As one season ends ...

... So another begins.

The draft football fixtures for next season were published yesterday, with my club, Arsenal, kicking off at home to Fulham on Saturday 11th August.

It seems like only a few weeks ago that we were just catching our breath at the end of a long season ... probably because it WAS only a few weeks ago that we were watching the snore-a-thon that was the FA Cup Final, and even more recently the Champions League final and the Football League playoffs, which concluded less than three weeks ago.

And it's not as if the football world has gone quiet in the short space of time since then, what with hirings and firings, transfers both real and rumoured, allegations and denials, all the usual stuff. And to think that in Spain they haven't even finished their domestic season yet, with any of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla all capable of claiming the La Liga title this weekend.

Whatever happened to the good old days when players and fans alike could actually enjoy a summer break free from football all over the back (and occasionally front) pages? Ah, when I was a lad ...

And, obviously, it is only a "draft" schedule at this stage. Probably more than one-third of the Premiership fixtures will be subject to change, what with the demands of Sky coverage, flexing around the European matches of the Champions League and UEFA Cup teams, and so on.
Saturday 3pm kick-offs? As Ricky Gervais's sitcom character in Extras would say, "Are you having a laff?"

The saddest thing of all? After a gruelling nine-plus month season coming off the back of a World Cup year, you'd think I'd have had enough of football for a while. But the reality is: I can't wait. Roll on mid-August ...