old. up from right under the nose
we have for the last three of Bury. OCT 7 Rotherham Utd (h) Feb 24 Wigan (a)
seasons and sneak into the OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Oct 14 Fleetwood (a) MAR 3 Plymouth (h)
play-offs. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Calvin Andrew, who launched Oct 17 Northampton (h) Mar 10 Rotherham (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO what appeared to be an Blackburn away on Boxing
Oct 21 Bristol Rovers (h) Mar 17 AFC Wimbledon (h)
unprovoked attack on Day will be a good one.
Hilly [Keith Hill]. Hes the Oldhams Peter Clarke, Weve not had a league game Oct 28 Plymouth (a) Mar 24 Scunthorpe (a)
greatest thing to happen earning him the biggest against them since the early
NOV 11 Wigan (h) Mar 31 Shrewsbury (h)
to this football club and ban in English football since 1970s. Theyll no doubt use
weve just signed him up for Cantona. Was so out of us as a barometer of how far Nov 18 Oldham (a) APR 2 Bury (a)
another ve years. I know character for him, and hes theyve fallen, but bigger
Nov 21 Charlton (a) Apr 7 Portsmouth (h)
were biased but theres not often a gentle giant. We teams than Blackburn have
forgave him obviously, though done that before and paid the Nov 25 Peterborough (h) Apr 14 Peterborough (a)
LAST SEASON not sure they did in Oldham. cost.
DEC 9 Bradford (a) Apr 21 Bradford (h)
Dec 16 Oxford Utd (h) Apr 28 Oxford Utd (a)
League One 9th // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Walsall (h) MAY 5 Charlton (h)
112 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE ONE
ROTHERHAM UTD
2017-18 FIXTURES
players the experience to be AUG 5 Fleetwood (a) Dec 26 Bury (a)
FANS VIEW hungry for the new season.
Aug 12 Southend Utd (h) Dec 30 Walsall (a)
JAMIE NOBLE
BEST SONG LAST SEASON Aug 19 Peterborough (a) JAN 1 Blackburn (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
Aug 26 Charlton (h) Jan 6 Bradford (h)
We gave our mascot Miller
As a club you never start a Bear a drum, which seemed SEP 2 Portsmouth (a) Jan 13 Oldham (a)
season to be relegated. At to go down well.
Sep 9 Bury (h) Jan 20 Portsmouth (h)
the time we thought wed
invested well both in the new YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 12 Walsall (h) Jan 27 MK Dons (a)
manager and team, but the
Sep 16 Bradford (a) FEB 3 AFC Wimbledon (h)
Championship is one of the Jerry Yates has now signed
toughest leagues in the world. a new contract with us and Sep 23 Oldham (h) Feb 10 Scunthorpe (a)
were excited for his future.
Sep 26 Blackburn (a) Feb 13 Oxford Utd (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE
New contract GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 30 Northampton (h) Feb 17 Shrewsbury (a)
The aim has to be getting off Jerry Yates
OCT 7 Rochdale (a) Feb 24 Doncaster (h)
to a good start, especially at It will be nice to have a local
home, to show we mean we had a die-hard group derby with Doncaster back in Oct 14 Scunthorpe (h) MAR 3 Gillingham (a)
business and aim to bounce attending our away matches the league.
Oct 17 AFC Wimbledon (a) Mar 10 Rochdale (h)
back to the Championship as who spent a lot of money and
quick as we can. covered a lot of miles. GAME TO DREAD Oct 21 Oxford Utd (a) Mar 17 Northampton (a)
Oct 28 Gillingham (h) Mar 24 Southend Utd (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN We had poor away form last
season so we need to treat NOV 11 Doncaster (a) Mar 31 Peterborough (h)
That has to go to the fans! We cant really blame anyone every away game with care
Nov 18 Shrewsbury (h) APR 2 Charlton (a)
They stuck with us at home apart from ourselves. Every and try to get some early
and despite the poor season season is a learning curve and points on the board to give Nov 21 Bristol Rovers (a) Apr 7 Fleetwood (h)
the last campaign has given the players some condence
Nov 25 Wigan (h) Apr 14 Wigan (a)
both the management and for the rest of the campaign.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Blackpool (a) Apr 21 Bristol Rovers (h)
Dec 16 Plymouth (h) Apr 28 Plymouth (a)
Championship 24th // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 MK Dons (h) MAY 5 Blackpool (h)
LEAGUE ONE
SCUNTHORPE UTD
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 AFC Wimbledon (h) Dec 26 Blackpool (a)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Rochdale (a) Dec 30 Blackburn (a)
JOHN NEEDHAM We dont really do good
Aug 19 Oxford Utd (h) JAN 1 Bury (h)
Secretary of the Iron Trust chants! The We hate cod
heads surfaces each year. Aug 26 Plymouth (a) Jan 6 Doncaster (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
SEP 2 Bury (a) Jan 13 Portsmouth (a)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
A bit frustrating. At the start Sep 9 Blackpool (h) Jan 20 Gillingham (h)
of the season most fans Levi Sutton had a few games
Hero Sep 12 Blackburn (h) Jan 27 Southend Utd (a)
would have been happy for the rst team at right-
with reaching the play-offs, Murray Wallace back. He looks promising and Sep 16 Doncaster (a) FEB 3 Fleetwood (a)
but having been top of the Im hoping to see continued
Sep 23 Portsmouth (h) Feb 10 Rotherham (h)
league for so long there was OUR BIGGEST HERO development.
disappointment at slipping Sep 26 Gillingham (a) Feb 13 Peterborough (a)
out of the top two and further Murray Wallace played GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Sep 30 Shrewsbury (a) Feb 17 Northampton (h)
frustration at not reaching the every minute of the season
Wembley play-off Final. and showed what a classy The games against Doncaster. OCT 7 Wigan (h) Feb 24 Bristol Rovers (a)
defender he is. It is to be Now they have been
Oct 14 Rotherham (a) MAR 3 Oldham (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE hoped that he remains promoted they are our
with us. nearest derby game. Oct 17 Fleetwood (h) Mar 10 Wigan (a)
Hoping that the Iron will at
Oct 21 Peterborough (h) Mar 17 Shrewsbury (h)
least make it to the play-offs OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN GAME TO DREAD
again, but if we strengthen Oct 28 Oldham (a) Mar 24 Rochdale (h)
the spine of the team, maybe The young Millwall lad who Blackpool. Over the years
NOV 11 Bristol Rovers (h) Mar 31 Oxford Utd (a)
a top two place is possible. The during the rst leg of the they have become a bogey
fears are that we miss out play-off semi-nal game team for us. The away game Nov 18 Northampton (a) APR 2 Plymouth (h)
again and that the promised threw coins at one of our against them on Boxing Day
Nov 21 Bradford (a) Apr 7 AFC Wimbledon (a)
new ground doesnt materialise. players while he was could have been better
receiving treatment on arranged! Hardly a day in the Nov 25 Charlton (h) Apr 14 Charlton (a)
LAST SEASON the ground. sun at the seaside!
DEC 9 Walsall (a) Apr 21 Walsall (h)
Dec 16 MK Dons (h) Apr 28 MK Dons (a)
League One 3rd // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Southend Utd (h) MAY 5 Bradford (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 113

LEAGUE ONE
SHREWSBURY TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
hangs over us with poor AUG 5 Northampton (h) Dec 26 Wigan (a)
FANS VIEW quality players on the books.
Aug 12 AFC Wimbledon (a) Dec 30 Southend Utd (a)
OLLIE WARNER
Salopcast podcast BEST SONG LAST SEASON Aug 19 Rochdale (h) JAN 1 Oldham (h)
Aug 26 Oxford Utd (a) Jan 6 Gillingham (h)
LAST SEASON WAS The most popular chant has
to be for our tricky winger SEP 2 Gillingham (a) Jan 13 Blackburn (a)
A real rollercoaster! We Shaun Whalley. Ainttttt
Sep 9 Wigan (h) Jan 20 Doncaster (h)
started the season so poorly, nobody like Shaun Whalley!
leaving us rock bottom of the Manager Makes me happy, makes me Sep 12 Southend Utd (h) Jan 27 Portsmouth (a)
table. Following a change of Paul Hurst feel this way!
Sep 16 Oldham (a) FEB 3 Bristol Rovers (a)
manager the club went on a
super run that had Salop top YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 23 Blackburn (h) Feb 10 Plymouth (h)
of the form table. The points OUR BIGGEST HERO
Sep 26 Doncaster (a) Feb 13 Fleetwood (a)
in this run saved us from Ryan Sears signed a
relegation. Manager Paul Hurst. He took professional contract Sep 30 Scunthorpe (h) Feb 17 Rotherham (h)
over when we were bottom of mid-year after rumoured
OCT 7 Walsall (a) Feb 24 Charlton (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE the league and by saving us interest from bigger clubs.
from relegation he performed Oct 14 Plymouth (a) MAR 3 Peterborough (h)
I hope we can exceed all a miracle. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Oct 17 Bristol Rovers (h) Mar 10 Walsall (h)
expectations and push for
the play-offs. Mid-table OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Boxing Day away at Wigan. Oct 21 Fleetwood (h) Mar 17 Scunthorpe (a)
mediocrity would be progress
Oct 28 Peterborough (a) Mar 24 AFC Wimbledon (h)
and more realistic. Another Former manager Micky GAME TO DREAD
relegation battle would be a Mellon. He was fantastic in NOV 11 Charlton (h) Mar 31 Rochdale (a)
nightmare and torment the League Two in the 2014-15 Fleetwood away - we played
Nov 18 Rotherham (a) APR 2 Oxford Utd (h)
fans with another long season season, he failed twice to them too many times last
with little to cheer! build a team that would season with replays in the Nov 21 Bury (a) Apr 7 Northampton (a)
cement our place in League cup. One road in and one
Nov 25 Bradford (h) Apr 14 Bradford (a)
One. Mellons shadow still road out!
LAST SEASON DEC 9 MK Dons (a) Apr 21 Bury (h)
Dec 16 Blackpool (h) Apr 28 Blackpool (a)
Dec 23 Portsmouth (h) MAY 5 MK Dons (h)
LEAGUE ONE
SOUTHEND UNITED
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Blackburn (h) Dec 26 Charlton (h)

