Reality asylum

The reality of United's new status was brought home today with the release of the League fixtures for next season. The opening game at the new stadium sees the visit of the less than mighty Rochdale to Minchery Farm; hardly a test of the ground's, stewards' or traffic system's ability to cope (although possibly a test of the team's). Successive home games against Shrewsbury, Rushden & Diamonds and Macclesfield are hardly likely to fill the ground to the rafters either, but should hopefully ensure that United has a better start to next season than it did to the last.

More interesting is the season's finale, which sees United visit neighbours Cheltenham Town for the first time as a League club before climaxing with a home match against Darlington. Other “highlights” include a trip to Carlisle in March, when the Lake District should be pleasant enough, the visit of Luton on Boxing Day (although it's highly unlikely that Joe Kinnear will still be connected with the Hatters by then) and United's first visit to Rushden & Diamonds on New Year's Day.

The complete fixture list can be found here, allegedly.