In all honesty, there is an underlying sense of relief that football is returning, more to confirm that there is light at the end of the tunnel in terms of a normal routine to follow, rather than expectations of unbounded excitement and unrivalled entertainment.

I couldn't say I'm a football desperate scouring the various networks for any game to watch, and definitely not addicted to the extent that I'm researching the form in Georgia, or Latvia to have a little dabble.

Those of you who have included matches in Uzbekistan, Lithuania, Moldova and Estonia in a multi recently, seek help immediately! (Ukrainian form is more reliable, I'm told).

However, I have watched a little bit of action from Spain, Germany and the EPL, and at the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, it's just not the same without the crowd atmosphere. The form remains largely unchanged.

The bigger teams generally confirm their quality in games devoid of parochialism, and a hostile crowd, with the odd notable exception.

We were warned by the erudite Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch, that the hordes of vocal, hard-core supporters in grounds were vital to the product, when all-seater stadiums and steep price rises threatened their survival.

He reasoned that the corporates watched the fans as much as they watched the players, and the eradication of the tribal would render the product sterile. Wise man, Mr Hornby.

Come to think of it, whatever your poison, the fan is vitally important. Those magic moments - Darren Albert's try, Leo Barry's mark, Cathy Freeman's gold medal, John Aloisi's penalty - would surely have lost some lustre in empty stadiums.

So having pumped up your tyres, elevating your contribution to a level just fractionally behind the players, what will those overpaid, prima donnas produce for us, in the next month or so? (Just joking, fellas).

Your guess is probably better than mine at this stage, with circumstances providing hitherto unseen obstacles, problems, and factors to assess.

Some teams have players missing, some have coaches missing, some will be fitter than others, some will care more than others.

For some, there are contracts to be won, coaches and players alike, for others it's a matter of fulfilling contractual obligations for this season.

Someone like Grant Brebner, who served Melbourne Victory so well as a player, and is stepping in as interim coach, will be looking to impress, and change the fortunes of the team, as well as the dynamic perhaps.

He will be forced to do it without captain and star striker Ola Toivonen, who has returned to Europe, and there will be other coaches in similar situations.

Some players won't be as enamoured with their clubs as they once were, given the speed with which wages and entitlements were withdrawn by some franchises. Managers will need to have the strength to regain and/or reset their focus.

You would have to imagine that Sydney FC, with their quality, stability on and off the pitch, and comfortable lead at the head of the table, will go mighty close to winning the title again, and deservedly so.

Could the drive of talismanic Spaniard Diego Castro lift Perth Glory to a championship?

It is a major priority for a wonderful player and competitor, who knew winning one against the quality of Real Madrid and Barcelona in his time in La Liga was all but impossible.

You could hardly begrudge the little champion, and he knows his window of opportunity is closing.

Can the Jets continue their late-season revival? (Some of you can even attend). Thankfully we will know shortly.

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