Cox is on re, your defence
FANS VIEW is terried, inspired by the Aug 12 Rotherham (a) Dec 30 Shrewsbury (h)
CALLUM BOND famous Will Grigg chant.
Aug 19 Plymouth (h) JAN 1 AFC Wimbledon (a)
LAST SEASON WAS YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Aug 26 Gillingham (a) Jan 6 Northampton (a)
SEP 2 Rochdale (h) Jan 13 Fleetwood (h)
Denitely a rollercoaster. Ted Smith had a fair number
Once certain players clicked, of games in goal due to Mark Sep 9 Charlton (a) Jan 20 Rochdale (a)
we played some great Oxleys long-term injury,
Youngster Sep 12 Shrewsbury (a) Jan 27 Scunthorpe (h)
football and made a push before getting injured himself.
for promotion. But the Ted Smith Sep 16 Northampton (h) FEB 3 Peterborough (a)
pressure in the last few GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Sep 23 Fleetwood (a) Feb 10 Wigan (h)
games got to us and we OUR BIGGEST HERO
missed the play-offs by Blackburn at home is a great Sep 26 AFC Wimbledon (h) Feb 13 Bury (a)
one point to eventually Anton Ferdinand always put in way to kick off the season,
Sep 30 Blackpool (h) Feb 17 Portsmouth (h)
promoted Millwall. maximum effort on the pitch. but Portsmouth away is the
game that caught my eye. OCT 7 Doncaster (a) Feb 24 Oldham (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Expect a bumper Blues
Oct 14 Wigan (a) MAR 3 Walsall (h)
contingent to turn up at
The manager has stated Without a doubt Frank Fratton Park. Oct 17 Peterborough (h) Mar 10 Doncaster (h)
that promotion is the aim Nouble. He missed an open
Oct 21 Bury (h) Mar 17 Blackpool (a)
and its also been a while goal late in the game away to GAME TO DREAD
since Southend had a decent Charlton that would have Oct 28 Walsall (a) Mar 24 Rotherham (h)
cup run. However, I fear given us the point to hold on Gillingham home and away
NOV 11 Oldham (h) Mar 31 Plymouth (a)
that the departures of Adam to the fourth play-off place. are the matches I fear the
Thompson (Bury) and unsung most. We lost 3-1 at home Nov 18 Portsmouth (a) APR 2 Gillingham (h)
hero Will Atkinson (Manseld) BEST SONG LAST SEASON in last seasons opener and
Nov 21 MK Dons (a) Apr 7 Blackburn (a)
will be difcult to replace. again four days later by the
The chant about Simon Cox same score, on the same Nov 25 Oxford Utd (h) Apr 14 Oxford Utd (a)
LAST SEASON for his goal scoring abilities: ground, in the EFL Cup.
DEC 9 Bristol Rovers (a) Apr 21 MK Dons (h)
Dec 16 Bradford (h) Apr 28 Bradford (a)
Dec 23 Scunthorpe (a) MAY 5 Bristol Rovers (h)
114 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE ONE
WALSALL
2017-18 FIXTURES
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH AUG 5 Bury (a) Dec 26 Bristol Rovers (h)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Oldham (h) Dec 30 Rotherham (h)
BESCOT BANTER We have a few talented
youngsters on the fringes of Aug 19 Portsmouth (a) JAN 1 Plymouth (a)
LAST SEASON WAS the rst team. Winger Tobias
Aug 26 Bradford City (h) Jan 6 Peterborough (a)
Hayles-Docherty and left-back
Disappointing. A season of Callum Cockerill-Mollett are SEP 2 Plymouth (h) Jan 13 Oxford Utd (h)
hope which ultimately ended two to watch out for.
Sep 9 Bristol Rovers (a) Jan 20 Charlton (a)
with something of a whimper.
Turkish Messi GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 12 Rotherham (a) Jan 27 Rochdale (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Erhun Oztumer Sep 16 Peterborough (h) FEB 3 MK Dons (h)
Trips to Portsmouth,
We hope to be competitive Blackpool and Fleetwood Sep 23 Oxford Utd (a) Feb 10 Blackpool (a)
but fear that it may not be OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Town are often fun
Sep 26 Charlton (h) Feb 13 Doncaster (h)
possible. The summer has (depending on the weather).
seen yet another exodus of Simply for his disappointing Our clash with Blackburn Sep 30 Wigan (a) Feb 17 Gillingham (a)
players along with a slow campaign were going with Rovers, a side we havent
OCT 7 Shrewsbury (h) Feb 24 Blackburn (h)
trickle of new arrivals. With Andreas Makris. The Cyprus played in ten years, could also
the addition of several international arrived for a be a good competitive affair. Oct 14 Blackpool (h) MAR 3 Southend Utd (a)
stronger (and richer) teams to club-record fee last summer The meeting with our
Oct 17 MK Dons (a) Mar 10 Shrewsbury (a)
the league we may struggle. but failed to make any sort neighbours from across the
of impact. border, Shrewsbury Town, is Oct 21 Doncaster (a) Mar 17 Wigan (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO always a spicy occasion.
Oct 28 Southend Utd (h) Mar 24 Oldham (a)
It has to be Erhun Oztumer. GAME TO DREAD NOV 11 Blackburn (a) Mar 31 Portsmouth (h)
The Turkish Messi burst onto Weve got the ball/Weve lost
Nov 18 Gillingham (h) APR 2 Bradford City (a)
the scene after joining from the ball, a chant that was the Our New Years Day clash to
Peterborough last summer. epitome of our 2016/17 Plymouth Argyle is going to Nov 21 Fleetwood (h) Apr 7 Bury (h)
campaign. A possession game be a nightmare a 400-mile
Nov 25 AFC Wimbledon (a) Apr 14 AFC Wimbledon (h)
played without possession. round trip.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Scunthorpe (h) Apr 21 Scunthorpe (a)
Dec 16 Northampton (a) Apr 28 Northampton (h)
Dec 23 Rochdale (a) MAY 5 Fleetwood (a)
LEAGUE ONE
WIGAN ATHLETIC
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 MK Dons (a) Dec 26 Shrewsbury (h)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Bury (h) Dec 30 Charlton (h)
MARTIN TARBUCK Sadly, after the Will Grigg
Aug 19 Oldham (a) JAN 1 Northampton (a)
Mudhutter editor song went global, were still
(mudhutter) working on the difcult Aug 26 Portsmouth (h) Jan 6 Bristol Rovers (a)
second album.
SEP 2 Northampton (h) Jan 13 Peterborough (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 9 Shrewsbury (a) Jan 20 Plymouth (a)
A complete shambles. The
Youngster Sep 12 Charlton (a) Jan 27 Oxford Utd (h)
cycle of going from feast to Surprisingly, the club has
famine has again repeated Jordan Flores offered Wigan lad Jordan Sep 16 Bristol Rovers (h) FEB 3 Gillingham (h)
itself. Going through three Flores a two-year contract.
Sep 23 Peterborough (a) Feb 10 Southend Utd (a)
managers, four including both chance League One will be Were delighted, as his family
of Graham Barrows spells, our home for some time. are all big Wigan fans. Sep 26 Plymouth (h) Feb 13 Blackpool (h)
was never going to end well.
Sep 30 Walsall (h) Feb 17 Bradford City (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
THIS SEASON WILL BE OCT 7 Scunthorpe (a) Feb 24 Rochdale (h)
Whoever at the Football Fleetwood away. The fact
Oct 14 Southend Utd (h) MAR 3 Blackburn (a)
We want to bounce back in League decided to conclude a certain Mr Rosler is
style but we dont have the the season early on May 7 (currently) their manager Oct 17 Gillingham (a) Mar 10 Scunthorpe (h)
budget this time. Even though to put us out of our misery. adds a bit of spice.
Oct 21 Blackpool (a) Mar 17 Walsall (a)
Shefeld United have nally
escaped, theres still Bradford, OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN GAME TO DREAD Oct 28 Blackburn (h) Mar 24 Bury (a)
Blackburn, Portsmouth and
NOV 11 Rochdale (a) Mar 31 Oldham (h)
quite a few others. And weve Its hard to call him a villain as Probably Pompey at home in
got to change mentality from he was so meek and inoffensive August. Given weve nicked Nov 18 Bradford City (h) APR 2 Portsmouth (a)
losing every week to winning but Warren Joyces defensive their manager, Im expecting
Nov 21 Doncaster (h) Apr 7 MK Dons (h)
every week. Theres a good anti-football wasnt what we a large, disgruntled away
were expecting from a coach support to travel up from Nov 25 Rotherham (a) Apr 14 Rotherham (h)
LAST SEASON with Man United pedigree. the South Coast.
DEC 9 Fleetwood (h) Apr 21 Fleetwood (a)
Dec 16 AFC Wimbledon (a) Apr 28 AFC Wimbledon (h)
Championship 23rd // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Oxford Utd (a) MAY 5 Doncaster (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 115

LEAGUE TWO
ACCRINGTON STANLEY
2017-18 FIXTURES
BEST SONG LAST SEASON AUG 5 Colchester Utd (h) Dec 26 Carlisle Utd (a)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Yeovil (a) Dec 30 Grimsby (a)
NICK WESTWELL Our following at West Ham
was 725 in a total attendance Aug 19 Mansfield (h) JAN 1 Morecambe (h)
LAST SEASON WAS of 39,413. To hear shit
Aug 26 Notts County (a) Jan 6 Chesterfield (h)
ground, no fans was hilarious
Very up and down. Early coming from us. SEP 2 Morecambe (a) Jan 13 Cheltenham (a)
doors there was the
Sep 9 Carlisle Utd (h) Jan 20 Port Vale (h)
excitement of our progress in YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
the League Cup with a trip to Awesome... Sep 12 Grimsby (h) Jan 27 Crawley (a)
the Olympic Park to play West Shay McCartan Shay McCartan, an awesome
Sep 16 Chesterfield (a) FEB 3 Stevenage (h)
Ham which was a day I talent in Burnleys youth team.
wont forget in a hurry. League He came into his own in Sep 23 Cheltenham (h) Feb 10 Coventry City (a)
form up till Xmas was very OUR BIGGEST HERO January and was outstanding,
Sep 26 Port Vale (a) Feb 13 Crewe (h)
poor, we never got going at 10 goals in 15 games with
all. But at the turn of the year, Easy. From January till the many free-kick specials. He Sep 30 Forest Green (a) Feb 17 Barnet (a)
with a few loan signings, we end of the season we had has been called up to the full
OCT 7 Luton (h) Feb 24 Cambridge Utd (h)
really picked up and could in loanee goalkeeper from Northern Ireland squad.
the end have nicked a Fulham, Geoff Rodak. He Oct 14 Coventry City (h) MAR 3 Newport (a)
play-off spot. turned us around and GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Oct 17 Stevenage (a) Mar 10 Luton (a)
condence spread through
THIS SEASON WILL BE the side. Coventry away. Not long ago Oct 21 Crewe (a) Mar 17 Forest Green (h)
they were in the top ight plus
Oct 28 Barnet (h) Mar 24 Yeovil (h)
Hopes are that we keep a OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN its a new ground.
large part of last years team. NOV 11 Cambridge Utd (a) Mar 31 Mansfield (a)
Fears are that players such as Our two contracted GAME TO DREAD
Nov 18 Newport (h) APR 2 Notts County (h)
McCartan and Pearson will goalkeepers Chapman and
leave in August. Parish found ways mostly Crawley away. Its easier to y Nov 21 Wycombe (h) Apr 7 Colchester Utd (a)
every game to concede a to France and then get the
Nov 25 Exeter (a) Apr 14 Exeter (h)
very soft goal. ferry back!
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Swindon (h) Apr 21 Wycombe (a)
Dec 16 Lincoln City (a) Apr 28 Lincoln City (h)
League Two 13th // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 3rd round
Dec 23 Crawley (h) MAY 5 Swindon (a)
LEAGUE TWO
BARNET
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Forest Green (a) Dec 26 Cambridge Utd (a)

