With Euro 24 behind us and the Olympics nearing conclusion, we are back to the bread and butter of league football in England. Although the Premier League doesn't kick off for another seven days, for many the real English football season starts this weekend when the other 72 clubs get down to business.
Although most fans adopt a Premier League club to support, their loyalties often remain with their home town teams they have supported since they were kids. These fans enjoy their football unembellished, minus the trimmings of the top flight. That's why the supporters of Crewe Alexandra, Accrington Stanley and Barrow are every much as passionate about their clubs as the high fliers in the Premier League.
In the Championship, the three teams that have just been relegated from the Premier League are usually tipped for promotion back to the top flight. However this might not necessarily be the case this season.
Luton Town, if they can keep strikers Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo, look the most likely of the trio to ensure a quick return to the top flight. However, it could be a harder task for Burnley and Sheffield United.
The appointment of Scott Parker as manager has not gone down too well amongst Burnley fans who remember Parker being unceremoniously dumped by Bournemouth after poor displays. Despite this, you would expect the Clarets to still be in the mix. The Blades, however, were so disappointing in the Premier League last season some feel the Sheffield side may need a season to regroup.
This has opened the door for Leeds United to be hot favourites for the Championship title, despite losing Dutch striker Crysencio Summerville to West Ham earlier this week. Leeds were very unlucky to miss out on promotion last season but appear ready this time. Other possible promotion candidates are Middlesbrough under Michael Carrick and West Bromwich Albion with Carlos Corberan at the helm. Coventry displayed good form last season and may also be in with a shout.
There will be considerable interest in how Wayne Rooney gets on at his new club Plymouth. Fans were not too enamoured by Rooney's appointment and his main task will be to keep Argyle in the Championship. Other clubs that may struggle are Preston and newly promoted Oxford United.
In League One, Birmingham City are heavily backed by bookmakers despite their poor performance last season which saw them end their 13-season stay in the Championship. The American owners have poured buckets of money into the club which they hope will ensure a swift return to the Championship. But manager Chris Davies warns: "If anyone thinks it will be easy, they don't understand the challenge."
Other promotion hopefuls could be Bolton, Peterborough and Charlton.
Attracting a lot of attention will be the Hollywood-backed team Wrexham and how they will get on in their first taste of League One in 19 years. After two successive promotions they might have to settle for a mid-table finish. The League One relegation battle could be quite a scrap with Burton and Shrewsbury possibly in the thick of it.
League Two is always impossible to predict but keep an eye on newly promoted Chesterfield. For the fans of the 72 clubs in action this weekend, it is all about dreaming what might happen. There's nothing wrong in dreaming. That's what being a football fan is all about.