Yay! The new fixtures for the 2010-11 Premier League season have been announced. And all around the world we soccer fans are rubbing our hands with glee at the thought of who our team will play on the opening day of the new season, scheduled to kick off on Saturday, August 14.

If I sound slightly sarcastic, it’s intentional. While I like perusing the new fixtures just as much as you do, I’m legally not allowed to show them to you. That’s because of an archaic (and ridiculous) law that makes the Premier League fixtures licensed information. And because it’s licensed, I would have to pay a fee of £4,244 to list them for the whole season. That is, in US currency, $6,277.

The management of the licenses for the Premier League (and Football League) is done by a company called Football DataCo, which is owned by the Premier League and Football League. The money accrued by Football DataCo is then split among the clubs in the Premier League, Football League and Scottish Football League clubs. To police the Internet to ensure that websites that are publishing fixtures have paid their license fees, Football DataCo uses NetResult, a UK based company that is also hired by the Premier League to shut down websites that illegally show highlights of Premier League action or live streams.

I, along with presumably hundreds of other bloggers and website owners, received a “friendly” e-mail from NetResult recently warning us that “Football DataCo Limited vigorously polices and protects the Leagues’ commercial rights, including the Leagues intellectual property rights in the fixture lists. On behalf of Football DataCo Limited, NetResult will be regularly monitoring web sites to ensure that the Leagues’ intellectual property rights are not infringed.”

And, with their capitalist’s hat on, NetResult reminded us that “The display or use of other materials owned or controlled by the Leagues (including, but not limited to photographs and logos) may require a separate additional licence which can also be obtained via Football DataCo Limited.” Oooh, lovely. Not only can I pay $6,277 for the fixtures, but I can also sign up to pay to use the logo of the Premier League and its clubs, as well as photographs. Wonderful.

The letter from NetResult is reprinted here (click the image for a larger version):

Oh, I almost forgot. Here are the fixtures — in honor of Pro Evolution Soccer’s fake team names — for the opening day of the 2010-11 Premier League season:

LEAGUE FIXTURES MENTIONING FICTITIOUS NAMES HAVE BEEN REMOVED PER DEMANDS OF NETRESULT/PREMIER LEAGUE

Merseyside Red against CENSORED should be a great clash on the opening day, don’t you think?

The complete (and licensed) fixtures for the 2010-11 Premier League season can be found on the Premier League website.

Can Terry rediscover his form in time to rescue Chelsea?

For the entirety of the season, Chelsea have seemed poised to put insurmountable distance between  themselves and the nearest opposition.  Yet this moment never arrived.  Draws and losses, often at those crucial games, have seen them lose ground in the Premier League, till now the gap between first place glory and second ignominy is one point.

The question is, can Chelsea fulfill its promise of this season and reclaim the domestic throne, or will they once again see the trophy lifted elsewhere?

In this article, I’ll discuss the reasons that they’ll lose; in another, I’ll discuss why they’ll win.

1.  Defensive Injuries

Ashley Cole had been the world’s superlative left back until a recent injury.  An excellent defender and a constant option going into attack, Cole’s injury sees Chelsea lose a unique weapon.  His pace allows him both to neutralize opposition counter attacks and beat their defenders at the other end of the pitch.

In fact, Chelsea did have a more than adequate (and for £18 million, he should be) replacement in Yuri Zhirkov.  He too, is sidelined with injury, though not for as long as Cole.  Florent Malouda, an attacking winger, is now the starting left back.  Remarkably, he seemed totally capable against both Inter and Manchester City.

Even if he works in the makeshift back four, Malouda’s repositioning robs Chelsea of an attacking threat that, for parts of the season, had gelled very well with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.  None of his attacking replacements — Daniel Sturridge, Salomon Kalou, Joe Cole — have been able to reproduce the same cohesive, potent football that made Chelsea favorites among many spectators for much of the season.