times unfortunate (his defeats
FANS VIEW were never by more than one Aug 12 Luton (h) Dec 30 Exeter (a)
Christophe Emery goal). But his time in charge
Aug 19 Crewe (a) JAN 1 Swindon (h)
coincided with our worst run
LAST SEASON WAS of the season. Aug 26 Stevenage (h) Jan 6 Carlisle Utd (h)
SEP 2 Swindon (a) Jan 13 Crawley (a)
An up and down season, we BEST SONG LAST SEASON
had a half-decent start but Sep 9 Cambridge Utd (h) Jan 20 Lincoln City (h)
had too many draws. After Que sera sera, whatever will
Decent...but Sep 12 Exeter (h) Jan 27 Cheltenham (a)
nding ourselves in the be will be, were going to
bottom two we then had a too many draws Coventry, que sera sera. Sep 16 Carlisle Utd (a) FEB 3 Mansfield (a)
decent run and found
Sep 23 Crawley (h) Feb 10 Notts County (h)
ourselves irting with the long-term injury and we end YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
play-offs. But after a rotten up with a relegation battle. Sep 26 Lincoln City (a) Feb 13 Yeovil (a)
run of form after Xmas we The Taylor brothers, Harry
Sep 30 Wycombe (a) Feb 17 Accrington (h)
slipped down the table but OUR BIGGEST HERO and Jack, have promising
then had a decent last few futures. OCT 7 Coventry City (h) Feb 24 Colchester Utd (a)
games of the season. Michael Nelson at the back
Oct 14 Notts County (a) MAR 3 Port Vale (h)
was outstanding in most GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
THIS SEASON WILL BE games last season. He must Oct 17 Mansfield (h) Mar 10 Coventry City (a)
be great for the youngsters I think most Bees fans are
Oct 21 Yeovil (h) Mar 17 Wycombe (h)
If John Akinde keeps nding we have in the team. I was looking forward to Coventry
the back of the net and Rossi very happy when he signed a away as its a new ground for Oct 28 Accrington (a) Mar 24 Luton (a)
Eames can nd someone to new deal. us all.
NOV 11 Colchester Utd (h) Mar 31 Crewe (h)
contribute more goals from
mideld, we can push for a OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN GAME TO DREAD Nov 18 Port Vale (a) APR 2 Stevenage (a)
play off place. The fear is that
Nov 21 Newport (a) Apr 7 Forest Green (h)
Akinde loses form or gets a Kevin Nugent did not have Luton away. We dont have a
the best time in charge of the great record there plus its not Nov 25 Grimsby (h) Apr 14 Grimsby (a)
LAST SEASON club, although he was at the best away end.
DEC 9 Chesterfield (a) Apr 21 Newport (h)
Dec 16 Morecambe (h) Apr 28 Morecambe (a)
League Two 15th // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Cheltenham (h) MAY 5 Chesterfield (h)
116 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE TWO
CAMBRIDGE UTD
2017-18 FIXTURES
Hes magic you know, weve AUG 5 Exeter (a) Dec 26 Barnet (h)
FANS VIEW got Medy Elito. Not lyrically
Aug 12 Carlisle Utd (h) Dec 30 Crewe (h)
MATT RAMSAY brilliant, but it was rst aired
during a drab rst-half at Aug 19 Crawley (a) JAN 1 Colchester Utd (a)
LAST SEASON WAS Carlisle. Elito came off the
Aug 26 Morecambe (h) Jan 6 Coventry City (a)
bench at half-time and
A missed opportunity. A scored a hat-trick. SEP 2 Colchester Utd (h) Jan 13 Mansfield (h)
dismal start and a poor
Sep 9 Barnet (a) Jan 20 Forest Green (a)
home record denied the Us YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
a realistic chance of making Sep 12 Crewe (a) Jan 27 Notts County (h)
the play-offs in a very open Central defender Harry
Sep 16 Coventry City (h) FEB 3 Yeovil (a)
division. Darling was the stand-out
player in an Under-18 side Sep 23 Mansfield (a) Feb 10 Lincoln City (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Learning... that made it through to round
Shaun Derry Sep 26 Forest Green (h) Feb 13 Chesterfield (a)
four of the FA Youth Cup.
Hopes: that Shaun Derry can Sep 30 Swindon (a) Feb 17 Grimsby (h)
learn from his rst full season struck 22 goals. No midelder GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
OCT 7 Wycombe (h) Feb 24 Accrington (a)
in charge and progress the in the top four divisions
club into one that can scored more. A local trip to Stevenage Oct 14 Lincoln City (a) MAR 3 Luton (h)
seriously challenge. Fears: four games from the end of
Oct 17 Yeovil (h) Mar 10 Wycombe (a)
that he wont, and pressure OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN the campaign could be a
on him will mount from the blockbuster clash if the team Oct 21 Chesterfield (h) Mar 17 Swindon (h)
wider fan base. Those forwards. Except Uche still has something to play for.
Oct 28 Grimsby (a) Mar 24 Carlisle Utd (a)
Ikpeazu, Barry Corr was the
OUR BIGGEST HERO second highest scoring striker. GAME TO DREAD NOV 11 Accrington (h) Mar 31 Crawley (h)
He only started one game all
Nov 18 Luton (a) APR 2 Morecambe (a)
Unquestionably Luke Berry. season. Forest Green Rovers away in
With forwards misring, he the middle of January is one Nov 21 Cheltenham (a) Apr 7 Exeter (h)
BEST SONG LAST SEASON that will be hard for fans to be
Nov 25 Stevenage (h) Apr 14 Stevenage (a)
enthusiastic about.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Port Vale (a) Apr 21 Cheltenham (h)
Dec 16 Newport (h) Apr 28 Newport (a)
League Two 11th // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Notts County (a) MAY 5 Port Vale (h)
LEAGUE TWO
CARLISLE UNITED
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Swindon (h) Dec 26 Accrington (h)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Cambridge Utd (a) Dec 30 Coventry City (h)
ALASTAIR WOODCOCK Cant think of one to be
Aug 19 Cheltenham (h) JAN 1 Mansfield (a)
Secretary, CUOSC honest. The atmosphere at
home games has been a bit Aug 26 Lincoln City (a) Jan 6 Barnet (a)
LAST SEASON WAS at for some time.
SEP 2 Mansfield (h) Jan 13 Crewe (h)
Ultimately, very disappointing. YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 9 Accrington (a) Jan 20 Stevenage (a)
We were lying in the top two
Work-rate...Nicky Sep 12 Coventry City (a) Jan 27 Forest Green (h)
at Christmas but the second Cameron Salkeld, who
half of the season saw us Adams (right) recently signed a full Sep 16 Barnet (h) FEB 3 Wycombe (a)
almost completely collapse, professional contract.
Sep 23 Crewe (a) Feb 10 Colchester Utd (h)
before a late run of results OUR BIGGEST HERO
got us into the play-offs. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 26 Stevenage (h) Feb 13 Notts County (a)
Without a doubt Nicky
Sep 30 Crawley (a) Feb 17 Chesterfield (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Adams, who swept the player With the loss of two of our
of the year awards. His work- derbies with Hartlepool OCT 7 Exeter (h) Feb 24 Yeovil (a)
A lot will depend on how we rate is second to none and he and Blackpool, I guess the
Oct 14 Colchester Utd (a) MAR 3 Grimsby (h)
replace the experienced trio gets among the goals as well. Morecambe away game is the
of Mark Gillespie, Michael one that most fans will want Oct 17 Wycombe (h) Mar 10 Exeter (a)
Raynes and Jabo Ibehre. OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN to be at. We usually
Oct 21 Notts County (h) Mar 17 Crawley (h)
We also need to sort out outnumber their supporters.
our defence as a whole, Charlie Wyke leaving for Oct 28 Chesterfield (a) Mar 24 Cambridge Utd (h)
which has been a problem Bradford City in the January GAME TO DREAD
NOV 11 Yeovil (h) Mar 31 Cheltenham (a)
for years. If we can do those window didnt help us. Wyke
things, hopefully we should had scored 18 goals up to Newport away. Theyve won Nov 18 Grimsby (a) APR 2 Lincoln City (h)
at least make the play-offs that point, so you couldnt this xture three seasons
Nov 21 Luton (a) Apr 7 Swindon (a)
again. criticise his contribution, but running. We last won there in
when he went, he was never 1988, which kept us in the Nov 25 Morecambe (h) Apr 14 Morecambe (a)
LAST SEASON properly replaced. League at their expense.
DEC 9 Newport (a) Apr 21 Luton (h)
Dec 16 Port Vale (h) Apr 28 Port Vale (a)
League Two 6th // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Forest Green (a) MAR 5 Newport (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 117

