PANIC over - the Premiership is back.

It seems only days since Zizou nutted his way into footballing folklore, overshadowing an entire tournament in a manner that was both tragic and comedic.

The World Cup had its moments but every football fan worth his salt knows that club football is where it's really at, so it's roll on Saturday - or at least it should be.

I can't be the only fan out there that approaches the first fixture of the new season with a mixture of feverish excitement and paralysing fear.

After all, for those of us that live their lives through their football clubs for the next nine months - and there are more of us than care to admit it - just what does the season have in store for us?

Will we enjoy moments we will never forget for the rest of our lives, or will it be week after week of abject misery and frustration?

Several of the north west clubs have reason to be pessimistic and any hopes of Manchester United making a title challenge may rely on them finding a replacement for Ruud van Nistelrooy by August 31.

Liverpool seem a little more buoyant and Mark Gonzalez is receiving good reports. But they still won't oust Chelsea at the top.

Expect little old Wigan's popularity to drop off as the Premiership begins to realise they're around for good - even if they are giving us all a good laugh by deciding that the best player they could buy for £5.5m was Emile Heskey.

And looking further afield, it will be interesting to see how quickly Martin O'Neill can get Aston Villa challenging again.

I've often thought over the years that supporting the likes of Grimsby must be more fun than following Villa, such has been their dreary mid-table existence.

But for this weekend the best team to support is Fulham.

Why? Well, they're playing Manchester United and one Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday.

A bigger than normal travelling support is expected - as many as 20 fans could be making the trip from London - and they may just enjoy a bit of light-hearted banter with young Cristiano.

* It looks like grinning Steve McClaren can tick off point number one in Max Clifford's guide to being the perfect England manager.

He's no Sven clone, you know, and he's got the squad to prove it.

Look, he had the bravery to drop the famous David Beckham - that's the man who creates most of England's goals, for those who haven't heard of him. What a big man you are, Steve.

Now I wasn't against McClaren's appointment - if England fight like Middlesbrough did in the UEFA Cup last year then anything is possible.

But, whatever the merits of the young players in his squad, he's created a rod for his own back in exactly the same way that Eriksson did when he picked Theo Walcott.

McClaren may think he is showing that he is his own man but the only way he will do that is by moving out of the shadow of Clifford.

* Some have suggested that Darren Campbell tainted Great Britain's 4x100m gold at the European Championships on Sunday by refusing to go on a lap of honour with teammate and drugs ban returnee Dwain Chambers.

What rubbish. The team's achievements were tainted from the moment Chambers stepped on to the track. Campbell's stance was honourable and his courage should be commended.