THE FULL ENGLISH: THE WAITING GAME

It’s been a rough month for Goal.com’s Shane Evans as he waits eagerly for the return of the English Premier League come August.
This is the time of year I hate the most. The period right after the conclusion of an EPL season and before the opening of the transfer window. If it wasn’t for the Confederations Cup (which has been more exciting than I expected. More on that shortly), I’d be literally pulling my hair out. There is only so much pseudo support in a lime green shirt one man can take.

Thankfully, the League releases its fixtures during this dull period and gives guys like me something to dissect until July comes. Always a plus. I just love getting teased about what action I’ll get to experience two months from now. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not a very patient person, especially when it comes to footy.

In an effort to make this feel more like a midseason edition of “The Full English,” I’m gonna run down the top five fixtures of the season. Actually, let’s make it the top five fixtures of the first half of the year, so then I’ll have something to write about next week, because we all know things are going to be even more dire by that point. I'll even throw in an excitement rating system: The Paul Scholes Terrible Tackle Tracker. Why? Because his tackles are one of the best things that happen in the EPL, always priceless.

Here goes nothing.

The Bacon (as in Bringing It Home): The Still Frozen and Stored Away For Future Consumption Edition

Manchester United v. Birmingham City (August 15th, 10:00 a.m. ET)

Nice way to start the campaign for the Champions. Newly promoted Birmingham visits Old Trafford which if nothing else, will be a good way for the Red Devils to shake off the dust and get things in gear. It’ll be interesting to see who takes the field for United on the day. Take a guess at the starting XI in the comments, I dare ya! Scholes' Terrible Tackles: 3/5

Manchester City v. Arsenal (September 12th, 10:00 a.m. ET)

I’m not sure why, but I have a feeling this match is going to end 5-5. Either that or 0-0 with two shots on net combined, both by Robin Van Persie. It’ll be an exciting match though, that is for sure. Both sides will be gunning for bigger things this year, and with a bunch of changes coming to both sides before the start of the 2009/2010 campaign, I’m already intrigued with how this one will go. Scholes' Terrible Tackles: 4/5