Sat in the pub for the majority of the weekend, once the clock hit 3pm something happened that a vast number of us have been waiting for all summer. Jeff Stelling appeared on the big screen flanked by his usual Soccer Saturday chums and what is normal service was resumed.

Whether it was Merson fluffing his lines or Kammy failing to realise that the camera was on him and staring into oblivious space, it was so good to see them back, and we were even treated to a Stelling special during the Hartlepool match.

It has been a long and hard summer, despite the fact that we were spoilt by the wealth of sport on the TV, but even with this some of us had resorted to what can only be described as scraping the barrel in order to fill our time. After confessing to a group of people at the bar I had been at such a lose end I started watching Gossip Girl – I know I have hung my head in shame over this – a middle aged man let slip that he had been watching his daughter’s box set of The OC. Clearly the Premier League is not back a moment too soon.

The opening weekend provided thrills and spills, with a cracking performance from promoted Southampton, who despite failing to get any points, should they play like that week in week out, they will surely avoid the drop. Chelsea made a decent start, yet Arsenal faltered in front of goal, and Liverpool flopped dramatically.

There was a horrible injury to star man Aguero which has left City fans worrying themselves sick along with coming to terms with the fact their club is never going to change, no matter how much money the club have or world class players they will still put fans through the wringer and leave it late to get those results.

There are more talking points than we have been privy to all summer and the amount of coverage in the media and on the TV has made us feel truly spoilt after a long and lonely summer. The good news is that the Champions League hasn’t even really started yet and the season always heats up the longer it goes on – after all a season is 38 games in the Premier League and even more in the Championship, and we have only been treated to one so far. Plenty more where that came from, and how grateful we are about that.