In just 5 days the football season kicks off once more. I know, its barely finished from last year and managed to drag its way limply through the summer (summer? where??) with the Gels’ World Cup and a bunch of soggy friendlies played all over the world as the Chinese and the Malaysians and the Americans will all pay good money to go out and watch Aston Villa’s 3rd reserve team. For some unaccountable reason to do with ‘the power and pull of the Premiership’. We don’t count Scotland, which started last week, nor really anything else; just our Premiership. Its all that matters. You can keep the Charity Shield, the Women’s FA Cup (but only because Chelsea won it; they’re all a bunch of women there) and The Sodding Emirates Cup.

And as football is undoubtedly the most important thing in the world, and the Premiership is the most important thing in football, it is rather befitting that the very first game of the season features Spurs. Playing away at Manchester United. Starting early. Making it a difficult journey for the Spurs fans, a very early start, just for prayers that the trains run properly. But arguably making it much more difficult for the ‘home’ fans, who also need trains from London, Birmingham and Newcastle, planes from Paris, Rome and Bangkok, boats from Somalia and Fiji. There is now apparently one single Old Trafford ticket holder who still lives in the Greater Manchester area, though there are rumours that he died in 1974 and his ticket is used by family from Radlett.

Spurs have strengthened their squad. That’s a footballing euphemism meaning that we haven’t signed the proverbial ‘marquee name’, we haven’t acquired anyone exciting but we have bought a few East European journeymen thugs to make our defence stronger. Which we needed because we let in too many goals last year. Arguably we could do with a midfield superstar goal-maker but we’ll make do with what we have. Minus (please, Dear God) Soldado and Adebayor. And when you have Harry Kane you really don’t need anyone else.

Whereas Manchester United have off-loaded their Real Madrid ‘reject’ Angel Di Maria, all 60 million quid’s worth, and are replacing him with ‘superfluous to Barcelona requirements’ Pedro. To join Memphis Depay, Schneiderlin and Bastien Schweinsteiger. The latter two signed specifically to increase revenue from the replica shirt naming department. Because at £1.25 a letter, the difference over a season between Schweiny and Ji Sung Park represents about 13 million pounds.

The problem is that Bayern Munich sold Schweinsteiger because he’s injured. Averages just 20 starts a season because of knee and ankle injuries. Which, as a rule, don’t tend to improve as you get older. So that must be seen really as a much better contract for Schweiny that it is for Manchester United.

Arsenal feel confident enough that Wenger went into ‘rude mode’ and refused to shake Morinho’s hand on Sunday, Chelsea are Chelsea and Manchester City have made sufficient acquisitions that its really hard, at this time, to work out which one of those will drop down the league to let Spurs finish in the top 3.

Only time will reveal the answers.

Happy Tuesday

A xxxx