On Saturday 13th August at 3:00pm, the 2011/12 Premier League season begins. It will have been 83 days since Manchester United lifted the title and now they must start chasing it again. They have barely had time to enjoy their success before they are scrapping it out with the big boys for the next one. The gap is not a long one and while players and managers may complain about the rigours of a long season, I’m more concerned about our recuperation and our stamina. Are we, the fans, ready for another season?
On Saturday I will kiss my girlfriend goodbye for another 9 months. I will head down to a wonderful pub with multiple live 3 o’clock games and I will start to soak it up once more. Opinion, ignorance, passion, anger, the blindness of fans and the blindness of referees, the hype of Sky, the tired, weary punditry of the Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson, the restricted view -even in the pub, the brief moments of joy and the long, drawn out final minutes of suffering and frustration.
Have I had long enough to recover? For three months I’ve been in intense recovery. I’ve played tennis, I’ve watched films, I’ve even talked to people about things that have nothing to do with football. When it all ended on 22nd May I walked out into the wide world and put it all behind me. Now, as I prepare to immerse myself once more I realise I have barely come to terms with Blackpool’s magnificent season and relegation, barely appreciated the true magnitude of their achievement. I have scarcely considered that Swansea City are now a Premier League side and West Ham United are not. I note, with another thought toward the girlfriend that my side are now in the Europa league, meaning Thursday nights are now struck off as well as Tuesday and Wednesday. Am I ready to step back into this world?
On Saturday I make that step. My fantasy football team, which takes such careful consideration, will have failed me by Week three, but my team, my beloved Tottenham, will continue to toy with my hopes and emotions for months on end. I am certainly ready to say goodbye to the endless Sneijder, Fabregas and Modric rumours looping on repeat, goodbye to Mancini’s pessimism, Harry Redknapp’s adverts and goodbye to Sky Sports news without football. But am I ready for another 9 months? Let’s hope so because ready or not I’m going to get swallowed up.
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