The league table does not lie; except, of course, if you are looking to judge it after the first weekend of action following the return of the League of Ireland season.
That's the verdict of former Drogheda United and Shamrock Rovers defender Graham Gartland, who believes that it will take the entire first round of games before this season’s league title challenge will start to take shape.
But in terms of the overall aesthetics of the new season, Gartland was happy to call it a roaring success with the "sold out" sign hung outside several grounds over the weekend, while he believes that the League of Ireland is really becoming an attractive option for family entertainment.
"To judge teams off the back of one game is not something that I would do," said Gartland, speaking on this week's RTE Soccer Podcast.
"The league doesn’t settle down for a good ten games. You see where teams are with squads, with injuries and suspensions, and how they will handle the marathon that is the season.
"But in terms of the product and how it looked, with a sellout in Turner’s Cross, a sellout in Sligo and in Inchicore, this is brilliant.
"It’s a fantastic excitement and enthusiasm for the league, and this needs to be driven forward and improved to make it a comfortable place to go and watch a game of football, and somewhere you can bring your families and kids."
Bohemians, of course, were the only team to secure all three points from the opening weekend following a hard-fought away win at Turner’s Cross, and Gartland was impressed with what he saw from the Dublin side, playing under new manager Declan Devine.
The game from Leeside was live on RTE2 on Friday night, and while it was a packed house and a great occasion for the home side, having retaken their place in the top tier of Irish football, match analyst Conan Byrne felt that it was a case of men against boys for large segments of the game.
And Gartland was in agreement with Byrne regarding Bohemians first outing of the season, taking a tricky three points on the road.
"I thought Bohs looked a bit hungrier and got around the pitch a lot quicker, while they looked dangerous on set-pieces," said Gartland.
"Cork looked a little bit nervous and a bit apprehensive playing their first home game in front of a big crowd.
"In the second half when they went 2-0 down, they had nothing to lose, playing into the Shed, and when they got the goal back, they had chances to get an equaliser.
"But you can’t wait 45 minutes to start playing a game of football or wait until you are 2-0 down to play the way that they know they can play or with the tempo that they can play at.
"And they have to stop giving away soft goals, and they will be disappointed to give away the goals that they did."
Matt Healy was struggling with a thigh strain ahead of the game, and while he was introduced in the second half, making an impact as Cork looked to get back into the game, Gartland believes that it was symptomatic of a manager operating with a smaller squad.
"That will be tough for the likes of Cork and teams that haven’t got bigger squads," said Gartland, commenting on Colin Healy not wanting to risk Healy from the start.
"They cannot risk a Matty Healy, knowing that he might be out for a couple of weeks, while the clubs with bigger squads, like Derry and Rovers, they can play these players carrying knocks, knowing that there is someone with similar qualities waiting in the wings.
"So you can see that Colin Healy is thinking long term, knowing that he is going to need Matty Healy for the next few games, but I think the nerves will go, they’ll get used to playing at home, and manage the home games, having the momentum with the Shed behind them, and that is when they will start nicking games, and what they get on the road then will be a bonus."
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