LEAGUE TWO
CHELTENHAM TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
BEST SONG LAST SEASON AUG 5 Morecambe (a) Dec 26 Yeovil (h)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Crawley (h) Dec 30 Newport (h)
MARK HELLEWELL A three-word ditty about
Forest Green was a regular. I Aug 19 Carlisle Utd (a) JAN 1 Stevenage (a)
LAST SEASON WAS cant mention the third word,
Aug 26 Exeter (h) Jan 6 Colchester Utd (a)
but it comes before Forest
Frustrating. After coming Green. SEP 2 Stevenage (h) Jan 13 Accrington (h)
straight back up, we were
Sep 9 Yeovil (a) Jan 20 Mansfield (a)
hoping momentum would YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
carry us into the top half at Loan... Sep 12 Newport (a) Jan 27 Barnet (h)
least but it never happened. Scott Brown Adam Page, a teenage winger,
Sep 16 Colchester Utd (h) FEB 3 Grimsby (a)
Injuries and suspensions has spent two years out with
from the off meant the injury but the club have stuck Sep 23 Accrington (a) Feb 10 Port Vale (h)
season never got going and Scott Brown came back on by him and Gary Johnson has
Sep 26 Mansfield (h) Feb 13 Lincoln City (a)
it became a struggle. loan from Wycombe and put high hopes for him.
in some sterling displays as Sep 30 Chesterfield (a) Feb 17 Wycombe (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE we crept above the dreaded GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
OCT 7 Swindon (h) Feb 24 Luton (a)
line, notably saving a penalty
Just hoping for better than in the win at Leyton Orient. Forest Green home and away. Oct 14 Port Vale (a) MAR 3 Notts County (h)
last season. The biggest fear is Our big-spending noisy
Oct 17 Grimsby (h) Mar 10 Swindon (a)
another relegation battle, as OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN neighbours have nally got
off the eld things are looking out of the National League. Oct 21 Lincoln City (h) Mar 17 Chesterfield (h)
promising and we cannot let His value on the pitch was Its nice to nally have a
Oct 28 Wycombe (a) Mar 24 Crawley (a)
that go to waste on the pitch. demonstrated at the end of Gloucestershire county derby.
the season as he was superb Just dont call it El Glosico. NOV 11 Luton (h) Mar 31 Carlisle Utd (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO in the nal few weeks as we
Nov 18 Notts County (a) APR 2 Exeter (a)
stayed up - but Kyle Storer GAME TO DREAD
Our returning goalkeeper missed 15 games through Nov 21 Cambridge Utd (h) Apr 7 Morecambe (h)
various suspensions which See above. The hype will be
Nov 25 Forest Green (a) Apr 14 Forest Green (h)
could have proved very costly. ridiculous.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Crewe (h) Apr 21 Cambridge Utd (a)
Dec 16 Coventry City (a) Apr 28 Coventry City (h)
League Two 21st // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Barnet (a) MAY 5 Crewe (a)
LEAGUE TWO
CHESTERFIELD
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Grimsby (h) Dec 26 Crewe (h)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Notts County (a) Dec 30 Colchester Utd (h)
HILLY81
Aug 19 Port Vale (h) JAN 1 Coventry City (a)
Bobs Board, Spireites forum
Aug 26 Newport (a) Jan 6 Accrington (a)
LAST SEASON WAS
SEP 2 Coventry City (h) Jan 13 Luton (h)
An absolute car crash. Sep 9 Crewe (a) Jan 20 Yeovil (a)
Shambles on the eld.
Sep 12 Colchester Utd (a) Jan 27 Stevenage (h)
Scandal off it. Absolute
basket case of a football Sep 16 Accrington (h) FEB 3 Crawley (h)
club.
Sep 23 Luton (a) Feb 10 Morecambe (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Sep 26 Yeovil (h) Feb 13 Cambridge Utd (h)
Seeing red...
Dan Gardner Sep 30 Cheltenham (h) Feb 17 Carlisle Utd (a)
The hope is that we will not
be getting relegated again. OCT 7 Lincoln City (a) Feb 24 Swindon (h)
The fear is getting relegated OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Oct 14 Morecambe (h) MAR 3 Exeter (a)
again.
Former chairman Dave Allen, Joe Rowley broke into the rst Oct 17 Crawley (a) Mar 10 Lincoln City (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO club director Ashley Carson, team and got good reviews.
Oct 21 Cambridge Utd (a) Mar 17 Cheltenham (a)
the majority of the players,
The members of Bobs Board cticious competition winner GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Oct 28 Carlisle Utd (h) Mar 24 Notts County (h)
who worked tirelessly to James Higgins. Take your
NOV 11 Swindon (a) Mar 31 Port Vale (a)
uncover the shady goings on pick. Crewe away.
at this football club. Ian Evatt Nov 18 Exeter (h) APR 2 Newport (h)
was the only player who BEST SONG LAST SEASON GAME TO DREAD
Nov 21 Forest Green (h) Apr 7 Grimsby (a)
looked truly committed.
Hard to think of one for last The rst six. A bad start could Nov 25 Mansfield (a) Apr 14 Mansfield (h)
LAST SEASON season. be a big disaster.
DEC 9 Barnet (h) Apr 21 Forest Green (a)
Dec 16 Wycombe (a) Apr 28 Wycombe (h)
League One 24th // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Stevenage (a) MAY 5 Barnet (a)
118 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE TWO
COLCHESTER UTD
2017-18 FIXTURES
BEST SONG LAST SEASON AUG 5 Accrington (a) Dec 26 Crawley (a)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Stevenage (h) Dec 30 Chesterfield (a)
JON BURNS More of a drum beat than a
sort of song or chant. On Aug 19 Luton (a) JAN 1 Cambridge Utd (h)
LAST SEASON WAS more than one occasion Big
Aug 26 Forest Green (h) Jan 6 Cheltenham (h)
George would hit the drum so
It was a real season of two hard that it now needs a new SEP 2 Cambridge Utd (a) Jan 13 Wycombe (a)
halves. Dreadful and sitting skin.
Sep 9 Crawley (h) Jan 20 Grimsby (h)
second from bottom in
mid-November, the team Inspirational... YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 12 Chesterfield (h) Jan 27 Port Vale (a)
rolled up their sleeves and George Elokobi Sep 16 Cheltenham (a) FEB 3 Newport (h)
found a winning formula that With so many Academy
they could believe in. After players in and around the rst Sep 23 Wycombe (h) Feb 10 Carlisle Utd (a)
that we stormed up the table OUR BIGGEST HERO team squad, the one I would
Sep 26 Grimsby (a) Feb 13 Coventry City (h)
to only just miss out on the like to see make a real impact
play-offs. Look no further than number next season is Louis Dunne. Sep 30 Yeovil (a) Feb 17 Crewe (a)
15, George Elokobi, who
OCT 7 Mansfield (h) Feb 24 Barnet (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE came back from a non-league GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
loan to be a part of a new Oct 14 Carlisle Utd (h) MAR 3 Morecambe (a)
Theres a strong belief that if back three. George inspired Im really looking forward to
Oct 17 Newport (a) Mar 10 Mansfield (a)
we can keep the bulk of last everyone around him, team visiting Forest Green Rovers in
seasons squad together then, mate and fans. Truly April. Only new ground for Oct 21 Coventry City (a) Mar 17 Yeovil (h)
at the very least, they can memorable. me. Have to add that the
Oct 28 Crewe (h) Mar 24 Stevenage (a)
nish one place higher this League Cup visit of Aston Villa
season. Our greatest fear will OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN is also pretty decent. NOV 11 Barnet (a) Mar 31 Luton (h)
be a return of the injury blight
Nov 18 Morecambe (h) APR 2 Forest Green (a)
that crippled us last time Our selsh treatment table GAME TO DREAD
around. which demanded too many Nov 21 Lincoln City (h) Apr 7 Accrington (h)
players visit it during the Travelling to Newport County
Nov 25 Notts County (a) Apr 14 Notts County (h)
season. on an October Tuesday night.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Exeter (h) Apr 21 Lincoln City (a)
Dec 16 Swindon (a) Apr 28 Swindon (h)
Dec 23 Port Vale (h) MAY 5 Exeter (a)
LEAGUE TWO
COVENTRY CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Notts County (h) Dec 26 Port Vale (a)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Grimsby (a) Dec 30 Carlisle Utd (a)
NEIL ALLISON In the penultimate home
Aug 19 Newport (h) JAN 1 Chesterfield (h)
game City fans blasted out
LAST SEASON WAS a 30-minute rendition of Aug 26 Yeovil (a) Jan 6 Cambridge Utd (h)
Twist and Shout for no
SEP 2 Chesterfield (a) Jan 13 Exeter (a)
The party line is that it was good reason. For one half
the worst-season ever, yet we of football we forgot about Sep 9 Port Vale (h) Jan 20 Swindon (h)
still won a trophy at Wembley protests, politics, and invading
EFL Trophy... Sep 12 Carlisle Utd (h) Jan 27 Wycombe (a)
in front of 43,000 Sky Blue the pitch, and it felt great.
fans. Whisper it quietly, but Wembley Sep 16 Cambridge Utd (a) FEB 3 Forest Green (a)
that victory helped to numb YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Sep 23 Exeter (h) Feb 10 Accrington (h)
the anger somewhat. Thomas cemented his place
as a bona de Cov legend, Young Ben Stevenson strikes Sep 26 Swindon (a) Feb 13 Colchester Utd (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE alongside such luminaries me as being the real deal.
Sep 30 Crewe (h) Feb 17 Luton (h)
as Lady Godiva and that
I hope we win League Two by one who plays Masood in GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO OCT 7 Barnet (a) Feb 24 Mansfield (a)
some considerable margin. EastEnders.
Oct 14 Accrington (a) MAR 3 Lincoln City (h)
My fear is that itll play out Luton Town away. Ive never
exactly as it has done in every OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN been, although I hear Oct 17 Forest Green (h) Mar 10 Barnet (h)
season since our owners Sisu rumours that you have to
Oct 21 Colchester Utd (h) Mar 17 Crewe (a)
arrived. I have to say, were all He may have only been at the traverse someones back
getting a little tired of wishing club for three months, but in garden in order to gain entry. Oct 28 Luton (a) Mar 24 Grimsby (h)
our lives away. that time Russell Slade did
NOV 11 Mansfield (h) Mar 31 Newport (a)
an unfathomably effective job GAME TO DREAD
OUR BIGGEST HERO of plunging the club to the Swindon away. Always Nov 18 Lincoln City (a) APR 2 Yeovil (h)
Mariana Trench-depths of Swindon away. Take my eyes,
Nov 21 Stevenage (a) Apr 7 Notts County (a)
Wembley winner George League One, before being take my sanity, please Lord
told - quite rightly - to sling - take anything - dont make Nov 25 Crawley (h) Apr 14 Crawley (a)
LAST SEASON his hook. me go to Swindon again.
DEC 9 Morecambe (a) Apr 21 Stevenage (h)
Dec 16 Cheltenham (h) Apr 28 Cheltenham (a)
League One 23rd // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Wycombe (h) MAY 5 Morecambe (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 119

LEAGUE TWO
CRAWLEY TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
Spandau Ballets Gold was AUG 5 Port Vale (h) Dec 26 Colchester Utd (h)
FANS VIEW the ideal song for Enzio
Aug 12 Cheltenham (a) Dec 30 Stevenage (h)
CAROL BATES Boldewijn... Enzio-o, always
believe in your soul, you got Aug 19 Cambridge Utd (h) JAN 1 Yeovil (a)
LAST SEASON WAS the power to know youre
Aug 26 Swindon (a) Jan 6 Notts County (a)
indestructible, always
Disappointing in the end. belieeeeeve, Enzio-o. SEP 2 Yeovil (h) Jan 13 Barnet (h)
From a very good start, it
Sep 9 Colchester Utd (a) Jan 20 Newport (a)
diminished into a battle irting YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
near the relegation places, Didnt work out Sep 12 Stevenage (a) Jan 27 Accrington (h)
which was a mirror of last ...Jason Banton Weve signed a forward,
Sep 16 Notts County (h) FEB 3 Chesterfield (a)
season. Panutche Camara from
Dulwich Hamlet. Hes a Sep 23 Barnet (a) Feb 10 Grimsby (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE trouble but then Morris in 20-year-old striker so were
Sep 26 Newport (h) Feb 13 Luton (a)
goal made so many important hoping for good things.
Before James Collins, our saves, especially penalties, Sep 30 Carlisle Utd (h) Feb 17 Lincoln City (h)
22-goal striker, was on his that earned us points. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
OCT 7 Morecambe (a) Feb 24 Forest Green (a)
way to Luton, there was a lot
more optimism! Im hoping for OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Im looking forward to an early Oct 14 Grimsby (a) MAR 3 Wycombe (h)
a couple of big signings to one in the cup at Birmingham
Oct 17 Chesterfield (h) Mar 10 Morecambe (h)
bring back that optimism. Not really a villain but when City. Its a new ground for us
Jason Banton arrived we and well be going there as Oct 21 Luton (h) Mar 17 Carlisle Utd (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO thought he would be a good underdogs which usually
Oct 28 Lincoln City (a) Mar 24 Cheltenham (h)
addition but it didnt work out means well step up a gear.
Difcult to choose between and he is now at Woking. NOV 11 Forest Green (h) Mar 31 Cambridge Utd (a)
James Collins and Glenn GAME TO DREAD
Nov 18 Wycombe (a) APR 2 Swindon (h)
Morris. Without Collins goals, BEST SONG LAST SEASON Yeovil away on New Years
we would have been in Day is not lling me with Nov 21 Exeter (h) Apr 7 Port Vale (a)
Dermot Drummys mentality enthusiasm! We havent won
Nov 25 Coventry City (a) Apr 14 Coventry City (h)
was going for gold so there in any previous visit.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Mansfield (h) Apr 21 Exeter (a)
Dec 16 Crewe (a) Apr 28 Crewe (h)
Dec 23 Accrington (a) MAY 5 Mansfield (a)
LEAGUE TWO
CREWE ALEXANDRA
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Mansfield (h) Dec 26 Chesterfield (a)

