Great goals, blinding saves, gritty team efforts and eye-watering gaffes - Chris Kamara will be studying the tapes and serving up the best of the Premier League in bitesized bits, every week here on skysports.com.
As well as sharing his picks of the weekend, Kammy will be answering your Premier League questions.
And with a five-goal thriller, a glut of spectacular goals and the obligatory shock result or two to enjoy on the opening day of the new season, there was no shortage of contenders for shortlist no. 1...
Beautiful game
After all the anticipation, the Premier League is finally back and for me, it was all it's been cracked to be. There were some unpredictable results - Middlesbrough beating Spurs, Hull beating Fulham, Newcastle getting a draw at Manchester United - and that's what makes it such a beautiful game!
Brown: Winning start to life in the top flight
What an opening day it was for Hull and Phil Brown. Managers of newly promoted teams often go weeks and even months without a win, and there's panic and worry but they've got that win out of the way and it will be a great release.
There will still be plenty of panic and worry among the Hull fans because one result doesn't mean they'll be in the Premier League at the end of the season but you could see the delight on their faces, especially considering that they went one goal behind.
Playing Obi Mikel, Ballack, Lampard and Deco was like squeezing four players in two positions really but it worked brilliantly and they were more offensive than they've been for a long, long time.
Kammy on Chelsea
Quotes of the week
Another new face of course was Luiz Felipe Scolari and his Chelsea side put down a massive marker with their 4-0 thumping of Portsmouth. I couldn't for the life of me think how their midfield was going to line up. Playing Obi Mikel, Ballack, Lampard and Deco was like squeezing four players in two positions really but it worked brilliantly and they were more offensive than they've been for a long, long time.
Manchester United, on the other hand, gave a less convincing performance. We all know Berbatov is unsettled, and with their injury problems, I think he would have made a big difference on Sunday but well done to Kevin Keegan and Newcastle. I don't think anyone gave them a prayer at Old Trafford but Shay Given was in outstanding form and it was a tremendous result for them.
Kammy's picks of the weekend...
GAME - Everton 2-3 Blackburn
In terms of excitement and to-ing and fro-ing, this was a standout game for me. We've been hearing all sorts of rubbish that Paul Ince was having problems with some of players not wanting to play for him so it was a real pressure game but the win at Goodison has blown that out of the water. The only people to go to Goodison Park and win last season were the 'Big Four', and to have gone in front, and then a goal behind, meant it was a big ask. The winning goal was offside but they still probably deserved their win.
GOAL - Gretar Steinsson
I'll give the Bolton man the benefit of the doubt that he meant this one! It didn't look like a typical cross to me, it looked like he stuck his foot out and was aiming for the far top corner. Unless he comes out and says otherwise, I'll believe he was going for goal - and it was a cracker.
SAVE - Mark Schwarzer
His save from Geovanni after just a few minutes was outstanding. But David James made a couple of great saves on Sunday, as did Shay Given, although he didn't know too much about the Frazier Campbell effort that bounced off his head!
PLAYER - Geovanni
It was a funny signing for Phil Brown I thought, yes he was a goalscorer but I wondered what he'd give them outside the box. But one thing they'll need this season is everyone firing on all cyclinders and working their socks off. Geovanni proved that he can do that, and if he gets the ball, he can create a goal out of nothing.
TEAM - Bolton Wanderers
Bolton's 3-1 win over Stoke was a surprise because I expected Tony Pulis' men to effectively park their bus and make life very difficult for Gary Megson's side. But once the Steinsson goal went in, they seemed to go to pieces. It's the first game of the season though, and Stoke will be looking forward to their first home game.
GAFFER - Phil Brown
It's got to be Browny for Hull's achievement. They went a goal down but he didn't panic, and although they got a bit of luck from Konchesky's mistake, they played a lot of diagonal balls and tried to exploit Fulham's weaknesses.
GRIPE - Blackburn's 'off-side winner' Everyone seems to like the Respect campaign, which is great but my first gripe of the season has to be the referee allowing Blackburn's winner when it was offiside. Ryan Nelsen was in an offside position when Warnock took the free kick. He was the first person to head the ball, he should have been flagged offside, he hit the post and Ooijer put in the winner. I'm not saying that Blackburn didn't deserve to win that game - they probably did - but that goal shouldn't have stood. And nothing's come from referees' boss Keith Hackett as to why the referee thinks the goal should have stood. I think someone should come out and say, 'The referee got it wrong', or 'Yes, he was in an offside position but that's what we're going to allow this season' because people start to wonder what is and what isn't offside.
Kammy answers your e-mails...
WILL THEY GET THE BLUES?
Hi Kammy, great performance from Chelsea against Portsmouth but with our wealth of talent, especially in midfield, do you think Scolari could have a problem keeping everyone happy?
Terry, London
KAMMY SAYS: The only way to avoid any unrest in the dressing room is to keep winning. But Scolari's been there when it comes to handling big squads and egos with the Brazilian squad, and he's coped with the pressure for Portugal. He looked like he enjoyed himself on Sunday and it was the manner in which they won the game that was particularly impressive.
STOKE HERE TO STAY?
Kammy, having played for and managed Stoke City, do you think the Potters are capable of surviving and competing in the Premier League?
Sam Brown, Stoke-on-Trent
KAMMY SAYS: The one thing you can't do is write anyone off at this moment in time. They've had one game and the players couldn't have done anything about Steinsson's goal because I think he meant it. The two goals from set plays are more worrying because they don't typically concede those types of goals. But they have to put that down as a bad day and go and work on defending those set pieces. It will be tough, they will certainly lose more games than they win but they have to treat the campaign as their own mini-league against the teams around them.
