Let Battle Commence !!

OK ... so the North West Counties League began on the 3rd August ... and the Football League and Conference Prem kicked off on the 10th ... but bear with me ...

It's that time of year when you find football blogs coming out of hibernation - so many just seem to "close down" at season end (not mine of course ... I thrill the world with "What I Did On My Holidays", or "Look How Well My Spuds Are Growing"), but then the bloggers start to "rev the engine" during the pre-season friendlies before hitting fourth gear at season start.  

 At my (non-league) level pre-season friendlies can be sooo much fun - "Who the hell is that in the shirt with no number ??" is the most oft-used phrase, followed by "He looks useful" (and then you never see him again due to the club up the road offering a fiver more).  Pre-season friendlies are not just for the players ... the bloggers have to sharpen their "virtual pens", dust off their copies of the "Des Lynam Book of Football Cliches" ... and generally enjoy themselves (often in shorts) in half-decent weather without worrying about cups of hot steaming Bovril to keep out the chill.

So ... and we're talking non-league here of course (I have no truck with that "big stuff" !) - what does the new season hold ?  Teams will win all their friendlies - yet come heavily unstuck when the season starts; and vice versa of course - message boards will be full of great hope ("We've signed some belters !!!") or gloom and doom "Why have all our belters buggered off ?").  We all have to learn the names of our new sponsors (I mean Skrill ?? Isn't that what whales eat ??).  We have to cope with/moan about admission increases (RPI + 1% and all that stuff). Yet ... we can't wait for the season to begin - and then the real action begins - both on the pitch and also in "blog world". 

They say a picture paints a thousand words - in that case I've written millions since August 2006.  I have to admit personally that as the years have gone on the words have decreased and the pictures increased - but that's just me (I’m getting old – after a game I need to relax, drink my Horlicks and be in bed by 9 !).  There are hundreds of blogs out there - and at my "non league" level there are some absolute crackers.  Which naturally brings me on to the Football Blogging Awards.  A great idea which began last year in a fairly low-key way (I put my victory in the "Veteran Blog" section down to just that !!!).  Now we're into the second season - we're talking bigger, we're talking better, and hopefully there will be a lot more involvement at all levels (shame that there's no category for "Best Non-League Football Blog" though - but again ... that's just me !).  With this years awards taking place at the National Football Museum in Manchester, and a major sponsor (The Betting Directory) already on board it can only be onwards and upwards ...

... which all us football fans are fervently hoping for – for our teams - as the season begins ...  BRING IT ON !

(EDITOR'S NOTE ... this was written especially (and on the fly !!!) for the football blogging awards website - having won one last season I thought it good to help to promote this season's awards (OK I was asked !!).  Can't imagine I'll get anywhere near winning this season - but you never know !!)