2023-24 fixtures announced

It's a sign of things when I look at the last fixtures but it looks decent with Burnley, Forest, Brentford, Sheffield Utd as home matches during the run-in.

I'll take boring next season after previous stresses.

No Premier League games around then due to International Matches, friendlies and European Championship qualifiers.

7 points from the first four games would be a decent haul.

Please do business early and get the new players into the squad pre season. Not lastminute.com.

Going off recent history Dom won’t be fit and we need to get his replacement in asap really.

Seems to have been a few towards the end over the years.

That 7-0 mauling. The Nyarko saga when a supporter was escorted from the pitch as he tried to offer him his own shirt in return for Nyarko's.

Last season getting battered but we didn't care. Sunburnt in a suntrap on a par with Wolves.

No booze at half time. Just water. Maybe for our health, maybe they didn't trust us. It didn't matter, we were still punch drunk from the Palace game.

First glance, it looks evenly spread with December looking a bit tough.

But ultimately, we have to play everyon twice, regardless of when.

However, with all the noise around the club at the moment and the start just 8 weeks away on Saturday I feel pretty anxious about next season.

I think constraints will mean our squad will probably be the least improved in the league although we do seem, I suppose, to have improved our competitiveness and relative stability under Sean Dyche whose job frankly is not becoming any easier.

We are looking at at least a couple of our better players leaving in all likelihood, and will have difficulty attracting quality replacements.

Nothing is going to happen until the boardroom situation gets resolved and the clock is ticking. Nearly another week gone, 3 boardroom members left, no replacements in, and the biggest millstone still in post.

I honestly can't see any fixtures in that schedule above which has me licking my lips, but a fair few that may have us lot licking our wounds. December as someone points out above looks pretty grim.

I really hope we can get 15-20 points on the board by then or things may start looking pretty bleak.

Anyway - enough of this - UTFTs

We have a nice looking run of games to start off the season.

Much depends on summer transfer activity and whether we start the season with a fit and decent striker, or not.

It all balances out as ever but in our reduced potency spec. that first game looks like an important opportunity to get going.

Quite an even spread of a fixture list overall. The Villa and Arsenal thing are notable. I bet the algorithm is interesting.

August: 4 (3 games)
September: 8 (4 games)
October: 3 (3 games)
November: 3 (3 games)
December: 3 (7 games)
January: 3 (2 games)
February: 6 (4 games)
March: 6 (4 games)
April: 9 (5 games)
May: 3 (3 games)

48 points. 21 from the 1st 20, 27 from the last 18 games.

Safe!

Last season in brackets
August: 4 (0) (3 games)
September: 8 (5) (4 games)
October: 3 (3) (3 games)
November: 3 (1) (3 games)
December: 3 (3) (7 games)
January: 3 (1) (2 games)
February: 6 (8) (4 games)
March: 6 (4) (4 games)
April: 9 (5) (5 games)
May: 3 (6) (3 games)

12 points at Christmas - aagh.

And why always Arsenal the last match - 21/22; 16/17; 07/08 (penultimate) ; 04/05 (penultimate) and now 23/24. Can they not find us someone else to play in May?

1. We have Dyche instead of Lampard for the whole season
2. We have a fairly settled spine in Pickford, Tarkowski, Gueye, Doucoure, Iwobi, Garner, McNeil
3. Mykolenko and Patterson settle down and play consistently and be injury free
4. DCL is fit enough for 50% of the games
5. Dyche is able to bring along Branthwaite and Gibson (probably)
6. One of the new signings/loanees catches fire,

we should be mid-table comfortably.

What happens off the pitch will determine what kind of future we have, as a team, a club and a business

As part of my bucket list, I’ve always wanted to go to the Caribbean for the West Indies v England cricket. Me and the missus decided to take the plunge and have booked to go for two weeks, flying out on December 1st. So, I miss Forest away, and the skunks and Chelsea at home.

Ah well, some things can’t be helped. 😎😎😎🍺🍺🍺

Or did you mean to type May?

Can we have the last 6 fixtures first ?

I have learned over the years from 1948 onward, that anything is possible in a game of football, my philosophy being, that every game is unique in as much as it's never been played before, and will never be played again.

I find that this outlook, and viewing games with an open mind, softens the blows of defeat and enriches the enjoyment of witnessing a victory.

I can appreciate that making these predictions can lessen the worries of more important matters, and I believe that it can provide moments of pleasure for some during the season.

Once we settle on the date, I'll be needing advice on how to secure good seats for the match and recommendations on where to sit. All I ask is that we're not already relegated by April 20 — not too much to ask, right?

For useless predictions, I'm going with 45 points and a 12th-place finish, with clear signs that Dyche is taking us forward to the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

What an occasion that will be! It would indeed be more than a little annoying if the game is subsequently moved to Sunday or Monday – even Friday night might be a possibility.

Such decisions are usually made by the UK TV companies (Sky and BT Sport – soon to be relabelled TNT Sports), who pick four or five out of the usual 10 Premier League fixtures for live broadcast in the UK each weekend.

The problem for you and many other advance travel planners is they only do this 4 to 6 weeks ahead, typically announced on a monthly basis as the season develops. Because of the ancient 3pm Saturday TV blackout, these selected games must then be rescheduled.

So my advice would be to plan for any eventuality across the weekend, and have other accommodation and activities lined up locally just in case. Or gamble that it won't be selected (slightly higher than 50% chance), and then jump or skip if it is.

I'm sure one of the stattos on here will correct me if I'm wrong about that.

But we had lost Super Lee Carsley to injury and we could not be caught in 4th place.