Petr Cech’s injury is another large blow.  As witnesses to Chelsea’s recent home loss to Man City can attest, Hilario is not the same as the Czech in goal.  He’s not even the same as former backup Carlo Cudicini.  The first two goals he allowed against the Citizens were questionable, and many will be wondering how many points will be dropped if he continues to concede softly in Cech’s absence.

Even when players do return from injury, there’s no guarantee they’ll find their form immediately.  In fact, quite the opposite should be expected, although a match unfit Cole/Zhirkov and Cech are surely better for Chelsea than an out of position Malouda and Hilario.

2.  Fixture List and Form

Put simply, Chelsea have hard games with which they must finish out the season.  Though they have the quality to collect maximum points in March, a visit from Aston Villa could prove to be challenging, and after that, it gets only worse.  The Blues must play away to Man United, Tottenham, and Liverpool in the final month and a half of the season.

Manchester United also have challenging fixtures during the final stretch, but at least they have the luxury of facing Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham at Old Trafford.  They do have a tricky away match to their rivals Man City, but other than that, the challenging away fixtures have been navigated.

Arsenal have by far the easiest finale to the season.  They have two legitimately difficult matches in a home Man City game and visit to White Hart Lane.  Just three points off Chelsea, Gunners fans surely fancy hounding their rivals all the way to the end, especially with their respective fixtures in mind.

In any case, the fixture list favors Chelsea’s on form competitors.

Obviously, Chelsea’s form is also worrying, and not only in their dropped points.  The amount of goals they’ve let in over the past handful of games suggests a former strength turned weakness.  Admittedly, conceding 4 against Man City while fielding a wildly attacking force and playing two men down isn’t a fair estimation of Chelsea’s defense, but one must admit  the overall slackness in defending (now down to third in goals conceded, behind Villa and United) is not a good sign.

3. John Terry

Finally, the collapse of John Terry must be mentioned.  His form has been more than just suspect of late.  He allowed himself to be absolutely hosed down by Milito for the opening goal in the UCL Inter game, and put in another decidedly mediocre performance at the Bridge against City.  Normally poor form merits benching, but as the captain and emblem of Chelsea, no one is willing to do this.  Everyone throws their faith behind him and hopes his form improves.  Meanwhile, on the pitch, it depreciates.  This does not bode well for Chelsea, especially as the team relies on Terry for more than just defensive heroics.

Is all lost for Chelsea?  Obviously not.  It’s a top club with enough class to win the league and then some.  Coming soon, I’ll show how the Blues might do just that.

The 2008/2009 Premier League fixtures have been announced and here are some mouthwatering matches to look forward to (all dates subject to change):

Sunday, August 31*
Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur

Saturday, September 13
Manchester City v Chelsea

Sunday, September 14*
Liverpool v Manchester United

Sunday, September 21*
Chelsea v Manchester United

Saturday, September 27
Everton v Liverpool

Saturday, October 25
Chelsea v Liverpool

Tuesday, October 28
Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur

Saturday, November 1
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

Sunday, November 9*
Arsenal v Manchester United

Sunday, November 30*
Manchester City v Manchester United

Sunday, December 14*
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United

Sunday, December 21*
Arsenal v Liverpool

Sunday, December 28
Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City

Sunday, January 11*
Manchester United v Chelsea

Saturday, January 17
Liverpool v Everton

Sunday, February 1*
Liverpool v Chelsea

Saturday, February 7
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal

Saturday, March 14
Chelsea v Manchester City

Sunday, March 15*
Manchester United v Liverpool

Saturday, March 21
Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea

Sunday, April 19*
Liverpool v Arsenal

Saturday, April 25
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur

Sunday, May 10*
Arsenal v Chelsea
Manchester United v Manchester City

Sunday, May 17*
Manchester United v Arsenal

Sunday, May 24
Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur

*These matches are scheduled for the day prior to the above dates (on the Saturday), but knowing Sky Sports and the Premier League, it’s very likely that these matches will be scheduled for the Sunday instead.

Here are the complete 2008/2009 Premier League fixtures.