League One fixtures to lift World Cup apathy?

Doesn't sound right does it? Maybe not but that's how I am feeling this morning. Shrewsbury away in the preliminary round of the Egg Cup hardly raised the pulse yesterday and the early World Cup games kept pace with the competition thus far in producing a miserly two goals, although the Spanish match probably deserved better. It was left to Uruguay to put three past the hosts and probably kill off local interest beyond next week. It's just all so lack-lustre to date. Some ambition must be shown before the end but the overwhelming feeling so far is world cup finals where globalisation of the game has lead to a homogeneous brand of athleticism and negativity driven by the fear-of-defeat. 


To the fixture list today then, which will be revealed in two-and-a-half hours. The BBC has updated it's website in anticipation and the League One section now includes the winners (Bournemouth, Dagenham & Redbridge and Rochdale) and losers (Peterborough, Plymouth and Wednesday) from League Two and the Championship respectively. It makes for pretty dull reading.


The tendency from the fixture pickers is to give the new sides "plum" starts and the bigger sides potential tasty finishers. So I am expecting us to still be considered a bigger draw and be pitted against one of them. Rochdale at home anyone? At the other end of the season, fate often combines with irony, so expect Southampton at the death and the prospect of a triumphant Alan Pardew at the scene of his crime. That would just about be in keeping with our fortunes of recent years.


Christmas and Easter games are harder to predict but presumably the Bees and the O's will figure and perhaps the mouth-watering prospect of Dagenham & Redbridge? Maybe we'll get Swindon or Colchester thrown into the mix? 


Other than that, my wish is for Plymouth, Brighton and Bournemouth away all to be Saturday fixtures please. Sad to say but they look like the away-day highlights of the coming season!