It’s a long way from Soccer City in Johannesburg to the EBB Stadium in Aldershot. But then it’s a long way from the World Cup to the Carling Cup.

I was lucky enough to be in South Africa in June (and probably even luckier that I didn’t have tickets for any of the England games), and the last competitive game of football I saw before Tuesday was the group stage match between Ghana and Germany. That match was literally a world away from the Aldershot v Watford game for a number of reasons.

The main difference is that it’s hard to get engaged with a team that you aren’t actually a fan of. It was obviously great to see teams like Spain and Brazil play in South Africa, but there’s nothing quite like seeing you own team, one that you really care about, playing live. And yes, at times on Tuesday night watching Watford really was like watching Brazil...

The setting was very different as well. All of the stadia in South Africa were large, stylish constructions, and many had stunning architecture. But none of them had the character that you get from terracing, rather than seats. None of them had one end made up solely of advertising hoardings as opposed to spectator areas. And you certainly wouldn’t find any trees inside a World Cup ground!

Those two factors certainly help to contribute to the third major difference. Of course the games in South Africa took place amid a vibrant and loud atmosphere, but that was many because of the sheer number of vuvuzelas. Luckily, there were none of those in evidence on Tuesday, just good, old-fashioned, singing and chanting that was much more authentic. It was also good to hear the Aldershot announcer congratulate Scott Loach on his call up to the England squad, and to see the whole ground join in the applause for him.

So it’s good to be back in the midst of the domestic season again. And if Watford can keep up the momentum gained from the first two games of the season, the outcome could be very different from the relegation scrap that most people have predicted for us.