Artell gave the place a lift
FANS VIEW and the song Dave Artells Aug 12 Newport (a) Dec 30 Cambridge Utd (a)
ADRIAN DOBSON Red and White Army was
Aug 19 Barnet (h) JAN 1 Grimsby (h)
one of the new favourite
LAST SEASON WAS chants heard around the Aug 26 Port Vale (a) Jan 6 Exeter (h)
Alexandra.
SEP 2 Grimsby (a) Jan 13 Carlisle Utd (a)
Hopes were running high
of getting back into League YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Sep 9 Chesterfield (h) Jan 20 Wycombe (h)
One at the rst time of
Top scorer... Sep 12 Cambridge Utd (h) Jan 27 Swindon (a)
asking. How wrong we were, I had great hopes for Callum
as the season steadily Chris Dagnall Ainley and Charlie Kirk last Sep 16 Exeter (a) FEB 3 Notts County (a)
declined and after a season, but Im sure the air of
Sep 23 Carlisle Utd (h) Feb 10 Yeovil (h)
seven match winless run, OUR BIGGEST HERO depression around the ground
in January our manager, Steve didnt help their development. Sep 26 Wycombe (a) Feb 13 Accrington (a)
Davis, was sacked. Things Chris Dagnall was top scorer
Sep 30 Coventry City (a) Feb 17 Colchester Utd (h)
did vastly improve under and player of the season. GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
replacement David Artell and OCT 7 Stevenage (h) Feb 24 Lincoln City (a)
smiling faces from the home OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Our near neighbours Port
Oct 14 Yeovil (a) MAR 3 Forest Green (h)
support returned to Gresty Vale are now back with us.
Road. Just two seasons before, Victory at Vale Park very early Oct 17 Notts County (h) Mar 10 Stevenage (a)
Steve Davis had been lauded in the season would give us
Oct 21 Accrington (h) Mar 17 Coventry City (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE as the new Messiah. However bragging rights for some time.
he came up with the same Oct 28 Colchester Utd (a) Mar 24 Newport (h)
Really hoping that the excuses week after week and GAME TO DREAD
NOV 11 Lincoln City (h) Mar 31 Barnet (a)
improvements of last season it was a relief in January when
continue and a realistic hope he was relieved of his duties. The newspapers and TV love Nov 18 Forest Green (a) APR 2 Port Vale (h)
of the play-offs is not out of a giant-killing act in the FA
Nov 21 Morecambe (a) Apr 7 Mansfield (a)
the question. BEST SONG LAST SEASON Cup, but please dont let this
be Crewe as surely we are Nov 25 Luton (h) Apr 14 Luton (a)
LAST SEASON The appointment of Dave due a cup run.
DEC 9 Cheltenham (a) Apr 21 Morecambe (h)
Dec 16 Crawley (h) Apr 28 Crawley (a)
League one 17th // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Swindon (h) MAY 5 Cheltenham (h)
120 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE TWO
EXETER CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
crowd began chanting let AUG 5 Cambridge Utd (h) Dec 26 Forest Green (h)
FANS VIEW them score so Roger can
Aug 12 Swindon (a) Dec 30 Barnet (h)
ALICE COOKE win. Not something you
hear every day. Aug 19 Lincoln City (h) JAN 1 Newport (a)
LAST SEASON WAS
Aug 26 Cheltenham (a) Jan 6 Crewe (a)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
A real rollercoaster - from SEP 2 Newport (h) Jan 13 Coventry City (h)
bottom of the league in Ethan Ampadu. Hes 16 and
Sep 9 Forest Green (a) Jan 20 Notts County (a)
November to the play-off played a part in several
Final at Wembley against rst-team matches last Sep 12 Barnet (a) Jan 27 Yeovil (h)
Blackpool. Wow! season, alongside taking his
Sep 16 Crewe (h) FEB 3 Luton (a)
GCSEs, and has now joined
THIS SEASON WILL BE Chelsea. Sep 23 Coventry City (a) Feb 10 Wycombe (h)
Sep 26 Notts County (h) Feb 13 Port Vale (a)
We hope the manager will be GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
able to build on the team that Sep 30 Morecambe (h) Feb 17 Mansfield (h)
took us so far but always have Good and bad Forest Green Rovers. Im a
...Paul Tisdale OCT 7 Carlisle Utd (a) Feb 24 Grimsby (a)
the fear of being left behind vegan so looking forward to
due to lack of investment being able to eat at a football Oct 14 Wycombe (a) MAR 3 Chesterfield (h)
always a problem with a his head at the end of 2016 ground. I hear the food is
Oct 17 Luton (h) Mar 10 Carlisle Utd (h)
Supporter-owned club. but were full of praise by the great!
end of the season. Oct 21 Port Vale (h) Mar 17 Morecambe (a)
OUR BIGGEST HERO & GAME TO DREAD
Oct 28 Mansfield (a) Mar 24 Swindon (h)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Now were not playing derby NOV 11 Grimsby (h) Mar 31 Lincoln City (a)
Could be seen as the same One of our supporters puts a rivals, Plymouth, this season, I
Nov 18 Chesterfield (a) APR 2 Cheltenham (h)
person, our manager, Paul bet on City to win 4-1 every dont think well dread anyone
Tisdale. Fans were calling for match and hed had a payout that much really. Well be Nov 21 Crawley (a) Apr 7 Cambridge Utd (a)
the previous game. We were looking forward to new
Nov 25 Accrington (h) Apr 14 Accrington (a)
4-0 up at home and the challenges.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Colchester Utd (a) Apr 21 Crawley (h)
Dec 16 Stevenage (h) Apr 28 Stevenage (a)
League One 5th // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Yeovil (a) MAY 5 Colchester Utd (h)
LEAGUE TWO
FOREST GREEN ROVERS

2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Barnet (h) Dec 26 Exeter (a)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Mansfield (a) Dec 30 Lincoln City (a)
Voodoobluesman, SkunkMan Woke up this morning feeling
Aug 19 Yeovil (h) JAN 1 Wycombe (h)
forum.fgrfc.net ne, Ive got promotion on my
mind. Aug 26 Colchester Utd (a) Jan 6 Port Vale (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
SEP 2 Wycombe (a) Jan 13 Swindon (a)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Unpredictable, at times Sep 9 Exeter (h) Jan 20 Cambridge Utd (h)
frustrating, but ultimately Reece Brown, an attacking
Welsh wonder... Sep 12 Lincoln City (h) Jan 27 Carlisle Utd (a)
joyous. Towards the end of midelder signed after he was
the season we did not look Christian Doidge released from Birmingham. Sep 16 Port Vale (a) FEB 3 Coventry City (h)
particularly sharp, but we A very talented young player,
Sep 23 Swindon (h) Feb 10 Newport (a)
pulled together brilliantly in Christian Doidge scoring 27 but dogged by rumours
the play-offs. goals, we would still be in the about his character. And Olly Sep 26 Cambridge Utd (a) Feb 13 Stevenage (h)
National League. Sam Russell Mayhew: this kid can score
Sep 30 Accrington (h) Feb 17 Morecambe (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE produced some legendary goals, watch out for him.
saves to keep us in the OCT 7 Notts County (a) Feb 24 Crawley (h)
We want to consolidate. So I running, even during the GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Oct 14 Newport (h) MAR 3 Crewe (a)
hope for a few good wins, to tough times.
keep playing attacking Coventry at home, because Oct 17 Coventry City (a) Mar 10 Notts County (h)
football and to nish six or OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN the ground will hopefully be
Oct 21 Stevenage (a) Mar 17 Accrington (a)
more points clear of the full to its intended 5,000
relegation zone! Going down Lincoln. Both their team and capacity, plus the derbies Oct 28 Morecambe (h) Mar 24 Mansfield (h)
would be a nightmare. their fans were very against Yeovil, Swindon and
NOV 11 Crawley (a) Mar 31 Yeovil (a)
ungracious in victory, in Cheltenham.
OUR BIGGEST HERO complete contrast to the Nov 18 Crewe (h) APR 2 Colchester Utd (h)
Tranmere fans, who were GAME TO DREAD
Nov 21 Chesterfield (a) Apr 7 Barnet (a)
Without the Welsh Wonder magnanimous at the play-off
Final despite the obvious None. We should respect Nov 25 Cheltenham (h) Apr 14 Cheltenham (a)
LAST SEASON disappointment of losing. everyone, but fear no one.
DEC 9 Grimsby (a) Apr 21 Chesterfield (h)
Dec 16 Luton (h) Apr 28 Luton (a)
National League 3rd // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup n/a
Dec 23 Carlisle Utd (h) MAY 5 Grimsby (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 121

LEAGUE TWO
GRIMSBY TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
BEST SONG LAST SEASON AUG 5 Chesterfield (a) Dec 26 Mansfield (h)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Coventry City (h) Dec 30 Accrington (h)
CODALMIGHTY The fourth division was not
prepared for the sh chant Aug 19 Stevenage (a) JAN 1 Crewe (a)
LAST SEASON WAS (that pre- dates that annoying
Aug 26 Wycombe (h) Jan 6 Yeovil (a)
Icelandic thing). Clap. Clap.
Should have been better, Clap-clap-clap. FISH! SEP 2 Crewe (h) Jan 13 Newport (h)
could have been worse. We
Sep 9 Mansfield (a) Jan 20 Colchester Utd (a)
had a new set of players in a YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
league we knew nothing Heroic... Sep 12 Accrington (a) Jan 27 Luton (h)
about, so not getting Shaun Pearson We like Harry Clifton, so some
Sep 16 Yeovil (h) FEB 3 Cheltenham (h)
relegated was the aim. By non-league side somewhere
Christmas we realised that down the food chain is going Sep 23 Newport (a) Feb 10 Crawley (a)
everyone (except Pompey, OUR BIGGEST HERO to be happy soon.
Sep 26 Colchester Utd (h) Feb 13 Morecambe (h)
Plymouth, Donny and the
ailing Orient) were of the Craig Disley and Shaun GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 30 Lincoln City (h) Feb 17 Cambridge Utd (a)
same standard, so we could Pearson, just because they
OCT 7 Port Vale (a) Feb 24 Exeter (h)
escape to victory and go are heroically old-fashioned Obviously the grand return of
straight up. Then Marcus footballers who understood the Lincolnshire derby, if only Oct 14 Crawley (h) MAR 3 Carlisle Utd (a)
Bignot went mad and threw the club and town. to see in person how long it
Oct 17 Cheltenham (a) Mar 10 Port Vale (h)
out the bathwater leaving us takes for Lincolnites to
with his babies. OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN remember they dont actually Oct 21 Morecambe (a) Mar 17 Lincoln City (a)
like football that much.
Oct 28 Cambridge Utd (h) Mar 24 Coventry City (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Were mildly peeved at
many for the waste of time GAME TO DREAD NOV 11 Exeter (a) Mar 31 Stevenage (h)
We hope and fear for a and money that was last
Nov 18 Carlisle Utd (h) APR 2 Wycombe (a)
terribly dull grind towards the season. Three managers, We dont dread anyone in this
play-offs, possibly, maybe. two complete squad division. A slight apprehension Nov 21 Swindon (h) Apr 7 Chesterfield (h)
overhauls, and one giant at the possibility we wont
Nov 25 Barnet (a) Apr 14 Barnet (h)
mis-step for Town kind. continue our romps at Lincoln.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Forest Green (h) Apr 21 Swindon (a)
Dec 16 Notts County (a) Apr 28 Notts County (h)
Dec 23 Luton (a) MAY 5 Forest Green (a)
LEAGUE TWO
LINCOLN CITY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Wycombe (a) Dec 26 Stevenage (h)

