It’s Friday night. A takeaway and early doors at the local followed by semi-drunk dreams of the weekend’s game. That has been my weekly routine for the past eight or nine months. Once the weekend’s game was played, I’d spend the following week reading up on team news, thinking about the latest injury, contemplating the missed opportunities and the goals that were scored, then focussing on the next fixture.

At the start of every season I seem to forget immediately what the two months preceding were like. A bit of Wimbledon to keep you going, maybe catch the athletics in the Olympics, then there’s a World Cup or European Championship to bide your time, but essentially, nothing fills the gap left by the football season ending.

1. Transfer rumours

The transfer stories you brush off during the season suddenly become the height of interest when you don’t have a match to look forward to. Whether it’s some unknown player from South America or a big named star from the continent, I find myself hooked on buying in to the latest player we’re tipped to sign. Search his videos on YouTube, read about him on Wiki, take a glance over his scoring/defensive record.

2. Pre-season friendlies

A trip to Peterborough isn’t something you’d necessarily consider viable during the season, but when it’s over, making the journey seems like a sound bet. Hire a mini-bus, pack it full with the lads, and head on down. I found myself watching United vs Inter Milan at the beginning of August last season, desperate to catch any action of the lads after a summer without. It seems as though I wasn’t the only one, with another 73,737 fans feeling the same way, giving us a record attendance for a friendly match.

Anyone fancy a trip to Aberdeen in July?

3. Portugal

At least this summer isn’t completely barren as far as football goes, with Euro 2008 taking place. Disappointing that we won’t get to watch the likes of Rooney, Ferdinand, Hargreaves and Carrick in action, after the England team embarrassingly failed to quality. However, it time to get your Portugal flags ordered off eBay, learn their national anthem, and get yourself down to a pub. Viva Ronaldooooo.

This Friday feels depressing. At least we have the small matter of the Champions League final to carry us through. But next Friday? Maybe we’ll just have to spend it celebrating the Double…




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