The fixtures for next season’s Championship have been announced and it’s evoked extreme excitement in me towards the season ahead. Unfortunately, seeing fixtures like our second match – Doncaster away (no offence intended) – only serve to remind me that our drop down to the Championship was completely avoidable. If only the owners had acted when the fans reacted to the failings of Grant… But what’s done is done and today is all about next season and beyond.

The good news is that the owners appear to have learnt from their mistakes in trying to run the club as cheaply as possibly. The irony is that had they spent a little more last summer, in terms of new player investment and retaining the likes of Daprela or Diamanti, then they would have avoided paying the inflated salaries of Robbie Keane and Wayne Bridge from January. Never mind, they appear to have learnt from their mistakes because

The appointment of Sam Allardyce marks the first time since Alan Curbishley that we’ve had a proper, experienced, football manager. As much as I liked Zola, he was not yet a real manager and Grant was, well, he was Grant. Big Sam is a proven manager at Premier League and Championship level – he has a reputation, contacts, and relationships that can all help to turn around the last few embarrassing seasons for West Ham.

As an example, the signing of Kevin Nolan has the potential to be the best signing the club has made since the Icelandic regime brought in Scott Parker. It’s actually more impressive given our position in the Championship. But Nolan’s signing is a direct result of how things are improving in East London. Whilst I doubt we’ll sign any more players of Nolan’s calibre, it’s a message to the rest of the squad is a clear one: things are changing at this club. The deadwood players simply must be cleared out and we must follow the example set by Newcastle United two seasons ago: if you aren’t committed to this club, then you’re not wanted. We’ve already shipped out some of the deadwood (Upson) but I am awaiting confirmation of the departure of Boa Morte, Dyer, Kovac, Faubert, Ilunga et al.

Now, it’s all very well saying this now that we are down in the Championship, but we’ve been due a major squad overhaul for a few seasons and the club has monumentally failed to do what was necessary. We may only be doing it now out of necessity, but at least it’s finally happening.

This system worked impeccably for Newcastle, who enjoyed a hugely successful promotion campaign, with one Kevin Nolan as their captain. After two seasons of despair and ruined weekends, I am now excited again about the thought of watching our club, and the thought of seeing a proper team take the field and get the result.

COYI

Here’s how the fixtures check out:

Sat 6 Aug – Cardiff City H
Sat 13 Aug – Doncaster Rovers A
Tue 16 Aug - Watford A
Sat 20 Aug - Leeds United H
Sat 27 Aug – Nottingham Forest A

Sat 10 Sep – Portsmouth H
Sat 17 Sep – Millwall A
Sat 24 Sep – Peterborough United H
Tue 27 Sep – Ipswich Town H

Sat 1 Oct – Crystal Palace A
Sat 15 Oct – Blackpool H
Tue 18 Oct – Southampton A
Sat 22 Oct – Brighton and Hove Albion A
Sat 29 Oct – Leicester City H

Tue 1 Nov – Bristol City H
Sat 5 Nov – Hull City A
Sat 19 Nov – Coventry City A
Sat 26 Nov – Derby County H
Tue 29 Nov - Middlesbrough A

Sat 3 Dec – Burnley H
Sat 10 Dec - Reading A
Sat 17 Dec – Barnsley H
Mon 26 Dec - Birmingham City A
Sat 31 Dec - Derby County A

Mon 2 Jan – Coventry City H
Sat 14 Jan - Portsmouth A
Sat 21 Jan - Nottingham Forest H
Tue 31 Jan - Ipswich Town A

Sat 4 Feb – Millwall H
Sat 11 Feb - Peterborough United A
Tue 14 Feb - Southampton H
Sat 18 Feb – Blackpool A
Sat 25 Feb - Crystal Palace H

Sat 3 Mar - Cardiff City A
Tue 6 Mar - Watford H
Sat 10 Mar - Doncaster Rovers H
Sat 17 Mar - Leeds United A
Tue 20 Mar - Middlesbrough H
Sat 24 Mar – Burnley A
Sat 31 Mar - Reading H

Sat 7 Apr - Barnsley A
Mon 9 Apr - Birmingham City H
Sat 14 Apr – Brighton and Hove Albion H
Tue 17 Apr - Bristol City A
Sat 21 Apr - Leicester City A
Sat 28 Apr - Hull City H