Phil SumblerSo here we are again.ย The first day of a new season.ย 46 games lie ahead of us with the hopes and aspiration of every football fan dreaming of what may be and is this the first step to Russell Martin succeeding where Steve Cooper twice failed in leading the Swans back to the Premier League?
It is way too early days to be thinking of promotion especially as the boss is yet to celebrate his one week anniversary in charge but it will be interesting this afternoon to see exactly how Martin lines his side up for his first game in charge.
It has been a busy week for the new Swans boss who has been working hard with his squad, lining up transfer targets and taking in the sights of Swansea although even the salary of a football manager it seems cannot buy the houses that his family would dearly love.
“Pennard is beautiful, Langland is fantastic, we went to Three Cliffs and Mumbles too, which was brilliant,” Martin told the BBC.
“It’s a beautiful place and I’ve been sending videos to my wife and kids. They’ve already decided where they want to live but I think I’m going to have to release a player to get a house there!”
It will be a tough test for the Swans this afternoon as they look to start the season with an away win in Lancashire – something that they managed last season when Morgan Gibbs-White was on target at Preston on the opening day.
It is only ten weeks since we were beaten on the Wembley turf by the then Premier League bound Brentford and much has changed since then and not just with the elongated departure of Cooper.ย Marc Guehi, Freddie Woodman and Andre Ayew have all departed having been part of a key spine to the Swans side last season.ย All three departures have given opportunities for others to come in and it will be interesting to see who Martin sees initially as the men to replace certainly both Guehi and Ayew – the filling of Woodman’s gloves is slightly easier as Steven Benda will take his place between the sticks.
Martin is wanting more replacements – he has made that much known and he will want to do his business soon as we know that games come thick and fast for the majority of a Championship season although we do have the luxury of an August start this season which makes it slightly easier.
Football will have a familiar feel at last too with fans allowed back into games in their numbers after almost eighteen months of being largely absent and over the coming weeks you can imagine home advantage could become certainly a bigger benefit as people get used to the novelty of being back watching football in person rather than from the comfort of an armchair.
Finally it feels like we have some level of normality (or at least the new normality) returning to our lives and that brings an increased sense of anticipation and whatever the next nine months brings I suspect that most of us believe there will be higher levels of entertainment than maybe we have grown used to over the last two seasons.
So sit back, strap yourselves in and get ready for the ride again because football is back and our attention turns to Ewood Park.
You can, of course, keep updated with events from Ewood Park and discussions with other Swans fan via our comprehensive matchday thread bought to you by Jackharris – please click here to visit the thread and join in the discussion.
