Dust off your train timetables, fetch your tartan blankets and thermos flasks, prepare your keyboard for spewing frustrated, barely thought through opinions online - the football season is finally back!

After the cavernous summer break, filled only briefly with U21 European football and the women’s World Cup, proper club football is rearing is beautiful head in our otherwise meaningless lives once again.

As much as I enjoyed the incredible spirit and achievement on display from England’s Lionesses in Canada - and was equally pretty nonplussed by Gareth Southgate’s emerging flops’ meek surrender in the Czech Republic - we all know that those tournaments were mere fillers of the football void until the Addicks returned to action.

Once again, it’s been a summer of high turnaround at Sparrows Lane, with vital players such as Tal Ben Haim, Yoni Buyens, Simon Church and Frederic Bulot all heading away from south-east London.

Other players like Christophe Lepoint left as well.

The highest profile departure from the club came in the form of academy starlet Joe Gomez, who became an honorary Scouser for an undisclosed, but rumoured healthy fee plus add ons.

A club our size, as much as we as a fanbase wish we could, simply can’t stand in a young player’s way when the elite clubs put their big monetary plums on the table.

With Gomez expected to start for Liverpool at Stoke on Sunday, this is one youngster who already has the talent to make his big move and step up.

I cannot see Joe being left to fatten up for so long in the reserves that he’s lost his first-team worth by the time his new manager is ready to stick a fork in him.

The incomings, as they always do under the current regime, are more of an enigma than the whereabouts of Cory Gibbs, the Lord Lucan of football. 

Untested in the English game, hitting the ground running won’t always be straightforward for the new boys.  

Defender Patrick Bauer has the best chance of all after being signed early on and playing the majority of pre-season.

He’s looked solid if not spectacular so far for me.

Simon Makienok has been brought in as an advance weather predicting system for Chris Solly and an option up front.

The size of him alone will unsettle opponents, and from what I’ve seen he has a decent touch too.

Naby Saar, Zakarya Bergdich and El Hadji Ba are all newbies that have differing reasons to bring hope to the Charlton fans.

But my two signings I’ve picked out to impress this year are Ahmed Kashi and Cristian Ceballos. 

Kashi arrives from French side Metz and his industrious work-rate and economical passing means he will keep the ball moving well for the Addicks in midfield.

Ceballos will be our creative spark this year.

A goal scorer from midfield, and already with an assist to his name in the friendly with Bolton, I am particularly excited about this prospect.

Of course, we also managed to keep our two best players on the books with new contracts being signed.

Jordan Cousins, the deserved player of the year last season, will remain the beating heart of the midfield.

And Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who now earns more in a year than Donald Trump spends on hairpieces, will strike fear into the heart of any keeper lining up a wall on the edge of the box.

These encouraging signings, coupled with the impressive Guy Luzon’s brand of attacking football, could mean an interesting season to come.

Last year I predicted we’d finish mid-table - and I was ready to argue anywhere between second and 23rd was mid-table.

That was unnecessary as in the end we finished slap bang in the middle in 12th.

This season we’ll be in and around the play-off race for longer.

Ultimately though, I think without some extra recruits to beef up the squad we may fall short, so therefore I’m putting my theoretical money on ninth. 

Come on you reds!