What is interesting and refreshing about the start of this season, and will bring with it a degree of optimism, is the number of healthy arguments and discussions that can be heard surrounding the new faces that have arrived at the Vetch, following several years of minimal player movement. Initially comments concentrated on who these people were and where they came from, but now that the season has begun, it is performances on the field that are receiving the fans' attentions, and already there is widely differing opinion regarding their abilities and level of achievement.

There was indeed one match report that gave Jamie Wood a 6 rating, and on reflection that may be a little harsh, but personally I would not have catapulted him into the 9 bracket as would Roving Jack on the Guestbook and the Wales on Sunday.

Many pints will have been drunk so far during further discussions on whether Murphy was good or bad, whether Reid deserved his match award, will David Smith prove himself, or has he already, why wasn't James Thomas up for Man-of-the-Match, will Theobold or Sharp get into the central defence, when will Mumford get his chance?

When did we hear conversations like this last?

Recent seasons have been littered with polls and postings about who should be on their way out, but with Nick Cusack having carried out an operation on last year's squad similar to those being carried out by the Celebrity Surgeons on HTV tonight, we all hoped that we would be in for something a little different.

The big advantage that Nip-and-Tuck Cusack's efforts have however is that his surgery seems to have produced something that definitely looks better.

There is one Guestbook posting tonight, questioning O'Leary's role as captain. One thing that has been noticeable in the three games at the Vetch so far is that much of the direction and vocal noise has been coming from Roger Freestone, with an almost Big Brother style transmission delay before O'Leary shouts the same instructions. I am not is a position, or even trying to doubt Kris O'Leary's abilities as captain, but with our defence looking far from as solid as most of us would like it, then we need one voice at the back with the confidence to control the situations we will face. We won a Championship with a great defence, but no strikers. Just think what could we achieve if we were robust at the back, and with the creativity and finishing skills that we appear to have in plenty further up field this year?

What was also noticeable on Saturday was the accuracy of the attempts on goal, and we do now seem to have players that have learned, or maybe in some cases already knew, where the target is. This will no doubt be a great comfort to the regular occupants of the elevated rows at the back of the East Stand, where protective headgear may no longer be required, at least until injuries force Michael Howard back into the reckoning.

All the early indications (which started several months ago) are that we may be in for a very interesting season all round, with many clubs fighting for survival, even to see out the season, in many differing sets of circumstances. Apart from the loss of television revenue and the effect of that on the Nationwide clubs, in particular those in Division 1 it would seem, there is the obvious emergence of overstretched Premiership giants, and the ongoing and relentless cashflow battle of lower division teams of which we were once part. We have gone through our trauma, and have survived thus far. We are, I would imagine, one of only a few clubs outside of the Premiership (and maybe even within that division as well) who have been able to plan and set realistic objectives for this season in the knowledge that the financial projections are conservative and sound as a minimum.

Nick Cusack is under the spotlight in his first managerial role, and has made many decisions already, which may determine whether he will succeed or fail. If you want my opinion, (and don't forget I did give Jamie Wood a 6), I'd be more comfortable in his shoes, boots or trainers than in those of some other managers' who are gambling millions in the transfer markets to ensure the future survival of their respective employers, and even shareholders. There again, you could be the guy who decided to move Wimbledon to a new home, slightly further out of town than the Morfa. Now that seems like a lead in story for this year's Darwin Awards Winner if ever there was one.

If anyone has any feedback to give me, I'd love to hear from you at pauly@scfc.co.uk