We also lost 4-0 when they won the league in 98 and we drew the final game with Coventry to stay up on GD.

Scary stat. Since we last won the league (86-87), our record at Arsenal is W2 D5 L28 F26 A84.

Any of the TW traveling Blues have advice on how I might be able to get tickets in the away end? Living overseas I have zero 'credits' or whatever that system is they use, and I'd rather not sit with the bubble blowers. Resale sites like stubhub etc. would be an option if there's no official avenue I can use.

All advice, suggestions, info or help greatly appreciated.

I’d be happy with that.

Was it on TV? Because the pain of that game, especially the 7th goal is engraved indelibly on my brain? I would have been in Tunbridge Wells for that one.

Disgusted?... I was! We all were.

I believe we only need a slight improvement from last to be relatively comfortable in the leauge.

I'm not saying that's what I want !
But if you look how tight the bottom half were packed together last season, Dyches fine margins and playing the percentage game coupled with a better first half to the season could see us comfortable.

Even a small increase in the points per game compared to first half of last season would see us comfortable.

My only concern would be how low the bar was last season. I'd say you will need more points to survive this year !!

Looking forward to Luton away. Lol.

We have over 30k season tickets and have to give about 2k to away fans (4k for an FA Cup tie).

Alternatively you can buy a package, ticket and a night in a hotel, but this starts at £149.

But we sold out every home and away game last season.

I believe that we have just outsourced our ticketing to ticket master, so if past experiences (Fanatics, Sodexo) are any thing to go by God knows what will happen.

Arsenal v Everton has probably been the biggest home banker in my 57 years of watching Everton!

I am actually a member of Wolves too, so I could get a ticket in the home stands. But don't be like Danny.

Also use this website, there are many kind people who can offer to help if they can. And they do. Face value and/or the cost of a transfer of ticket.

Neil @61, West Ham is a decent stadium but strange. It's an athletics stadium, not a football one and you are far from the pitch. A decent day out though.

We mingled fine with the locals not far from the infamous Blind Beggar in the heart of the East End (Krays), before the last time I visited and I steathily took my place in a bar full of West Ham supporters underneath the Westfield Shopping centre, next to Stratford International Station before heading home.

I hope it works out for you all.

Another serpent involved. Surely there comes a point whereby clubs can sort this electronically in house at realistic expense nowadays? There's a place for saving money.

Priority one should be getting tickets to Everton fans at fair prices, without skims for touts and more. Somehow touts always get hold of tickets – the digitization panacea was supposed to control and stop this.

I'd also rather keep the thumb of large global interests out of our ass as far as is possible. And out of my personal information.

If we aren't ready for the start of the season, we are going to be in big trouble. We can't squander points like this season at home.

What are your thoughts (or anyone elses) on sitting among the West Ham fans? I realize away tickets are a tough ask.

Wolves I've mentioned. That was fine on the night itself, just someone reported me after and a got a letter for being naughty and "giving my ticket to an away supporter".

Sat amongst United fans at Old Trafford last season. That was fine.

I think most supporters are okay, I even got offered a ticket from a West Ham supporter the season before last, who I met on the train to Goodison, which I didn't take.

I'd be careful. Depends on who you end up sat next to. Try to get an Everton ticket, as you can risk getting ejected. There will be people who can help you.

Went to Old Trafford in 1978 with my uncle and my late Nan, I was 10 years old. Heading to our seats the usher took one look at me and my uncle's Everton gear and said "you can't sit here", then led us down to pitch level, through the gate, walked us around the pitch past the corner flag to the Everton end and opened another gate so we could join the away crowd. We found a spot about halfway up and my uncle sat me on the railing (there were no seats). Latchford scored 2 that day and on one of them I got surged forward what felt like about 10 rows. Was terrifying and exhilarating and Super Latch is still my favourite ever Everton player, largely down to that day. After beating them we had to run a gauntlet of Man U fans who were none too pleased, to put it mildly. Still have the program, it cost 12p. Good times.

I can't wait.

If we haven't got 21 points by the end of September, I reckon relegation is an absolute certainty.

Once we've sold Pickford, Tarkovsky, Iwobi, Gray and Onana, we should have at least £2-3m to spend, or perhaps that will go to the 'Buying Bill out of his contract' fund following the Rooney, Arteta, Gordon, Richarlison, Stones, Barkley (etc) money. DCL will be pronounced "unfit for work" by a vet staring at a jar of urine.

Harriet Harman will find that Dyche heard someone call the parliamentary fiasco a "kangaroo court" and Everton will be banned from Goodison Park for the next two seasons.

I've gotta admit the Wolves shirt looks good with a howling Wolf at the base of the shirt!

The Blues' first away trip of the 2023/24 season to Aston Villa, originally scheduled for 3pm (BST) on Saturday 19 August, will now take place on Sunday 20 August, 2pm (BST) and be shown live on Sky Sports.

The second away outing [Sheffield United] for Sean Dyche's men has also been selected for broadcast on TNT Sports, remaining on Saturday 2 September but now kicking off at 12.30pm (BST).

Everton will be hoping to repeat last season's triumph over Arsenal at Goodison Park - which was Dyche's first match in charge of the Blues - with the 2023-24 clash now set for 5.30pm (BST) on Saturday 16 September, live on Sky Sports. Please note, this fixture is subject to change further depending on the schedule arrangement for the Gunners' Champions League campaign.

Finally, the last away Premier League match for September at Brentford will also get under way at 5.30pm (BST) on Saturday 23 September, again being broadcast on Sky Sports.