Sir Alex Ferguson was told today's fixture news in the south of France
Sir Alex Ferguson will have been handed the schedule at his holiday base in the south of France and no doubt uttered an expletive or two when he realised what it entailed.
Clearly, United’s status as Barclays Premier League and Champions League winners has cut no ice with the fixture planners as not only do the Red Devils face exceptionally difficult games after every European tie, they will open their European expedition in the middle of visits to Liverpool and Chelsea, the first head-to-head duel between Ferguson and Luiz Felipe Scolari.
It leaves Ferguson hoping for a home start in Europe and definitely not a long away trip, which will force him to utilise his squad for matches he would prefer to target with his first-choice line-up.
Trips to Blackburn, Everton, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham lie in wait after Champions League outings two, three, four, five and six.
Ferguson will have noted Arsenal fared little better, posting five away games on the six corresponding weekends, although the matches themselves, against the likes of Bolton, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, appear less arduous.
Arsenal do face United and Chelsea immediately after Champions League games but what makes the Old Trafford side’s programme more arduous is that matches against Fulham on August 30 and Wigan on December 20 will need to be re-arranged due to their commitments in the European Super Cup and World Club Championship.
Chelsea, with four home games and two away, have done much better, even if their matches are tougher, while Liverpool, whose manager Rafael Benitez complained more than once about the number of Saturday lunchtime matches his team played last term, has also benefited from a four-two split.
And if United thought matches around England’s early season games would be any easier, they can think again.
Quite aside from finding themselves playing Liverpool at Anfield, almost certainly three days after England take on Croatia in Zagreb due to the complexities of the Champions League draw, they will also have minimal time to prepare for trips to Portsmouth and Aston Villa, which follow immediately after friendly dates.
Chelsea and Arsenal also have three away games straight after international fixtures, with Liverpool the winners again with three home matches.
England coach Fabio Capello has fared well, with no ’big-four blockbusters’ immediately prior to international games, although it is likely United’s opening weekend meeting with Newcastle at Old Trafford or Chelsea’s meeting with Portsmouth will be put back, reducing training time ahead of the friendly with the Czech Republic on August 20.
Similarly, the meeting between Aston Villa and Manchester City is likely to be put back 24 hours as both will probably be involved in UEFA Cup qualifying round action, meaning a substantial proportion of Capello’s squad is likely to be playing when he might want them to report for duty.
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