The start of a new league season is a joyous occasion normally - well, at least until the whistle blows and you concede from a dodgy back-pass in the opening minute.

All seen that before haven't we?

Stevenage had plenty of wobbles in the opening 25 minutes which were some of the longest I think we'll see all season.

But from then on there was nothing but improvements and positives.

Here are a few thoughts from the initial outing for Boro - a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town.

Six things spotted at Stevenage v Shrewsbury Town

1. Alex Revell 2.0

It was always going to be better, we knew that. The players he had in his first tenure, the timing of it, the predicament Boro were in - all of that was going to hinder his first spell in charge.

But there is always doubt growth, not so much about the team, more Revell's character and ability.

Having spoke to him in and outside of interviews, it is clear he is a different beast than he was in 2020 and 2021.

More confident, more sure of himself and his philosophy, surrounded by better people, happy to accept defeat if there is something to learn from it.

He doesn't want to shift the focus and the ethos of the club massively too, he knows what brought Stevenage to the dance and he wants to keep as much of that as possible.

But he also wants to make his own mark on the club, whether that be with the style of play or somewhere else. For example, he's changed the layout of the manager's office, ever so slightly but enough. He wanted to sit in a different position for the pre-match interview.

He's the gaffer and he is going to do it his way.

And the win over Shrewsbury had enough of the old and enough of the new to be very promising.

2. New signings

There were five debutants starting and another one came off the bench, leaving just Charlie Goode sat in front of me cringing at my patter. 

And while it is only one game, there is already a good argument to say that the magnificent seven could soon be considered upgrades on those departures.

Dan Kemp was the standout of the five for me. After a struggle for 25 minutes, it was as if someone flicked the switch and he was off. Good passing, superb running and should have scored, regardless of the penalty.

Tyreece Simpson's hold-up play was spot on too, he'll be judged on goals like Louis Appere, but the pair will offer that strength on the ball in abundance.

Murphy Cooper could well be as good as Taye Ashby-Hammond and both will surely benefit from the competition for places.

Dan Phillips is an excellent player too, he will get better as the season goes on, and I think we will see much more from Lewis Freestone, once he gets moved to centre-back. Poor lad is not a left-back.

Overall, the promise in the new arrivals is salivating.

3. Renaissance

Moving the new signings to one side, arguably the better performances on the day came from players who were here last season, and perhaps players that were underused.

I gave man of the match to Louis Thompson who I thought was immense. He was often, like Kemp, getting beyond the front players, strong, fast, good on the ball. His talent has never been in question but through pre-season and against Shrews, he was finally looking like the player we all hoped he was.

And Elliott List man. Another, like Kemp, who had the switch flicked on after an anonymous 25 minutes and just started to look like the player he was prior to his injury.

Glimpses yes, but glimpses that we have been longing to see again.

4. Referee

You know me, I'm the first to defend referees and that won't change. This is why.

How many times have we all said, and I do admit to saying it myself, "the referee got that wrong"?

Did they? Or did they just make a decision we don't agree with? Angle of view is paramount, split-second decision making is tough

I thought Mr Kirk was alright, I didn't agree with everything but that is always going to happen.

And day one of a new season is tough for referees too. They will have been handed down mandates, pressure from their bosses to clamp down on certain things, things they might let go in October or last year.

I was unsure about the penalties, both of them. That north end of the Lamex is the furthest part away from the press box and it is not always ideal to see little infringements .

I'm also of the opinion that if you walk way from a tackle with the use of your limbs, can it really be called a tackle, never mind a foul.

I can see why the first one was given perhaps, if it was a body check, and I can see why the second wasn't given. For me, if Louis Appere stays on his feet, he scores, but he went down more than he was pushed over.

And I was just thinking that we were going to get to the end of the game without him needing to make a trip to the dugouts. Cue a 90th-minute penalty not given and much annoyance from the new Boro boss.

So close...

5. The Boro yoof

I had to ask Alfie at the club if he knew of Ryan Doherty's date of birth, would he beat Max Woodford to the title of Boro's youngest ever senior player?

Turned out Doherty, still 15, wasn't in the squad but Woodford was.

He was 15 years 196 days when he came on in Stevenage's EFL Trophy match with Crystal Palace last season, that coming on November 14.

Woodford is now 16 and took his place on the bench against Shrews, all because another youngster, Rylee Mitchell, was injured.

And the fact that all of that was a possibility shows how far the club have come, and more significantly, how far the academy has come.

And it also feels like youngsters are now being developed to benefit Stevenage on the pitch, not on the balance sheets.

That'll still happen of course, if a bid comes in that is too hard to ignore, but there doesn't seem to be a desperate need to ship them out anymore.

The others were involved in a 3-3 draw with Swindon Town in their opening Youth Alliance match.

6. Attendance

I'm going to reserve overall judgement until later in the season but it needs mentioning as it could become a major worry.

The figure of 3,357 was down on the corresponding fixture last year, coincidentally also the first home game of the new season.

Back on August 12, 2023, there were a total of 3,962 punters in the Lamex, with basically the same number of Shrewsbury fans on both, 412 then and 437 this time.

So why the drop off in Stevenage support?

My fear is this new TV deal. This game was pushed back, needlessly really, to a 5.30pm kick-off as the TV company wanted to show off its new toy.

Did that keep people away? Is it holidays? Second season syndrome? The fact it was a Saturday evening clash?

That's why I'm reserving judgement, there are plenty of possibilities and the potential amalgamation of them all.

But it is going to be interesting to see the new time a home game gets the TV treatment. Will there be the same downturn in the attendance figure?

I think it is the Leyton Orient game in November, with that starting at 12.30pm on a Saturday. That is usually a well-supported clash and it brought 5,650 in back in March.

We wait with baited breath.