So, we have already reached the first international break of the new season and it has arrived at an ideal time for one or two clubs and a very inopportune moment for others.
Take the Premier League for example.
With a mounting injury list, the break appears good news for Manchester United who have yet to convince after two wins and two defeats in their opening four matches.
With new signing Mason Mount, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, and Tyrell Malacia amongst their walking wounded, the Red Devils will hopefully be a far more settled and strengthened proposition when they resume action a week on Saturday.
Perhaps the best news the club could receive, however, is to gain new owners, although if a newspaper report is to be believed, the Glazers are considering a U-turn on plans to sell, adding to the ire and uncertainty which is crippling progress.
Similarly, after showing promise in their first home matches against Liverpool and Luton, defeats to West Ham and, most pertinently of all, at home to Nottingham Forest last weekend has done little to quell unrest at Stamford Bridge.
There needs to be faith in new manager Mauricio Pochettino as he attempts to merge a group of strangers together.
But after a record-breaking summer outlay of more than £380 million on 10 players eclipsed everyone else, patience may only last so long this time to regroup with so many new arrivals is no bad thing.
Likewise, the club with probably the most underwhelming transfer window in the top flight this summer, Everton, will be glad of the chance to make improvements behind the scenes with the spotlight off for a brief period.
Three straight defeats with six goals conceded and none scored, was followed up by a first point on Saturday against newly promoted Sheffield United.
In that game, their England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford prevented a possible fourth successive loss and the difference, psychologically, between still being on zero points and getting off the mark could be hugely significant as new £25 million striker Beto aims to hit the top flight ground running.
With three of their next four league games against Brentford, Luton, and Bournemouth, it may now be an ideal time for the Toffees to multiply that points tally.
Chances are their Merseyside neighbours Liverpool would have preferred this break to come at a different time.
Their last two victories, in dramatic fashion at Newcastle before a ruthless display at home to Aston Villa, have their fans dreaming of a title challenge and they certainly appear to have gained momentum from their late turnaround on Tyneside with 10 men when, a game they should have lost, was won in the most dramatic fashion.
Likewise, Arsenal have 10 points from their first three outings and their last-gasp success over United on Sunday suggests they may also have benefited from carrying on into this week, rather than a fortnight hiatus.
And what of West Ham who have delivered a fortnight of Premier League 2023 highlights?
They also have 10 points from their opening four matches and, following a disappointing league campaign last season, sit fourth in the table going into the international break.
Certainly, success in the Europa Conference League appears to have galvanised the club, despite losing skipper Declan Rice to Arsenal.
Of course, when the games come thick and fast and European football resumes, that will be the test of any new-found strength in depth.
My final word is for Luton Town whose magic promotion has brought a smile to all bar their rivals.
Even at this stage of the campaign, they look a little out of their depth (no surprise given the paucity of their resources), yet they could adapt to prove the doubters and the SBOTOP Premier League 2023 betting odds wrong.
Who knows whether a break can help the Hatters find their feet but it is refreshing to see them back.
Until last Friday, Kenilworth Road had not hosted a game in the top-flight of English football since April 1992.
The club and its supporters have been through so much since then, from the agony of dropping out of the Football League in 2010, to the ecstasy of last season’s improbable promotion, so in that context it hardly mattered that a few renovations were required before they could finally play at home this season.
The charms of the stadium remain and it warmed the cockles to read before their Friday night clash with West Ham about some of the associated idiosyncrasies.
That they are back, even if just a brief sojourn, is a story that any club can make their way to the promised land – it’s just staying there that is the real test for the majority.
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