The King is dead, Long live the King.

Football, as Nick Hornby remarked in 'Fever Pitch', comes in seasons, not years. And as football fans we do not live our lives in the same calender as the rest of the world. We go through nine months of anguish, agony, disappointment and occasionally, if we're lucky, a little bit of ecstasy. But no matter the final outcome, there is always next season.

Come the new campaign we wipe the slate clean, as if we were doing a memory back up on some old files on our computer. Store it all away in some dark and dingy part of our brain ready to use in the future, normally when sat at the bar after a game, remembering how we made exactly the same mistake at the same ground five years ago.

The King is dead. Long live the King. This is very pertinent for us Beavers in our time of need. For while there is a period of mourning to live through, while we chew over the if only's and wonder what might have been, we know that on a bright and sunny Saturday in August we will be standing shoulder to shoulder, cheering on the boys, asking someone who's been to all the pre-season matches "who is the fella wearing number 8?". We all bow down and worship our new team, our new King.

The way we differ from the rest of the world, is that our new year's eve lasts a hell of a long time. I think the 8th August will be the start date for next season. That's roughly 13 weeks, or 91 days if you prefer.

13 Weeks of looking back, 13 weeks of wondering. 13 weeks of doing what the rest of the world does instead of going to football. But, thankfully, unlike in the film of 'Fever Pitch' we don't live in 1989. We have Sky Sports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have the Internet, where we can post constantly on countless forums about who is signing for us next season, which grounds we are looking forward to visiting and which teams are going to get a good hiding next time they come to our place. So it's not all bad news then.

Yes, there may be no more Hampton for the best part of 3 months but we'll keep ourselves busy. Anyway, the football season isn't really finished just yet. You've got the Champions League and FA Cup Final, League Play-Off's, World Cup Qualifiers and the European Under 21 Championships. That takes us up till the end of June at least. If you can bear it there are also other sports you can watch. Ally yourself to a Super League, Cricket or Speedway team. Go and watch some live or view it from the comfort of your armchair. Before you know it we'll be onto the friendlies and fixture list for next season. Booking day's off for those long away trips and wondering if maybe, just maybe, we can go one better next year.

So keep your chins up. Beavers and non Beavers alike. That feeling, that anticipation, that hunger for success. It will all be back before you've had a chance to miss it. The events of 7th May 2009 will be a distant memory, and we will be dreaming of watching the ever graceful Dean Wells pick up the Blue Square South Championship trophy after a 5-0 win over Staines Town on the final day of the season.

Blessed are the Beavers.