' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 8:26 am
' TOMORROW 9AM FULL CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES RELEASED '
Championship fixtures 2017/18: Why Cardiff City's first five games are so often a reflection of their entire season
By Dominic Booth
Tuesday 20th June 2017
It's a marathon, not a sprint.
The old cliché warning racers — or in this case Championship clubs — not to expend all of their early energy when the season (or race) is long and arduous, is certainly valid.
The Championship is a long old slog and nobody knows that better than Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock. He's approaching his 38th season as a manager and has seen it all.
So the Bluebirds would be forgiven for not starting the 2017/18 campaign at 100 miles per hour. Perhaps they will be instructed to conserve some energy. The first five games can only take you so far and Warnock will want players to peak in February and March, at the business end of the campaign.
Recent Cardiff City history, however, points to the contrary. The start is vital.
In each of their past six seasons the Bluebirds' opening five matches have given fans a taste of what's to come. Cardiff's early season form has often been borne out for the rest of the campaign.
With the Championship fixtures for 2017/18 set to be published on Wednesday morning, these are the previous starts to the season that suggest Cardiff might need a good opening spurt next term to climb into the promotion picture...
2011/12
First five games: 7th place, 8 points
Final position: 6th, 75 points
Malky Mackay issues instructions to Kenny Miller
A season in which the Bluebirds made strides under new boss Malky Mackay, but were eventually edged out in the play-offs by West Ham United.
Coincidentally, the campaign began with a 1-0 win at Upton Park in August 2011, but Mackay's newly-formed squad wasn't ready for promotion come May.
They earned back-to-back wins to kickstart the campaign, followed by a defeat at home to Brighton and draws with Burnley and Portsmouth.
It meant the Bluebirds lay in seventh after five games with eight points (a ratio of 1.6 points per match). They would finish sixth on 75 points after all 46 games were completed (a ratio of 1.63 per match).
2012/13
Five games: 10 points, 5th
Final: 87 points, 1st
Vincent Tan and Malky Mackay
Mackay's men made a solid start but it would get a whole lot better in this vintage season.
Yet the Bluebirds were actually handed a tricky start with crunch ties against Bristol City and Leeds United, as well as a visit to fellow promotion hopefuls Brighton & Hove Albion, early in the piece.
So the return of 10 points from the first five games — the only defeat coming 4-2 to eventual bottom club Bristol — was modest, but laid the foundations for what was to come. The Bluebirds' initial points ratio of 2 per game was matched throughout the campaign as they earned 87 from 46 matches (1.89 per game).
2013/14
Five games: 5 points, 16th
Final: 30 points, 20th
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Cardiff players applaud fans after their relegation
It was, in many ways, a season to write off and consign to the record books given the managerial changes and upheaval at Cardiff City Stadium.
The Bluebirds' one and only Premier League season (to date) was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
And — with the exception of one brilliant result, the 3-2 win over Manchester City — it started in fairly drab, yet not disastrous, fashion.
Cardiff suffered defeats to West Ham and Tottenham, and got hard-earned draws with Everton and Hull to leave them 16th after five games with five points. If they'd continue to grind out one point per game, the Bluebirds would actually have stayed up. In the end they got 30 points and were relegated as the Premier League's bottom club.
2014/15
Five games: 8 points, 9th
Final: 62 points, 11th
Russell Slade
A forgettable and underwhleming campaign in so many ways, given Cardiff's aspirations for an instant return to the top flight.
And that sense of anti-climax was reflected in the season's first five fixtures. The Bluebirds recorded two wins, two draws and one defeat from their first five games... but lost their next two to leave Ole Solskjaer under pressure and the club some distance off a promotion challenge.
Cardiff were ninth after five games and finished 11th on 62 points after Russell Slade had arrived to steady the ship.
2015/16
Five games: 9 points, 5th
Final: 68 points, 8th
Lex Immers celebrates his goal at Bristol City last season
This time, the Bluebirds started the season in decent fashion but were plagued by drawing too many matches.
The campaign began with a 1-1 at home to Fulham with tight scorelines an ongoing theme of Slade's second (and final) season. The Bluebirds drew 17 games en route to eighth place, six points off the play-offs.
Although they'd been fifth after five games and jumped to second after winning their sixth match, Slade's team faltered.