because it isnt one we
FANS VIEW usually get to sing. Aug 12 Morecambe (h) Dec 30 Forest Green (h)
GARY HUTCHINSON
Aug 19 Exeter (a) JAN 1 Luton (a)
Editor, The Stacey West YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
staceywest.net Aug 26 Carlisle Utd (h) Jan 6 Mansfield (a)
There isnt a youth player as
SEP 2 Luton (h) Jan 13 Notts County (h)
LAST SEASON WAS such, but both Sean Raggett
and Alex Woodyard are under Sep 9 Stevenage (a) Jan 20 Barnet (a)
The most emotional and 23 and have big futures.
Big future... Sep 12 Forest Green (a) Jan 27 Newport (h)
remarkable season I have
ever experienced as a Sean Raggett GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 16 Mansfield (h) FEB 3 Swindon (h)
football fan. Groundbreaking,
Sep 23 Notts County (a) Feb 10 Cambridge Utd (a)
unparalleled and beyond our management team of Danny Im really looking forward to
wildest dreams. and Nicky Cowley. It took the rst game, seeing the Sep 26 Barnet (h) Feb 13 Cheltenham (h)
them 10 months to turn a boys running out with EFL
Sep 30 Grimsby (a) Feb 17 Crawley (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE battle-weary bottom half side badges on their arms once
into title winners, full of belief again. Aside from that, the OCT 7 Chesterfield (h) Feb 24 Crewe (h)
My main hope is that we are and purpose. derby matches with Grimsby
Oct 14 Cambridge Utd (h) MAR 3 Coventry City (a)
competitive on our return to and Notts County.
the Football League. If we OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Oct 17 Swindon (a) Mar 10 Chesterfield (a)
could sit somewhere in the GAME TO DREAD
Oct 21 Cheltenham (a) Mar 17 Grimsby (h)
top 10 that would be real Mark Cooper of Forest Green
progress. Our biggest fear is a made many condescending Forest Green away, apart from Oct 28 Crawley (h) Mar 24 Morecambe (a)
relegation battle. remarks about our team their bank balance theyre
NOV 11 Crewe (a) Mar 31 Exeter (h)
despite us beating them a non-league set up. Their
OUR BIGGEST HERO twice. business model repulses Nov 18 Coventry City (h) APR 2 Carlisle Utd (a)
me, its unsustainable and
Nov 21 Colchester Utd (a) Apr 7 Wycombe (h)
The real heroes were the BEST SONG LAST SEASON represents a little slice of
everything wrong with the Nov 25 Port Vale (h) Apr 14 Port Vale (a)
LAST SEASON We are going up, purely modern game.
DEC 9 Yeovil (a) Apr 21 Colchester Utd (h)
Dec 16 Accrington (h) Apr 28 Accrington (a)
National League 1st // FA Cup Quarter-finals // League Cup n/a
Dec 23 Newport (a) MAY 5 Yeovil (h)
122 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE TWO
LUTON TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
League, we are the famous AUG 5 Yeovil (h) Dec 26 Swindon (a)
FANS VIEW Luton Town; they tried to kill
Aug 12 Barnet (a) Dec 30 Port Vale (a)
DPLEATED us off, but we are not so soft,
Luton Outlaws we are the famous Luton Aug 19 Colchester Utd (h) JAN 1 Lincoln City (h)
Town.
Aug 26 Mansfield (a) Jan 6 Wycombe (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH SEP 2 Lincoln City (a) Jan 13 Chesterfield (a)
Consistently inconsistent. We
Sep 9 Swindon (h) Jan 20 Morecambe (h)
never lost consecutive games James Justin, a composed
but until the nal month we Composed... right-back. Called up to Sep 12 Port Vale (h) Jan 27 Grimsby (a)
never put more than a run of James Justin England under-19s in the
Sep 16 Wycombe (a) FEB 3 Exeter (h)
two winning games together. summer. He will most certainly
Fourth place was about right become a Premier League Sep 23 Chesterfield (h) Feb 10 Stevenage (a)
for a young team. The play- OUR BIGGEST HERO player in the future.
Sep 26 Morecambe (a) Feb 13 Crawley (h)
offs were no surprise as we
continue our run of never Danny Hylton a pantomime GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 30 Newport (h) Feb 17 Coventry City (a)
being promoted via them villain all opposition fans
OCT 7 Accrington (a) Feb 24 Cheltenham (h)
our fth failed attempt. hated him! Notts County away, the
nal game of the season, Oct 14 Stevenage (h) MAR 3 Cambridge Utd (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Nottingham is always a good
Oct 17 Exeter (a) Mar 10 Accrington (h)
away day and celebrating the
Hope to go one better. Stuart Moore. Unfortunately league two title there will be a Oct 21 Crawley (a) Mar 17 Newport (a)
Despite the loss of McGeehan for the young keeper he great (drink fuelled) day out!
Oct 28 Coventry City (h) Mar 24 Barnet (h)
and Marriott our squad made a season dening
already looks stronger than clanger in the play-offs which GAME TO DREAD NOV 11 Cheltenham (a) Mar 31 Colchester Utd (a)
last season, particularly the ultimately cost us promotion.
Nov 18 Cambridge Utd (h) APR 2 Mansfield (h)
key additions of McCormack, Carlisle away. Last years
Stech and Shinnie. BEST SONG LAST SEASON midweek trip coincided with Nov 21 Carlisle Utd (h) Apr 7 Yeovil (a)
umpteen road closures and
Nov 25 Crewe (a) Apr 14 Crewe (h)
F**k the FA and The Football getting home at 4am.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Notts County (h) Apr 21 Carlisle Utd (a)
Dec 16 Forest Green (a) Apr 28 Forest Green (h)
League Two 4th // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Grimsby (h) MAY 5 Notts County (a)
LEAGUE TWO
MANSFIELD TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Crewe (a) Dec 26 Grimsby (a)

OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Forest Green (h) Dec 30 Wycombe (a)
DEAN FOULKES Probably the referee who
Aug 19 Accrington (a) JAN 1 Carlisle Utd (h)
failed to send off a Pompey
LAST SEASON WAS player in our last home game Aug 26 Luton (h) Jan 6 Lincoln City (h)
for blatantly wrestling down
SEP 2 Carlisle Utd (a) Jan 13 Cambridge Utd (a)
Bizarre in many ways as it our centre-forward when
felt like it was actually two clean through. Sep 9 Grimsby (h) Jan 20 Cheltenham (h)
seasons rolled in to one. We
Sep 12 Wycombe (h) Jan 27 Morecambe (a)
started steady before fading, BEST SONG LAST SEASON
then manager Adam Murray Sep 16 Lincoln City (a) FEB 3 Barnet (h)
left and in came Steve Evans Slater, Slater, whats The
Sep 23 Cambridge Utd (h) Feb 10 Swindon (a)
with several new players. score, in reference to a local
Generally the improvement radio commentator when we Sep 26 Cheltenham (a) Feb 13 Newport (h)
was huge although we just were beating Notts County.
Sep 30 Notts County (h) Feb 17 Exeter (a)
missed out on a play-off
place. YOUNGSTER TO WATCH OCT 7 Colchester Utd (a) Feb 24 Coventry City (h)
Oct 14 Swindon (h) MAR 3 Stevenage (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE There are several that if they
Arrival... reach their potential we could Oct 17 Barnet (a) Mar 10 Colchester Utd (h)
I hope we win every single Steve Evans have a great season.
Oct 21 Newport (a) Mar 17 Notts County (a)
match, soundly thrashing
Chestereld and Notts County GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Oct 28 Exeter (h) Mar 24 Forest Green (a)
both home and away! There OUR BIGGEST HERO
NOV 11 Coventry City (a) Mar 31 Accrington (h)
are no fears, most Stags Chestereld, Notts County
fans are super excited and Our fans, especially and Lincoln. Nov 18 Stevenage (h) APR 2 Luton (a)
cant wait for the season those who travelled away
Nov 21 Port Vale (a) Apr 7 Crewe (h)
to start. particularly midweek to far GAME TO DREAD
ung places like Yeovil and Nov 25 Chesterfield (h) Apr 14 Chesterfield (a)
LAST SEASON Carlisle. Luton away is very rarely fun!
DEC 9 Crawley (a) Apr 21 Port Vale (h)
Dec 16 Yeovil (h) Apr 28 Yeovil (a)
Dec 23 Morecambe (h) MAY 5 Crawley (h)
FOOTBALL 2018 123

LEAGUE TWO
MORECAMBE
2017-18 FIXTURES
game for losing his cool after AUG 5 Cheltenham (h) Dec 26 Notts County (h)
FANS VIEW a red card given by one of
Aug 12 Lincoln City (a) Dec 30 Yeovil (h)
JACK STEER many atrocious referees in
the league. The whole Aug 19 Swindon (h) JAN 1 Accrington (a)
LAST SEASON WAS stadium united in singing his
Aug 26 Cambridge Utd (a) Jan 6 Newport (a)
name and a collection was
A disaster off the pitch and taken to pay his ne. SEP 2 Accrington (h) Jan 13 Stevenage (h)
a miracle on the pitch. Well
Sep 9 Notts County (a) Jan 20 Luton (a)
publicised ownership issues YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
seriously threatened the Miracle... Sep 12 Yeovil (a) Jan 27 Mansfield (h)
existence of the club but Jim Bentley Luke Jordan, who has pace in
Sep 16 Newport (h) FEB 3 Port Vale (a)
Jim Bentley worked miracles abundance.
to keep us in the League. Sep 23 Stevenage (a) Feb 10 Chesterfield (h)
league with Plymouth in the GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Sep 26 Luton (h) Feb 13 Grimsby (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE close season.
Having lost local seaside rivals Sep 30 Exeter (a) Feb 17 Forest Green (h)
Even the most optimistic OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Blackpool, it was selshly
OCT 7 Crawley (h) Feb 24 Wycombe (a)
Morecambe fan will be very pleasing to at least keep
cautious at the moment with Diego Lemos, a Brazilian who Carlisle in the division for Oct 14 Chesterfield (a) MAR 3 Colchester Utd (h)
the loss of key players from bought the club then did a what is always an entertaining
Oct 17 Port Vale (h) Mar 10 Crawley (a)
last year. Survival is the only runner. However, the off-eld xture both home and away.
immediate target. problems had the positive Oct 21 Grimsby (h) Mar 17 Exeter (h)
effect of uniting the fans and GAME TO DREAD
Oct 28 Forest Green (a) Mar 24 Lincoln City (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO the club to an extent we
havent seen since leaving No game in particular but any NOV 11 Wycombe (h) Mar 31 Swindon (a)
Ryan Edwards cleaned up at Christie Park in 2010. Shrimps that are dedicated
Nov 18 Colchester Utd (a) APR 2 Cambridge Utd (h)
the end-of-season awards do enough to make such a long
and has earned a move up a BEST SONG LAST SEASON journey wont relish the fact Nov 21 Crewe (h) Apr 7 Cheltenham (a)
that we have Yeovil away on
Nov 25 Carlisle Utd (a) Apr 14 Carlisle Utd (h)
When Jim got banned for one a Tuesday night.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Coventry City (h) Apr 21 Crewe (a)
Dec 16 Barnet (a) Apr 28 Barnet (h)
League Two 18th // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 2nd round
Dec 23 Mansfield (a) MAY 5 Coventry City (a)
LEAGUE TWO
NEWPORT COUNTY
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Stevenage (a) Dec 26 Wycombe (a)

