The man who decides the 2010-11 fixtures has completed his work for another year, so now we all know the opening day fixtures for the coming season. Fans using club websites around the country seem to spend endless amounts of timing posting their predicted first game. Some games are predictable. Chelsea playing at home to newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion on the first day of the season is just what you expected, although Arsenal travelling to Liverpool would be better suited to a Sunday afternoon in November. Blackpool start their relegation struggle with a 6-pointer against Wigan Athletic. As previously explained by FootballCynic, Fulham continue to avoid playing the top teams by playing away to Bolton Wanderers. Of course, FootballCynic would publish the fixtures in full, but the FA want around £10,000 to do that. Some readers may feel that given the millions that FootballCynic.com makes in profits each profit, it could afford to spend £10,000, but copyrighting the word versus and abbreviating it to v. seems a lot to pay..

Lower down the leagues, Dagenham & Redbridge head to Sheffield Wednesday in League 1, while Stevenage Borough begin life in the Football League with a winnable home game against Macclesfield Town.

The League Cup draw has also been announced with its usual North/South divide. Interestingly, Notts County, who play to the north west of Nottingham Forest, face a long trip to Plymouth Argyle, while Nottingham Forest travel north to Bradford. Fans of lower clubs now await the draw of the Johnstones Paint Trophy to decide whether they want to be amongst the 700 loyal fans that stand in the rain to watch Bury win on penalties.