Ward’s debut hat-trick and a Stadium of Light trip – opening-day memories

With the countdown to the 2026-27 Premier League fixture release well and truly on, we asked for your stories of opening-day games – both good and bad – that have stuck in your minds most. The first half didn’t last long in the memory, but at half-time we introduced new signing Grant Ward, who we had bought from Tottenham for about £500,000. Louis: My worst opening-day memory is being all over Liverpool only to then go and concede two goals against the run of play in August 2024.