So the Premier League football season kicked off at the weekend with some surprising results.

Which all-in-all is not that surprising. Freak results are more likely to happen on the opening day considering that a lot of sides have changed a number of players and possibly even their manager during the summer.

It is why I don’t really understand fans trying to predict where their team is going to finish, based on their club’s performance in their first fixture.

I have no doubt some Manchester United fans will be predicting that their club isn’t going to win the Premier League based on their opening day defeat to Everton.

However if we look past opening day results featuring those two clubs, it is clear that odd scorelines can happen.

At the start of the 2009-10 season Arsenal went to Goodison and won 6-1. It prompted many Gooners to predict they were going to win the title, while Everton supporters predicted a season of doom and gloom. In the end Arsenal finished third, and well off the title pace, while Everton were fourteen points behind Arsenal in a respectable eighth position.

At the start of the 1995/96 season Manchester United lost their opening match of the season 3-1 to Aston Villa.

TV pundit Alan Hansen famously put too much weight on the result by claiming Alex Ferguson was going to win nothing with his side of kids. It made him look pretty stupid come the end of that season.

And it is not just in the Premier League this happens either. At the start of the 2005/06 Championship campaign Reading lost their opening fixture 1-0 at home to Plymouth.

However, the Royals then lost just one more game in the whole season as they set a record points total for the division of 106. They reached the Premier League for the first time in their history at a canter.

It is easy to understand why fans do place so much importance on the opening match. Every team enters the new season trying to figure out where they sit. Even if it is just a matter of trying to figure out if they are genuine title contenders. There is an uncertainty about every club come the start of the season. Manchester City and Manchester United included.

However, based on one game there just isn’t enough information to decipher where your team is likely to finish.

You might as well based your decision on strange omens. Which of course football fans also do.

One Manchester United supporter, taking the glass half full approach view to the Everton defeat, wrote that  ‘the last time United lost 1-0 on the opening game of the season was against Chelsea in 2004. United went on to win the league that season.’ 

Implying that defeat carried a good omen. This isn't actually correct anyway, as pointed MUFC99 (see comments). Chelsea won the league that season, in Jose Mourinho's first year in charge at the club.

However, right or wrong, the destination of the league title isn't based on good omens. I’m sorry football doesn’t work like that. The last time Manchester United lost at Goodison Park, in a league game, was a 3-1 defeat there in February 2010. Chelsea went onto to win the title that year.

Does that mean Chelsea are going to win the league this season? No. And I’m not saying Chelsea can’t win the league, but if they do it wouldn't be based on the fact that Everton beat Manchester United on the opening day. That is irrelevant.

I think it is time for fans to keep calm and let the season unfold a little more before they start writing off their team’s chances.

That is of course unless you are a Norwich fan. They were beaten 5-0 away at Fulham on the opening day. The last time they lost heavily at Craven Cottage was in 2007. They were relegated that year. An omen? 

No, of course not. Doesn't it mean they are going to get relegated?

Well it is not the best start, but then Norwich lost 7-1 to Colchester on the first game of the season a couple of years ago and still got promoted to the Championship. Like I said, these opening day results happen.