IN THE MIXER

The sun is shining, temperatures soaring, beer gardens heaving and local parks covered in pink people. Festival season is almost over, Wimbledon is finished, the Ashes are in full swing but there is one event that I for one can’t wait for!
 

With just under a month to go and oh so many twists and turns yet to unfold before it all begins, the juggernaut that is the new Premier League season is fast approaching. I’ve already previewed the transfer dealings of the ‘top clubs’ but at this stage of pre-season much of the speculation has been nothing more than that.

 

This summer, more than any other, it seems that almost everybody has been sucked into the ‘news’ stories spreading up and down the division. Cavani turned to Paris instead of West London, David Villa opted for Madrid’s second club over North London’s and Higuain appears to be sitting still at the Bernabeu rather than travelling to the Emirates.
 

What has unfurled in the transfer market thus far is Manchester City spending big, again, on yet more strikers, Wayne Rooney throwing such a strop at United that he has pulled a hamstring and within the last hour Christian Benteke, who seemed destined for a move to White Hart Lane has extended his contract at Aston Villa until 2017.
 

Gareth Bale remains the name that every paper bandies about with a move here and there; at this moment he remains a Spurs player. Arsenal hero Cesc Fabregas is set for a move to Manchester United, apparently. Whilst up in Newcastle, Papiss Cisse is being linked with a move away from the club, on religious grounds.
 

Pre-season friendlies are being played out up and down the country and all over the world as all of the Premier League’s megastars returned to full training within the last week or so.  When those games start happening, the buzz for the new season really begins. New kits, new managers, new signings, new formations, bright young stars breaking through are all part of that excitement that comes with the lead up to the new season.
 

Transfer rumours and dealings coupled with the beginning of those all important pre-season friendlies, however, aren’t the only cause of excitement for football fans such as me. We have recently had the publication of the Live on Sky fixtures, a must read for every football fan in Britain.
 

The opening weekend, that almost holy weekend which symbolises so much in the football calendar, provides the statutory Saturday-Sunday-Monday structure for four games. Carling Cup winners Swansea host David Moyes’ for the first time as Manchester United manager on the Saturday. Whilst the Sunday sees new boys Hull travel to Jose’s Stamford Bridge and Palace host Spurs at Selhurst Park.  As well as the first instalments of Match of the Day, Football First and Goals on Sunday, we also then have Man City v Newcastle United on the Monday night.
 

Just thinking about the prospect of the first weekend of the season is enough to initiate that buzz that comes with it.
 

The first game of the season comes in so many different forms for fans up and down the country. Those lucky enough to have a ticket will enjoy the rare sight of a football stadium bathed in sunlight, the smell of the freshly laid turf, the cool mist of the sprinklers keeping the pitch slick, the players warming up in the new training gear, running out in the brand spanking new kit, the new signing taking it all in for the first time.
 

Whereas for those watching at home, the game in question may not contain their team but they get to see all of the new Sky Sports features, graphics, panellists (although we all know that is Jamie Carragher...), the interviews with the new signings or last year’s big hitter looking forward to the season ahead.
 

It’s all on its way and the excitement in this blogger’s household is palpable. The Premier League Season 2013/14 is one which promises so much. Big new signings gracing the division for the first time, new managerial regimes which are sure to change the landscape at certain clubs, a real open race at the top and bottom of the table and most importantly all of the excitement that is always rolled into one big Premier League sized bundle.
 
Here’s to 2013/14!