DIMI DOING DAMAGE?
Hi Kammy, Berbatov made a difference to Spurs when he came on against Middlesbrough but do you think he has unsettled his team-mates? And while we're hoping that this could be the year we break into the top four, do you think it might take a bit more time than expected for the new players to gel?
Daniel Norton
KAMMY SAYS: It was a good performance from Middlesbrough, who are a team that tends to be written off. There are big expectations that it's going to be another new dawn for Spurs, that they're going to roll everyone over and clinch that fifth spot, if not push for fourth but it just goes to show that football doesn't always work like that. Berbatov is unsettled, he's made no bones about that; he wants to go and play for Manchester United. But I like to study how the managers react to certain situations and one thing Juande Ramos has done is get rid very quickly of anyone who has said they are unsettled. Obviously Berbatov is a different proposition - they'd rather he was going to another country because they don't want to sell him to Manchester United. He is an unsettling factor but I think Ramos has accepted that he's going to go and has got to the stage where he wants to get in someone like Arshavin and just get on with the season.
Got a question for Kammy? Email him here
Comments (11)
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Stephen Doody (Leeds United fan) says...
Hi Kammy, I am a major Leeds United fan and I would love to see us go up this year. Last weekend against a good footballing Oldham side was a lesson to us and I fear that Elland Road can become an extra pressure point for our players at times. I think Gary Mac is a quality manager and a quality persona to have in charge of such a great club, he remains cool and calm which is exactly what Leeds need......I just hope the fans can remain calm also and get behind the super whites this season. LUFC go deo......Steve
Posted 14:52 22nd August 2008
Marco Elgabry (Chelsea fan) says...
kammy i have to disagree with u deco's goal is clearly best of the wekend and its not coz im a chelsea fan, he has been showing signs of pure quality and its wrong to not count someones merit based on the fact he playes for helsea...and do you think chelsea will sign anymore players before the fransfer window..and if soo i would like to see robinho who and y do u think may make a good addition to our already strong squad.
Posted 00:40 22nd August 2008
Jimmy Jones (Middlesbrough fan) says...
i am a boro fan and i think that we will get into the uefa cup again this year and you never know what could happen i wish boro well and will be following them all the way. where do you think boro will finnish in the league ?
Posted 15:02 20th August 2008
Sakib Salesevic (Newcastle United fan) says...
It's Great To See Kammy Getting Promoted to Comment on Premiership Football. I hope he is with Sky for years to come. He is easily the best in depth pundit on football. And i truly respect his comments.
Posted 13:57 19th August 2008
Chris Lamb (Hull City fan) says...
Hi Kammy, What a magnificent day it was last Saturday for the Tigers, credit must go to all the back room boys from Duffen down to the stadium media officer Brendan Smurthwaite.Living in Crewe ( past 6 years) we were a little surprised when the Tigers lost 4-0 in a pre season match no so long ago, I had a chance to get the Old Man (Deano) sign a Wembley programme as he just finished warming up. Having a quick chat with him, I told him that I couldn¿t hold back the tears when they all walked out onto the turf in London, and when they celebrated the great win, I was a mess, Deano said that he cried, but what would you expect, all those emotions resting on second of supreme skill. But what a privilege to walk outside wearing the colours of the Tigers, no matter what happens this season, they are the bizz. We are all on a rollercoaster of excitement & anticipation of what is around the corner, after 31 years watching the lads, surley it cant get any better, can it? Cheers Kammy, keep at it mate, fantastic blog from a true professional.
Posted 13:23 19th August 2008
Peter Oakshott (Liverpool fan) says...
Kammy, I'm a Liverpool Season Ticket holder and have been for many years now, every year I think it's THE season to finally deliver the premier league, what have liverpool to do (and what kind of signings are required) to finally put together a sustainable challenge?
Posted 10:01 19th August 2008
Sorathan Phiama (Middlesbrough fan) says...
As a Boro fan, I'm wondering what do see in Boro team at present time. For me, I see lots of change has been done in term of attitude of the player at the club. One thing that is high in the camp is the spirit, coz many of the home grown talent are coming through the youth range. They transform from a defensive mind team to attacking team. You can see that in the first game with Spur. Can they follow what happen to Manchester United, when they have the like of Ryan Giggs, Pual Schole, Gary & Phil Neville and Beckham came through the youth system. only one thing that will stop them from doing that is in-consistancy. for me, I'm optimistic that GS want to follow the way Fergy has done. What do you think of Boro.
Posted 05:03 19th August 2008
Owen trevor Cumming (Liverpool fan) says...
Kammy is a ledgend no more to be said.
Posted 23:30 18th August 2008
Richard Allsopp (Cheltenham Town fan) says...
Hi Kammy, Most of the bookies + pundits have made Cheltenham favorites to go down (again!) from League 1. Do you think Keith Downing can not only keep Cheltenham up, but push them towards mid-table? Cheers Kammy!
Posted 21:30 18th August 2008
Mark H (Sunderland fan) says...
Hello Kammy, Just wondering how you think Sunderland will do this season?, im a season ticket holder, and we played very well against a good Liverpool team and were unfortunate not to get a draw. You could definitely see on saturday that we have more quality in the side with the signings of diouf, malbranque, tainio and chimbonda
Posted 19:38 18th August 2008
Jaffar Lafta (Liverpool fan) says...
Steinsson's goal wasn't in a million years intentional. Where's your head at Kammy... his name doesn't end with 'inho'.
Posted 19:29 18th August 2008
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