Weve got Michael Flynn,
FANS VIEW weve got Michael Flynn, Aug 12 Crewe (h) Dec 30 Cheltenham (a)
SIMON SADLER weve got Michael Flynn,
Aug 19 Coventry City (a) JAN 1 Exeter (h)
so glad youre mine.
LAST SEASON WAS Aug 26 Chesterfield (h) Jan 6 Morecambe (h)
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
SEP 2 Exeter (a) Jan 13 Grimsby (a)
Difcult for the club. Pitch
and performance issues Tom Owen-Evans is building Sep 9 Wycombe (h) Jan 20 Crawley (h)
dominated the rst half of the a reputation of being a silky
Reputation... Sep 12 Cheltenham (h) Jan 27 Lincoln City (a)
season but the Great Escape playmaker with the ability
in the nal 12 games was Tom Owen-Evans to glide past opponents. Sep 16 Morecambe (a) FEB 3 Colchester Utd (a)
something our supporters We hope his progression
Sep 23 Grimsby (h) Feb 10 Forest Green (h)
will never forget. appointed caretaker were continues this season.
incredible and he restored the Sep 26 Crawley (a) Feb 13 Mansfield (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE relationship between the fans GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Sep 30 Luton (a) Feb 17 Notts County (h)
and the players.
My hope is that we get off to Notts County away. It is a OCT 7 Yeovil (h) Feb 24 Port Vale (a)
a good start despite having to OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN fantastic club and the stadium
Oct 14 Forest Green (a) MAR 3 Accrington (h)
play the rst handful of gives you a real sense of the
games away from Rodney Graham Carey of Plymouth. history of our game. Both Oct 17 Colchester Utd (h) Mar 10 Yeovil (a)
Parade. My fear is that we His penalty cost us a trip to teams also like to play so
Oct 21 Mansfield (h) Mar 17 Luton (h)
start poorly and lose the Aneld in the FA Cup and his they are always entertaining
momentum from last season. hand in their 6-1 league games. Oct 28 Notts County (a) Mar 24 Crewe (a)
demolition of us almost cost
NOV 11 Port Vale (h) Mar 31 Coventry City (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO us our place in the League on GAME TO DREAD
goal difference. Nov 18 Accrington (a) APR 2 Chesterfield (a)
Manager Mike Flynn. Probably Barnet away. I like
Nov 21 Barnet (h) Apr 7 Stevenage (h)
Performances since he was BEST SONG LAST SEASON the club and their business
model but John Akinde always Nov 25 Swindon (a) Apr 14 Swindon (h)
LAST SEASON To the tune of Glad All Over, gets the better of us.
DEC 9 Carlisle Utd (h) Apr 21 Barnet (a)
Dec 16 Cambridge Utd (a) Apr 28 Cambridge Utd (h)
League Two 22nd // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Lincoln City (h) MAY 5 Carlisle Utd (a)
124 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE TWO
NOTTS COUNTY
2017-18 FIXTURES
and as proud as it has been in AUG 5 Coventry City (a) Dec 26 Morecambe (a)
FANS VIEW many years.
Aug 12 Chesterfield (h) Dec 30 Swindon (a)
STUART BROTHERS
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Aug 19 Wycombe (a) JAN 1 Port Vale (h)
LAST SEASON WAS
Aug 26 Accrington (h) Jan 6 Crawley (h)
Dominic Brown-Hill has been
Hopefully, the start of a new, a class act since joining the SEP 2 Port Vale (a) Jan 13 Lincoln City (a)
successful era. New owner academy and represents a
Sep 9 Morecambe (h) Jan 20 Exeter (h)
Alan Hardy has reinvigorated real opportunity to see a
matters off the eld. Kevin Impressed... youth team prospect come Sep 12 Swindon (h) Jan 27 Cambridge Utd (a)
Nolan has exceeded all Kevin Nolan good. Joe Searson-Smithard
Sep 16 Crawley (a) FEB 3 Crewe (h)
expectations as manager. in goal has grown immensely
also and will be knocking on Sep 23 Lincoln City (h) Feb 10 Barnet (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN Nolans door soon.
Sep 26 Exeter (a) Feb 13 Carlisle Utd (h)
Were always cautious given John Sheridans tenure as GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 30 Mansfield (a) Feb 17 Newport (a)
weve seen more false dawns manager was a dark one, with
OCT 7 Forest Green (h) Feb 24 Stevenage (h)
than a stripclub, but players a dreary demeanour upsetting Were about due something
like Shola Ameobi and Jon the applecart and prompting positive against Manseld Oct 14 Barnet (h) MAR 3 Cheltenham (a)
Stead suggests things are a a losing streak that cost us Town after two years of abuse
Oct 17 Crewe (a) Mar 10 Forest Green (a)
little rosier at Meadow Lane. being in play-off contention. at their hands since they
came back into the Football Oct 21 Carlisle Utd (a) Mar 17 Mansfield (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO BEST SONG LAST SEASON League.
Oct 28 Newport (h) Mar 24 Chesterfield (a)
Great to see Rob Milsom The way the Wheelbarrow GAME TO DREAD NOV 11 Stevenage (a) Mar 31 Wycombe (h)
become the player wed seen Song echoed from the Kop
Nov 18 Cheltenham (h) APR 2 Accrington (a)
sporadically in spells, each cut last year as the supporters Probably visiting Manseld for
short due to injury. re-found their passion for another early kick-off with the Nov 21 Yeovil (a) Apr 7 Coventry City (h)
the club and the players over-the-top policing that
Nov 25 Colchester Utd (h) Apr 14 Colchester Utd (a)
was fantastic, about as loud brings with it.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Luton (a) Apr 21 Yeovil (h)
Dec 16 Grimsby (h) Apr 28 Grimsby (a)
League Two 16th // FA Cup 2nd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Cambridge Utd (h) MAY 5 Luton (h)
LEAGUE TWO
PORT VALE
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Crawley (a) Dec 26 Coventry City (h)

FANS VIEW Aug 12 Wycombe (h) Dec 30 Luton (h)
ROB FIELDING Striker Rigino Cicilia divided
Aug 19 Chesterfield (a) JAN 1 Notts County (a)
onevalefan.co.uk opinion but earned supersub
status after a couple of goals. Aug 26 Crewe (h) Jan 6 Forest Green (a)
LAST SEASON WAS With fans struggling to t
SEP 2 Notts County (h) Jan 13 Yeovil (h)
Rigino into songs, the
A farce. A dreadful and six-footer quickly became Sep 9 Coventry City (a) Jan 20 Accrington (a)
expensive gamble on untried known as Big Reg and
Graduate... Sep 12 Luton (a) Jan 27 Colchester Utd (h)
foreign signings was followed chants of Reggie rang out.
by the loss of several key Nathan Smith Sep 16 Forest Green (h) FEB 3 Morecambe (h)
players in January. Then late YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Sep 23 Yeovil (a) Feb 10 Cheltenham (a)
hope that we may escape Smith didnt deserve to be
relegation was dashed as we relegated after a stellar rst I am looking forward to seeing Sep 26 Accrington (h) Feb 13 Exeter (h)
went down on the nal day. season that ended with him James Gibbons, Billy Reeves
Sep 30 Stevenage (a) Feb 17 Swindon (a)
winning six end-of-season and Dan Turner this season.
THIS SEASON WILL BE awards. OCT 7 Grimsby (h) Feb 24 Newport (h)
Oct 14 Cheltenham (h) MAR 3 Barnet (a)
A massive rebuilding job OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
awaits. I think the club As a South East based Oct 17 Morecambe (a) Mar 10 Grimsby (a)
desperately needs stability After such a disastrous Valiant, the games against
Oct 21 Exeter (a) Mar 17 Stevenage (h)
and less off-eld controversy. season there were a few. Wycombe, Stevenage and
The long-term goal for many Owner Norman Smurthwaite Barnet will make for easy Oct 28 Swindon (h) Mar 24 Wycombe (a)
fans is a change of ownership. and Bruno Ribeiros summer away trips.
NOV 11 Newport (a) Mar 31 Chesterfield (h)
recruitment drive went
OUR BIGGEST HERO spectacularly awry, caretaker GAME TO DREAD Nov 18 Barnet (h) APR 2 Crewe (a)
Michael Brown failed to
Nov 21 Mansfield (h) Apr 7 Crawley (h)
Youth team graduate Nathan strengthen well in January Whichever B side we are
and many of the players were drawn against in the Nov 25 Lincoln City (a) Apr 14 Lincoln City (h)
LAST SEASON clearly not good enough Checkatrade Trophy.
DEC 9 Cambridge Utd (h) Apr 21 Mansfield (a)
Dec 16 Carlisle Utd (a) Apr 28 Carlisle Utd (h)
League One 21st // FA Cup 3rd round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Colchester Utd (a) MAY 5 Cambridge Utd (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 125

LEAGUE TWO
STEVENAGE
2017-18 FIXTURES
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN AUG 5 Newport County (h) Dec 26 Lincoln (a)
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Colchester Utd (a) Dec 30 Crawley (a)
PETE HAYMAN Trevor Kettle. Awful referee.
Aug 19 Grimsby (h) JAN 1 Cheltenham (h)
LAST SEASON WAS BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Aug 26 Barnet (a) Jan 6 Swindon (h)
After an inconsistent rst It wasnt such a strong season SEP 2 Cheltenham (a) Jan 13 Morecambe (a)
half of the season, we came in the songwriting stakes last
Sep 9 Lincoln City (h) Jan 20 Carlisle Utd (h)
to life after Christmas, putting season.
together a string of results Goalscorer... Sep 12 Crawley (h) Jan 27 Chesterfield (a)
that lifted us right up into the Matt Godden YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Sep 16 Swindon (a) FEB 3 Accrington Stanley (a)
promotion mix. The impressive
3-0 win at home to Pompey The squad overall has a Sep 23 Morecambe (h) Feb 10 Luton (h)
had us dreaming of a top- time, however, it could well younger feel to it; the likes
Sep 26 Carlisle Utd (a) Feb 13 Forest Green (a)
three nish, but we ran out be if Darren Sarll can reignite of Ben Kennedy and Dale
of steam at the worst possible the form that lifted us into Gorman are now among Sep 30 Port Vale (h) Feb 17 Yeovil (h)
moment. No wins in the last the top four. The fears are some of our longest-serving
OCT 7 Crewe Alexandra (a) Feb 24 Notts County (a)
six cost us even a play-off that weve let the wrong players.
spot. players go (Charlie Lee); Oct 14 Luton (a) MAR 3 Mansfield (h)
that well lose Matt Godden; GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Oct 17 Accrington Stanley (h) Mar 10 Crewe Alexandra (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE and that we nish below
Barnet. If were aiming to start as we Oct 21 Forest Green (h) Mar 17 Port Vale (a)
The fundamental hope is mean to go on this season,
Oct 28 Yeovil (a) Mar 24 Colchester Utd (h)
that Boro keep building OUR BIGGEST HERO then Newport at home is as
on the past couple of good a game to look forward NOV 11 Notts County (h) Mar 31 Grimsby (a)
seasons. Promotion wasnt Matt Godden for his to.
Nov 18 Mansfield (a) APR 2 Barnet (h)
even on the cards at the goalscoring feats and
start of last season; this goalkeeper Chris Day for GAME TO DREAD Nov 21 Coventry City (h) Apr 7 Newport County (a)
proving that age is just a
Nov 25 Cambridge Utd (a) Apr 14 Cambridge Utd (h)
number. Luton, probably.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Wycombe (h) Apr 21 Coventry City (a)
Dec 16 Exeter (a) Apr 28 Exeter (h)
Dec 23 Chesterfield (h) MAY 5 Wycombe (a)
LEAGUE TWO
SWINDON TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Carlisle Utd (a) Dec 26 Luton (h)

