The Football League decided to rename their three divisions this season. What was ‘New’ Division One was now called the Championship, Division Two was renamed League One and Division Three became League Two.

It’s a curious occasion, then. Here we are, eager to analyse and dissect and predict…and willing to base our opinions on something that takes place in conditions that are completely untypical of what will follow over the next nine months. Sitting in the shade of the stand, it’s easy to forget the impact of the weather…until you emerge into the sunlight on your way out at the end, and you’re physically beaten back by a wave of sheer, savage solar energy. Yeah, I know…they’re well-paid professional athletes and everything. But Christ, this would be about physical survival, not about peak performance. Drawing conclusions on the basis of one game would be – and often is – absurd at any time. More so now than ever.