How's that for starters - Chesterfield FC figures name their preferred first-day opponents
Rotherham United and York City are among the favourite picks as first-day league opponents for Chesterfield.
The 2026/27 EFL fixtures are out at midday tomorrow, revealing who the Spireites will lock horns with in their League Two opener on the weekend of August 14-16.
Relegated Rotherham, Port Vale, Northampton and Exeter are all potential opponents along with York and Rochdale, fresh up from the National League.
For Chesterfield chairman Ashley Kirk, an attractive home game and a scenic away trip would hit the spot.
"York here would be a good one because it would be nice to see (ex Spireites) Ollie (Banks) and Kingy (Jeff King),” he said, speaking on this summer’s Chesterfield FC podcast.
"I can’t pick one away but if I was choosing a day out I’d be going for Cheltenham and heading into the Cotswolds later on I think.
"Going to Rotherham would be a good game but I’ll miss Notts County this season because there is always add a bit of spice and needle and it’s always a big game of football.”
Apart from a couple of matches in the EFL Trophy, the paths of near neighbours Rotherham and Chesterfield haven’t crossed much recently and it is 13 years since they last played each other in a league game.
An early meeting with Millers, and their new Head of Football, former England manager Steve McClaren, would suit Spireites CEO John Croot.
"I’d like to play Rotherham first,” he said. “It’s a club we’ve always got on well with. We’ve not played them for a good few years and I’ve got some great memories of past matches. They are always competitive games.”
For assistant manager Danny Webb, the sight of the new fixture list is a chance to really start looking forward and put last season’s play-off disappointment in the “out” tray.
"It is great when the fixtures come out,” he said.
"The first month or so of the summer break you’ve still got that horrible nagging feeling ‘if only we’d got to Wembley’, because I’d have fancied us to beat Salford if we’d got to the final. We didn’t and we have to get over that.
"When you see the fixtures you’ve got no choice but to dust yourself off and look forward. There’s no point sulking and looking back because before you know it the first league game is underway and there’s a fresh new league table to get excited about.”
He added: "It’s always nice to start at home. I’ve no doubt we’ll have a packed out SMH and if it’s away, even 100 miles away, we always take loads of support.”
Tomorrow also sees the draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup, starting at 4.30pm.