that accolade.
FANS VIEW Aug 12 Exeter (h) Dec 30 Notts County (h)
AARON SMITH OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN
Aug 19 Morecambe (a) JAN 1 Barnet (a)
thewashbag.com
Tim Sherwood. Branded by Aug 26 Crawley (h) Jan 6 Stevenage (a)
LAST SEASON WAS Power as the biggest
SEP 2 Barnet (h) Jan 13 Forest Green (h)
appointment in the clubs
Terrible. Somehow Lee Power history soon turned into the Sep 9 Luton (a) Jan 20 Coventry City (a)
has taken the club from near biggest disappointment. He
Sep 12 Notts County (a) Jan 27 Crewe (h)
promotion to relegation. The also didnt wear a gilet.
feeling among Town fans is Sep 16 Stevenage (h) FEB 3 Lincoln City (a)
a lack of engagement with BEST SONG LAST SEASON
Sep 23 Forest Green (a) Feb 10 Mansfield (h)
supporters coupled with the
woeful performances made We want Power Out! What Sep 26 Coventry City (h) Feb 13 Wycombe (a)
2016-17 one of the worst else?
Sep 30 Cambridge Utd (h) Feb 17 Port Vale (h)
seasons in living memory.
YOUNGSTER TO WATCH OCT 7 Cheltenham (a) Feb 24 Chesterfield (a)
THIS SEASON WILL BE Accolade...
Lawrence Vigouroux Oct 14 Mansfield (a) MAR 3 Yeovil (h)
Probably lots as most of the
Our greatest fear is the real team are kids. Oct 17 Lincoln City (h) Mar 10 Cheltenham (h)
possibility of repeating Leyton rst attempt.
Oct 21 Wycombe (h) Mar 17 Cambridge Utd (a)
Orients feat of League One GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
play-off runners-up followed OUR BIGGEST HERO Oct 28 Port Vale (a) Mar 24 Exeter (a)
by non-league football in A short trip to Forest Green,
NOV 11 Chesterfield (h) Mar 31 Morecambe (h)
three seasons. The only Our keeper Lawrence like most of the division.
hope is we maintain our Vigouroux was player Nov 18 Yeovil (a) APR 2 Crawley (a)
good record in the fourth of the season and GAME TO DREAD
Nov 21 Grimsby (a) Apr 7 Carlisle Utd (h)
division of promotion at the scooped all the awards.
We always get relegated The long trip to Carlisle on Nov 25 Newport (h) Apr 14 Newport (a)
LAST SEASON when the goalkeeper wins the opening day.
DEC 9 Accrington (a) Apr 21 Grimsby (h)
Dec 16 Colchester Utd (h) Apr 28 Colchester Utd (a)
League One 22nd // FA Cup 1st round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Crewe (a) MAY 5 Accrington (h)
126 FOOTBALL 2018

LEAGUE TWO
WYCOMBE WANDERERS
infuriate me as much as that
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Lincoln City (h) Dec 26 Newport (h)
FANS VIEW man. His diving exploits are
Aug 12 Port Vale (a) Dec 30 Mansfield (h)
DALE JENKINS embarrassing.
Aug 19 Notts County (h) JAN 1 Forest Green (a)
LAST SEASON WAS YOUNGSTER TO WATCH
Aug 26 Grimsby (a) Jan 6 Luton (a)
Exciting and a bit of a Scott Kashket and Dom Gape, SEP 2 Forest Green (h) Jan 13 Colchester Utd (h)
rollercoaster. The season at just 21 and 22, are players
Sep 9 Newport (a) Jan 20 Crewe (a)
started slowly with many to watch. Kashkets pace and
injuries, followed by a Big man... goalscoring could be crucial Sep 12 Mansfield (a) Jan 27 Coventry City (h)
fantastic 16-match unbeaten Adebayo Akinfenwa to a promotion push, and I
Sep 16 Luton (h) FEB 3 Carlisle Utd (h)
run in the league, and cup am hoping Dom can make
runs to the FA Cup fourth terms of quantity, but the the centre mideld position Sep 23 Colchester Utd (a) Feb 10 Exeter (a)
round, where we lost to quality is certainly there. his own this season.
Sep 26 Crewe (h) Feb 13 Swindon (h)
Tottenham, and the semi-
nals of the Checkatrade OUR BIGGEST HERO GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Sep 30 Barnet (h) Feb 17 Cheltenham (a)
Trophy. Unfortunately another
OCT 7 Cambridge Utd (a) Feb 24 Morecambe (h)
blip meant we nished one Without question Adebayo The Luton matches are always
point below the play-offs. Akinfenwa. The big man split interesting and Colchester still Oct 14 Exeter (h) MAR 3 Crawley (a)
opinion upon his arrival, but has a bit of extra spice.
Oct 17 Carlisle Utd (a) Mar 10 Cambridge Utd (h)
THIS SEASON WILL BE his effect on and off the pitch
last season was incredible. A GAME TO DREAD Oct 21 Swindon (a) Mar 17 Barnet (a)
I am certainly hopeful of at skilful player and a humble
Oct 28 Cheltenham (h) Mar 24 Port Vale (h)
least a play-off place if we man who had a brilliant I dont think theres anyone to
can keep our core body of season. fear particularly. Manseld NOV 11 Morecambe (a) Mar 31 Notts County (a)
players t throughout the have made a number of
Nov 18 Crawley (h) APR 2 Grimsby (h)
season. We will probably have OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN signings but will they gel?
one of the smaller squads in I always dread Yeovil as we Nov 21 Accrington (a) Apr 7 Lincoln City (a)
Danny Hylton of Luton. have such a poor record
Nov 25 Yeovil (h) Apr 14 Yeovil (a)
Opposition players rarely against them historically.
LAST SEASON DEC 9 Stevenage (a) Apr 21 Accrington (h)
Dec 16 Chesterfield (h) Apr 28 Chesterfield (a)
League Two 9th // FA Cup 4th round // League Cup 1st round
Dec 23 Coventry City (a) MAY 5 Stevenage (h)
LEAGUE TWO
YEOVIL TOWN
2017-18 FIXTURES
AUG 5 Luton (a) Dec 26 Cheltenham (a)

both numbers and passion
FANS VIEW due to what were seeing on Aug 12 Accrington (h) Dec 30 Morecambe (a)
BEN BARRETT the pitch.
Aug 19 Forest Green (a) JAN 1 Crawley (h)
LAST SEASON WAS YOUNGSTER TO WATCH Aug 26 Coventry City (h) Jan 6 Grimsby (h)
SEP 2 Crawley (a) Jan 13 Port Vale (a)
Honestly, pretty tough. A Young keeper Jenny Maddison
realisation has set in that the might have been the only Sep 9 Cheltenham (h) Jan 20 Chesterfield (h)
days of being competitive at positive to take from the
Sep 12 Morecambe (h) Jan 27 Exeter (a)
the top end of League One Football League Trophy
and for a season in the Stick... games. Sep 16 Grimsby (a) FEB 3 Cambridge Utd (h)
Championship are a long way Darren Way
Sep 23 Port Vale (h) Feb 10 Crewe (a)
behind us. Its back to being GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO
happy with staying in the Nathan Smith to show the Sep 26 Chesterfield (a) Feb 13 Barnet (h)
League each year. new faces exactly what Its easy to look forward
Sep 30 Colchester Utd (h) Feb 17 Stevenage (a)
playing for Yeovil means. to sides like Coventry and
THIS SEASON WILL BE Wolves (League Cup), but OCT 7 Newport (a) Feb 24 Carlisle Utd (h)
OUR BIGGEST VILLAIN weve got local games against
Oct 14 Crewe (h) MAR 3 Swindon (a)
I hope for a change in Cheltenham and Exeter at key
attitude, attacking football and Its a cheap shot, but the times. Oct 17 Cambridge Utd (a) Mar 10 Newport (h)
a club that we can fall in love manager Darren Way took a
Oct 21 Barnet (a) Mar 17 Colchester Utd (a)
with again. I fear were staring lot of stick on social media. GAME TO DREAD
at non-league. Eyes are now turning upstairs Oct 28 Stevenage (h) Mar 24 Accrington (a)
and asking questions of the Games against Lincoln and
NOV 11 Carlisle Utd (a) Mar 31 Forest Green (h)
OUR BIGGEST HERO owners and directors. Forest Green may just show
how close the gap is between Nov 18 Swindon (h) APR 2 Coventry City (a)
Now that Matty Dolan has BEST SONG LAST SEASON non-league and the EFL. We
moved on, the pressure is on nish the season away at Nov 21 Notts County (h) Apr 7 Luton (h)
Another hard one to answer Lincoln; Im already praying Nov 25 Wycombe (a) Apr 14 Wycombe (h)
LAST SEASON as support has wavered in we dont need a result there.
DEC 9 Lincoln City (h) Apr 21 Notts County (a)
Dec 16 Mansfield (a) Apr 28 Mansfield (h)
Dec 23 Exeter (h) MAY 5 Lincoln City (a)
FOOTBALL 2018 127

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AND FINALLY...
BROTHERS IN ARMS
The rise of brothers Danny and Nicky Cowley shows no sign of coming to a
halt. The Essex boys guided Lincoln City back into the Football League last
season and made history when the club became the rst non-league
team to reach the FA Cup quarter-nals for 103 years, beating Premier
League Burnley along the way.
A year ago, they were teaching PE at a school in Essex and part-
time managers of Braintree Town. Before that they were at little
Concord Rangers who arent even regarded as the biggest
club on their Canvey Island home!
If Lincoln are at the top end of League Two this term, the
boys will be in big demand higher up the league.

9(: 7+( )8// $''$6

'867 67250 &2//(&721 21/1(
ZZZSURGLUHFWVRFFHUFRP

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CONTENTS Gunner Alexandre Lacazette NEW KITS

Best England under-20s

Eagle has landed Frank De Boer Talent Ryan Sessegnon

Red alert Mohamed Salah New boys Forest

Tel: 01252 555000

World Soccer is a registered

West Brom dark and moody

Man United Glad to be grey Everton true blues

Watford nothing mellow

Chelsea blue and simple

Electric staff cars

Vegan food outlet

MAY 19 FA Cup Final,

MAY 26 Champions League

New age Dale Vince MAY 27 League One

Play-off Final, Wembley

MAY 28 League Two

Ready all set for

WORLD Tuanzebe and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson

facebook.com/WorldSoccerMagazine worldsoccermag www.worldsoccer.com

Global football intelligence since 1960

Whats all the fuss about? City have paid

Whats all the fuss about? Dynamic

Tough Schalke fans

and earning a move to Valencia. However,

MAT penalty-saving specialist Diego Alves.

RYAN choice for the second half of the season.

Whats all the fuss about: Ball-playing

Whats all the fuss about: Promising

Whats all the fuss about? One of the

SANDRO continued their summer spending spree

RAMIREZ season following his release from Barcelona.

the semi-final, a performance that put him Talent playmaker

THE NEW GAFFERS

Crystal Palace have taken a leap into

Ajax] its also in our DNA to try and play

Mauricio Pellegrino Southamptons

Liverpool old boy

Arsenal Aston Villa AFC Wimbledon Accrington Stanley

Hero Apr 21 West Ham (h)

Everton and West Brom away. We Dec 13 Tottenham (a)

Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in early Dec 12 Huddersfield (a)

Stadium Selhurst Park (25,648) of consolidation, Palace gradually FLASHBACK

Luke Dreher could see sporadic Dec 12 Watford (h)

necessary consolidation for Everton

Exciting Dec 23 Chelsea (h)

After their dramatic Wembley Annual wage bill 13.3m (2015)

GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO Dec 12 Chelsea (h)

Whos the Daddy? Thai billionaire That prize would have to go to

FORWARDS Oct 21 Swansea City (a)

GAME TO LOOK FORWARD TO FEB 3 Swansea City (h)

GAME TO DREAD Dec 13 West Brom (h)

Bogey team Jan 13 Man City (h)

LAST SEASON Apr 28 Stoke City (h)

THIS SEASON WILL BE

The hope is to compete for the

OUR BIGGEST HERO

David Silva was outstanding once

None. Which is a pleasant change in Apr 21 Bournemouth (a)