2016/17
Five games: 5 points, 17th
Final: 62 points, 12th
Former Cardiff City manager Paul Trollope
Last season didn't follow the recent Bluebirds trend in terms of peaks and troughs. The Bluebirds found themselves bottom of the Championship after eight games following a miserable 2-0 defeat to Leeds. Three games later and Paul Trollope lost his job with the Bluebirds still embedded in the drop zone.
We all know what happened next, Warnock arrived and salvaged the season. Cardiff finished in the top half, 12th overall.
But oddly the first five games weren't as disastrous as the next five. Shane Duffy's hapless display for Blackburn gifted Cardiff three points and there were draws to Birmingham and Fulham. A mediocre start to a season that improved, for sure, but never sparkled.
Championship fixtures 2017/18: Why Cardiff City's first five games are so often a reflection of their entire season
By Dominic Booth
Tuesday 20th June 2017
It's a marathon, not a sprint.
The old cliché warning racers — or in this case Championship clubs — not to expend all of their early energy when the season (or race) is long and arduous, is certainly valid.
The Championship is a long old slog and nobody knows that better than Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock. He's approaching his 38th season as a manager and has seen it all.
So the Bluebirds would be forgiven for not starting the 2017/18 campaign at 100 miles per hour. Perhaps they will be instructed to conserve some energy. The first five games can only take you so far and Warnock will want players to peak in February and March, at the business end of the campaign.
Recent Cardiff City history, however, points to the contrary. The start is vital.
In each of their past six seasons the Bluebirds' opening five matches have given fans a taste of what's to come. Cardiff's early season form has often been borne out for the rest of the campaign.
With the Championship fixtures for 2017/18 set to be published on Wednesday morning, these are the previous starts to the season that suggest Cardiff might need a good opening spurt next term to climb into the promotion picture...
2011/12
First five games: 7th place, 8 points
Final position: 6th, 75 points
Malky Mackay issues instructions to Kenny Miller
A season in which the Bluebirds made strides under new boss Malky Mackay, but were eventually edged out in the play-offs by West Ham United.
Coincidentally, the campaign began with a 1-0 win at Upton Park in August 2011, but Mackay's newly-formed squad wasn't ready for promotion come May.
They earned back-to-back wins to kickstart the campaign, followed by a defeat at home to Brighton and draws with Burnley and Portsmouth.
It meant the Bluebirds lay in seventh after five games with eight points (a ratio of 1.6 points per match). They would finish sixth on 75 points after all 46 games were completed (a ratio of 1.63 per match).
2012/13
Five games: 10 points, 5th
Final: 87 points, 1st
Vincent Tan and Malky Mackay
Mackay's men made a solid start but it would get a whole lot better in this vintage season.
Yet the Bluebirds were actually handed a tricky start with crunch ties against Bristol City and Leeds United, as well as a visit to fellow promotion hopefuls Brighton & Hove Albion, early in the piece.
So the return of 10 points from the first five games — the only defeat coming 4-2 to eventual bottom club Bristol — was modest, but laid the foundations for what was to come. The Bluebirds' initial points ratio of 2 per game was matched throughout the campaign as they earned 87 from 46 matches (1.89 per game).
2013/14
Five games: 5 points, 16th
Final: 30 points, 20th
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Cardiff players applaud fans after their relegation
It was, in many ways, a season to write off and consign to the record books given the managerial changes and upheaval at Cardiff City Stadium.
The Bluebirds' one and only Premier League season (to date) was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
And — with the exception of one brilliant result, the 3-2 win over Manchester City — it started in fairly drab, yet not disastrous, fashion.
Cardiff suffered defeats to West Ham and Tottenham, and got hard-earned draws with Everton and Hull to leave them 16th after five games with five points. If they'd continue to grind out one point per game, the Bluebirds would actually have stayed up. In the end they got 30 points and were relegated as the Premier League's bottom club.
2014/15
Five games: 8 points, 9th
Final: 62 points, 11th
Russell Slade
A forgettable and underwhleming campaign in so many ways, given Cardiff's aspirations for an instant return to the top flight.
And that sense of anti-climax was reflected in the season's first five fixtures. The Bluebirds recorded two wins, two draws and one defeat from their first five games... but lost their next two to leave Ole Solskjaer under pressure and the club some distance off a promotion challenge.
Cardiff were ninth after five games and finished 11th on 62 points after Russell Slade had arrived to steady the ship.
2015/16
Five games: 9 points, 5th
Final: 68 points, 8th
Lex Immers celebrates his goal at Bristol City last season
This time, the Bluebirds started the season in decent fashion but were plagued by drawing too many matches.
