Well it all ended much too soon did it not? The World Cup festival of footie has got me really looking forward to the new season starting so that I can watch live football rather than the televised stuff. Mind you, I don't think there will be a glut of Hibs games on telly this season. I was astute enough to video the Scotland v Brazil game so I reckon that if I send in the bit showing Tommy Boyd's own goal to Jeremy Beadle I should earn myself 250.

I was fortunate enough to be on holiday in France for the final two weeks of the tournament, soaking up the atmosphere and getting tore into the local swally. My favourite game was the Brazil v Holland semi-final as it gave me the opportunity to wear my Brazil shirt while sitting in amongst hundreds of orange clad Dutchmen. See me, pure radge or what? The French people who watched the game were brilliant as they were only too happy to hurl abuse at both teams. For instance, every time Bergkamp was on the ball the French would start singing "Oh I wish I could fly" and Ronaldo was greeted with rather realistic donkey impersonations. Yes it was a memorable night in the company of my kind of football fans.

The inevitable reality check came on my return to Leith when I collected my season ticket at Easter Road. I was given a fixture list for the coming season and discovered that our first home game is against the mighty Stranraer. I am beginning to wonder what sins I committed in a previous life to have to go through this one as a Hibs supporter. I hope it's not a spooky French coincidence that this game takes place on August 15th, Napoleon Bonaparte's birthday. Napoleon was one of those managers whose season got off to a great start but came unstuck in the frozen wastes of Russia. Let's hope Alex McLeish is not similarly over-confident and the equally frozen wastes of the First Division don't become his Waterloo. I see we have hardly been making front page news with our dealings in the transfer market and we have been losing some decent players. It seems bizarre that Grant (I have always been a fan and this is the only team I want to play for blah, blah, blah) Brebner would rather play for Reading than Hibs. Sadly we have also lost Mr Silky Soccer himself, Darren Dods has jumped ship and gone to Perth to become a better player. Did you know that Darren always buys himself a pair of flip-flips to go on holiday with; that's what happens when you have two left feet.

I read a superb interview given by Tom O'Malley to the Scotland on Sunday recently. Mr O'Malley was gleefully looking forward to the adventure of trudging round all those desperate First Division grounds with the team and he felt sure the supporters were equally thrilled at the prospect. An opportunity, as he put it, "to enjoy grounds and stadia which are unfamiliar". Reflecting on the thoughts of Chairman Tom I found myself wondering if there is also a World Cup tournament on the planet that he lives on.