You will have seen from my last post that I was predicting a difficult time of it as a follower of football.   True enough my prediction came to pass in a rather spectacular set of results for the teams I forlornly tend to follow.

The headline says `Business as Usual` and it was certainly that for Southampton, who were 1-0 up at half time but lost 3-1 away at Everton.   Two patterns emerging here already - never winning at Everton and losing a game from a winning position.  It`s like last season all over again. (Perhaps things will improve, he hopes, after yet another pig flies over his roof.)

So let`s see if things got any better elsewhere.  Not really - business as usual at Fort William who are playing all of their games in the Highland League away from home as Claggan Park is unfit for purpose this season.  They have played four league games so far, losing all four but yesterday`s narrow 3-2 defeat to high(ish) flying Forres Mechanics was an improvement on the heavy defeats normally inflicted on the Fort.   As a result, they are not bottom of the league table;  OK, next to bottom only alphabetically as Turriff United starts with a `T`, but it is slightly encouraging.  

My neighbour`s Gillingham made a difficult journey in the circumstances to Plymouth yesterday and perhaps diplomatically lost by the only goal of the game, the final score being 1-0, to quote David Coleman.   My neighbour tells me that Gills` rotund manager Steve Evans has already been booked in one game and sent off in the next one so maybe diplomacy ensured that he was on his best behaviour at Home Park yesterday.

Heading further west, Truro City`s hopes of a good start to their season in the National League South failed to materialise as they were soundly beaten 4-0 by visiting Hendon.   But better news for the ultimate minnows of Stoke Gabriel in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division East.   They have taken the drastic step of combining forces with Torbay Police FC to become, err...Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC.   A case of `if you can`t beat `em, nick `em` perhaps.   They lost their opening game 6-0, they lost 3-0 yesterday to Honiton Town but in between lost by the narrowest of margins 3-2 to top six side Bovey Tracy - an arresting performance I suspect.  Business as usual or the early signs of green shoots?

So, defeats all round yesterday but the party partly pooped by Maidstone United winning their first league game 3-0 at home to Hemel Hempstead and Brechin City making an impressive start to their time in the Highland League with three wins followed by a draw yesterday against  Rothes.   The hedge at Glebe Park looks immaculate.

A typical start to the season then - business as usual indeed.