The campaign began with a 1-1 at home to Fulham with tight scorelines an ongoing theme of Slade's second (and final) season. The Bluebirds drew 17 games en route to eighth place, six points off the play-offs.
Although they'd been fifth after five games and jumped to second after winning their sixth match, Slade's team faltered.
2016/17
Five games: 5 points, 17th
Final: 62 points, 12th
Former Cardiff City manager Paul Trollope
Last season didn't follow the recent Bluebirds trend in terms of peaks and troughs. The Bluebirds found themselves bottom of the Championship after eight games following a miserable 2-0 defeat to Leeds. Three games later and Paul Trollope lost his job with the Bluebirds still embedded in the drop zone.
We all know what happened next, Warnock arrived and salvaged the season. Cardiff finished in the top half, 12th overall.
But oddly the first five games weren't as disastrous as the next five. Shane Duffy's hapless display for Blackburn gifted Cardiff three points and there were draws to Birmingham and Fulham. A mediocre start to a season that improved, for sure, but never sparkled.
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Re: ' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 8:29 am
Can't wait 
Re: ' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 8:36 am
Love the new season fixtures
Re: ' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:04 am
NIBluebird wrote:Love the new season fixtures
Agree. There's always an enthusiasm to see where and when we will be going to certain grounds and a little planning in your mind
I thought Birmingham City away early last season was a great early season fixture and it showed with the numbers we took up there
Re: ' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:26 am
I totally agree with you all. 
Re: ' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 11:56 am
Sky Bet EFL 2017/18 fixtures
Sky Sports
The Premier League schedules have been revealed but Sky Bet EFL clubs can step up their preparations for the new season when the 2017/18 fixtures for the Championship, League One and League Two are released on Wednesday.
When are the fixtures released?
Clubs in all three divisions will discover their curtain-raisers, run-ins, Christmas programme and derby dates when the schedules are published at 9am on Wednesday, June 21
What kind of start will the likes of Sunderland and Middlesbrough get to life in the Championship? When will Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday finally resume rivalries? Where will EFL new boys Lincoln and Forest Green begin their campaigns? Here's all you need to know and how to get the news and reaction, wherever you are...
Sky Sports will confirm their live EFL selection for the opening weekend at the same time - 9am - as the full schedules are released.
Details of further live fixtures for August and September will be released in July.
When does the new season start?
The Sky Bet EFL season starts on the weekend of August 4-6 - a week before the new Premier League season commences - and concludes on the weekend of May 5.
Dates for the three Wembley play-offs - starting with the Championship showdown this time - have already been booked in for 26-28 May.
Any other key dates?
The League Cup - newly named the Carabao Cup - starts in the week commencing August 7. The draw for the first round has already been made.
Sky Sports
The Premier League schedules have been revealed but Sky Bet EFL clubs can step up their preparations for the new season when the 2017/18 fixtures for the Championship, League One and League Two are released on Wednesday.
When are the fixtures released?
Clubs in all three divisions will discover their curtain-raisers, run-ins, Christmas programme and derby dates when the schedules are published at 9am on Wednesday, June 21
What kind of start will the likes of Sunderland and Middlesbrough get to life in the Championship? When will Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday finally resume rivalries? Where will EFL new boys Lincoln and Forest Green begin their campaigns? Here's all you need to know and how to get the news and reaction, wherever you are...
Sky Sports will confirm their live EFL selection for the opening weekend at the same time - 9am - as the full schedules are released.
Details of further live fixtures for August and September will be released in July.
When does the new season start?
The Sky Bet EFL season starts on the weekend of August 4-6 - a week before the new Premier League season commences - and concludes on the weekend of May 5.
Dates for the three Wembley play-offs - starting with the Championship showdown this time - have already been booked in for 26-28 May.
Any other key dates?
The League Cup - newly named the Carabao Cup - starts in the week commencing August 7. The draw for the first round has already been made.
Re: ' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 12:44 pm
Despite having one of the best managers at this level, we are around 15th favourites for promotion with most bookmakers. Bit surprised about that as we finished 12th last time out, I would have thought we would be expected to do a bit better as Warnock has a complete pre-season here before everything begins. I guess a lot will depend who is added to the squad.
Re: ' Tomorrow 9am '
Tue Jun 20, 2017 10:12 pm
21st birthday and fixtures are out.. happy days.