Watch Drogheda United v Shamrock Rovers live on RTÉ Two and worldwide on RTÉ.ie from 5.25pm on Saturday. Live updates on Friday Sportnight on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch Premier Division highlights on MNS on RTÉ Two and RTÉ.ie (WW) from 8-9pm every Monday.
The lights are being lit, the cameras are set, and we're just about ready for action. I have to admit that since I was first asked to present Monday Night Soccer (MNS), I've been dying for the programme to get underway.
Everyone involved in the show, both in front of the cameras, and those behind have one thing in common: We all love the game, and I hope that our love of soccer and enthusiasm for the league here shines through.
(I know, I know, some of you would prefer if it was called football, but believe me, there are more important things to be getting your knickers in a twist over!)
So far, senior bods on the programme have visited every single club in the Premier Division and met with club officials to explain what we are trying to do with MNS, and listening to the clubs' needs as well.
For instance, in many grounds, the camera positions are based in the main stand, shooting out on the pitch, and at not particularly well filled terraces. In an ideal world, the camera positions should always be across from the main stand - a la Dalymount and Richmond Park, - shooting back towards the stand, so the people viewing in TV land see the stand hopefully well populated by fans in colours, and the facilities that the clubs can offer supporters.
We need MNS to be a bit different from any other programme to have presented coverage of eircom League football.
As the season progresses, we hope to add new elements to the show. We'll also be introducing new expert analysts. Not just people with a pedigree in the game, but people with a point of view, who are not afraid to voice that opinion.
Damian Richardson, Sean Connor, Richard Sadlier, ex-UCD player Tony McDonnell and former St Pat's player Colm Foley are just a few names to be added to the regular analysts, Dave Barry, Roddy Collins and Pat Morley.
If we are to be different we'll need co-operation from the clubs. We need people who are not necessarily fans of the eircom League to watch the programme and say to themselves: 'That's not too bad - maybe the next fine Friday evening we'll trot down to Terryland, Tolka, the Carlisle Grounds, or wherever.
One way we can do this is to make our programme different, and for that to happen we need to innovate and we also need the clubs to allow us access that we mightn't always have got in the past.
For example, in programme one, our reporter Tony O'Donoghue will travel with Cobh Ramblers on the long journey by bus to Ballybofey as the two newly promoted sides slug it out.
Tony will be with Ramblers all the way, and the access he's being allowed by Cobh boss Stephen Henderson is to be lauded. Hendo knows that this is good profile for his club as the league gets underway, and importantly for the club's sponsors too, who no doubt will also get exposure in the report as well.
Viewers love the behind the scenes shots, whether it's on the bus, in the dressing rooms, as players arrive at the grounds, etc. Who hasn't watched Thierry Henry arrive at a stadium with his big headphones over his ears, and wondered 'what song is he listening to now?' Maybe when the eircom League players arrive we'll be able to ask them!
Likewise, dressing room shots always intrigue supporters. It is very much the inner sanctum, and while we'd rarely expect to be there for the final moments of a team talk, just to see where the players sit, and how big the changing rooms are, is always of interest.
We're almost ready to kick off now.
Monday evening 8pm can't come quick enough for me and the rest of the MNS team. In the meantime, there's the small matter of Drogheda United versus Shamrock Rovers live on Saturday evening 5.30pm RTÉ Two.
Let's hope this is the best season ever.
