New season, renewed optimism. 

After a couple of injury and performance hiccups in our preparations, for the second season we hit the ground running following a European warm-up.

While the rest of the Premiership re-convened over the weekend, we had to watch the usual suspects rack up goals and points while waiting until the Monday evening for the chance to emulate them.

Being presented with Glenn Roeder's men for the second successive home game of course gave the media the chance to work over the Olivier Bernard story, and the player was quick to give "Je T'Aime le toon" quotes to anyone within earshot.

However for the rest of his colleagues, having the hammers in opposition looked to be as near to a gimme as the fixture list could have provided us with, and so it was to prove.

As they had back in April, the visitors came with little hopes of causing an upset and shorn of Di Canio and Kanoute were distinctly lacking in the danger department - no longer having Kitson to come on for one of his infrequent cameo appearances and with dirty Don Hutchison still some weeks from a comeback.

So, damage limitation appeared to be the order of the day and aside from occasional moments of danger chiefly created and executed by Joe Cole, our new centre back pairing of Dabizas and Bramble had an almost panic-free evening.

Debutant Titus drew applause from the crowd for a couple of interceptions and accurate flighted passes - a hallmark of his game when still the darling of the Portman Road crowd so our Suffolk correspondents report.

After having been slagged off on these pages in the preview, the Greek also impressed and certainly seemed to be getting involved fully whenever possible.

Of course having very little to defend against also contributed to one of his better displays, but the threat of pace from better opposition remains a cloud of his horizon. Before we get too complacent let's just recall the one-sided Nicos versus Michael Owen duel in front of the Kop a couple of seasons ago...

To be fair to the black and white knight who picks the team though, Sir Bobby seems aware of this problem and in his post-match piece to camera ran through the list of injured players who in his own words "would be in the starting eleven."

That one of those players was Andy O'Brien seems to indicate that Dabizas may be one of the first to be rotated out of the side, possibly before our trip to Anfield early next month.

If the Greek does get dropped, perhaps then he'll be able to do something about that minging bandage that has adorned his hand for almost the last two years. Unless it's to cover up some tattooed indiscretion on a par with the infamous Neville/Kevin Whately "Lotte" scene in "Auf Wiedersehen Pet", surely his ailment has eased now?

Back to the action (at last I hear you mutter) and things gradually came together for the toon as the first half ended and the second half began.

Given room in midfield to bring the ball forward frequently, some of our passing verged on the prosaic at times, and the forward-urging gesticulations of the manager on the sidelines were matched by the captain in the forward line.

Shots did come, chiefly a couple of rangefinders from LuaLua, but it was only after the interval that the team really came alive and started to threaten with real urgency as they broke with recent tradition by attacking the Leazes end (West Ham having won the toss).

As mentioned elsewhere, the crowd also regained their volume and vigour, which had steadily diminished after a booming opening few minutes. That the small contingent of away fans were able to make their inevitable rendition of "shall we sing a song for you" audible nearing half time showed the quietness of the 50,000 expectant mags. 

At least nobody seemed to boo at half time though - which sadly is not unheard of at 0-0 round these parts....

Once ahead, more goals came as they inevitably would and given the predictability with which the visitors packed in, had we broken the deadlock a bit earlier then we'd probably have racked up more than four without reply.

By the end Bobby was even able to replace LuaLua and Viana to allow them a deserved ovation from the stands, and no doubt from the many toon exiles propped up in front of TV's in bars all over the planet.

Little Treasure of course captured the headlines with his goalscoring and photogenic
celebrations, but it was pleasing to see Viana's contribution roundly applauded as he quite literally grew into the role as the match progressed.

The real unsung hero though was Jenas, who deputised ably for Gary Speed and grafted manfully for the full duration. The old adage about covering every blade of grass was never more appropriate, and to further retreat into the murky world of round ball cliches, the lad has what must be called a great engine.

Of course an increasingly perfect night was rounded off by the opening goal of another important season for Shearer and then Solano's first strike - from rather closer in than his usual blasts. That fourth meant that we were indeed "top of the league" as the crowd roared, in an ironic sense of course.

Three points then, hopes sky high and no doubt the breweries and TV companies licking their lips in anticipation of more wallet-loosening scorelines from the re-born entertainers. 

We'll no doubt come crashing back to earth at some point when the creativity of Robert is missed and LuaLua misplaces his magic touch, but then there's always the get out of jail option of flinging the ball forward for Bellamy.

On other nights we'll be punished by better opposition for failings such as the bad positioning and variable marking of Bernard or the times when Dyer seems to lose concentration, but the overbearing buzzwords are optimism and potential. Hopefully confidence and success can be added to that list.

Great times then, albeit against sub-standard opponents. 

The best thing that can be said? It's like we've never been away and the pause button at the end of last season has just been released. Months of World-Cup related nonsense were thankfully blown away by the only team that really matters, doing what we want them to do. 

As the Romans would say, let the games commence. It's great to be back.

Biffa