The extra long wait for Australian football fans is finally over and the domestic competition is under way. Last week's season-opener between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC - the "Kewell/Emerton Derby" - was a superb advertisement for what many think will be the best A-League season yet.

There's plenty to like, but still a few trouble spots that need ironing out. Taking my cue from Facebook, here are five things to "like" and five things to "dislike."

Like

Fox Sports' coverage: It's 2011, so perhaps we should stop the pleading for free-to-air coverage. In fact, feel free to ask the NBL how OneHD has worked out for them. You may also have a few complaints here and there about talent - yes Robbie Slater thinks he's a comedian and Andy Harper thinks he's a professor - but the shows look good, the coverage is solid and the commitment unwavering.

"We Are Football: " With the creation of a simple three-word phrase - "We are football" - the FFA has managed to galvanise a group of supporters who more often than not have been as easy to bring together as feral cats. The message is inclusive, yet subtly aggressive. Is it simply saying that "we" (everyone involved with the sport) are football? Or is it bragging that "we" (the sport itself) is the REAL football? Probably both. And no matter the interpretation - and I apologise for the Stanford English major over-analysis - it's a long overdue proactive move from the FFA.

Harry Kewell: What's not to like? He had the mainstream media talking, he drew a big crowd and most of his touches on Saturday night were sublime. Sure an HK goal would've lifted the roof off of Etihad, but this is real life, not a cheesy Hollywood movie.

Brisbane Roar: Ange Postecoglou's crew continues to be the benchmark for on-field performance, even without Matt McKay, Kosta Barbarouses and Jean Carlos Solorzano. The magnificent Thomas Broich is still around, along with the talented Mitch Nichols and a few promising new faces like Issey Najakima-Farran and Besart Berisha. As the old saying goes, "they're not rebuilding, they're reloading."

Goalkeeping: Starting with Saturday night's match in Melbourne, we saw some standout performances in goal. Victory's Ante Covic was brilliant, eradicating last year's memories of a shaky Michael Petkovic. Sydney FC's Liam Reddy made some huge saves as well, while Brisbane's Michael Theoklitos and Central Coast's Matt Ryan were also superb.

Dislike

Referring to indigenous or African-Australians as "excitement machines:" Please, leave that absurd cliché to the AFL callers.

Melbourne Heart: Yes it was only one game. Yes it was an unlucky goal that gave Newcastle a late 3-2 win. But it was a bad start for a club that figures to play in the enormous shadow cast by Kewell and Co. With keeper Clint Bolton still not ready to play and ex-captain Simon Colosimo injured (and/or out of favour), Heart needs a positive start more than any team in the league.

Abbreviations on the A-League website: Why take something simple and make it complex. In whose world does "BNR" equal Brisbane Roar? And what football-loving little kid will recognise "WPX" as Wellington Phoenix? WPX sounds like the latest street-legal Subaru from "The Fast and The Furious 7."

The second level at Etihad Stadium: Yes it was great to see a big crowd on Saturday night, but the empty seats in the Medallion Club weren't a great look. Did they detract from the night? No. Would they look better filled? Yes.

Private ownership issues: Private investors like Lamar Hunt and Phillip Anschutz helped keep MLS afloat during some pretty dark days, so I'm certainly not opposed to big money backers in the A-League. But the last minute double sackings of Branko and Jason Culina - right or wrong - seemed like something you'd expect from a powerful billionaire like Nathan Tinkler. And the takeover of Brisbane Roar by the Bakrie Group of Indonesia has certainly raised some eyebrows with Indonesian colleagues of mine, who aren't convinced it's a good move.