Off to a flyer, but debut goals can crank up the pressure

It doesn't get much better. The sun is out, the pitch is lush and the meat and potato pie is now low fat. Well, so they say. Then lo and behold, the man you have been calling a waste of money for the past half-hour converts you into his new No 1 fan.

The classic debut goal for your club's new ten-bob signing shatters pre-season pessimism and dares you to dream of a higher level. Europe? The title? All within reach.

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Amazingly, the weekend's Premier League action saw 11 players get off to a flying start with nine different clubs. Manchester City's Rolando Bianchi set the tone on Saturday and was later followed by team-mate Geovanni.

Blackburn substitute Roque Santa Cruz got in on the act while Wigan's Antoine Sibierski, Portsmouth's John Utaka, Derby's Andy Todd and Sunderland's Michael Chopra followed suit. Sunday saw Fulham's David Healy, Birmingham's Olivier Kapo and Chelsea new boys Florent Malouda and Claudio Pizarro keep up the trend.

It is the perfect way to start a new chapter - just ask Chopra, 23. After his 94th-minute winner against Tottenham, the stage is set for the &5million signing from Cardiff City. But debut days can help, or hinder, a player.

Chris Sutton, a &10m club-record signing for Chelsea, missed a sitter against Sunderland and was never forgiven or settled.

Racehorse trainer Mick 'Mighty' Quinn certainly knew how to make an impact. He scored four on his Newcastle debut against Leeds.

Against a backdrop of relegation from the top flight, fan protests and mounting pressure on boss Jim Smith, Quinn knew he had to deliver.

'I wanted to succeed, to prove I was fit to wear the No 9 shirt up there,' he recalled. 'I wanted the Gallowgate to sing my name like they had Milburn's and Macdonald's. To score four struck up a rapport straight away.

'I went into a bar in town later that night and was desperate to go to the toilet. I asked a barman and he said: "It's another two levels away but, Mickey, after four goals you can go anywhere you like". It was crazy the way they took to me.

'Sadly, when Kevin Keegan took over I ended up going on loan to Coventry. I scored 10 goals in my first six games there, too, but basically it was because I was imagining Kevin's head on the ball every time I hit it. I was sorry it didn't work out up there.'

Dean Saunders, assistant coach with Wales, was another whose penchant for debut goals encouraged managers to shell out more than &10m in transfer fees.

'I had a good record of scoring in either my first or second games,' said Saunders. 'It's just that desire to make sure you didn't go on a barren spell. Managers never really said anything to me beforehand. They were too busy crossing their fingers and praying after all the money they'd spent.

'I even scored for Bradford on my debut against Middlesbrough when I was about 36. They called us Dad's Army so I celebrated by pretending I was limping with a walking stick.'

As an impressionable 17-year-old, Tony Cottee walked into West Ham's dressing room listening intently to the calming words of his idol, Alan Devonshire, as he tried to allay fears ahead of Cottee's debut against Spurs. Devonshire need not have worried as Cottee scored after 25 minutes in a 3-0 win.

Five years later, however, Cottee's reputation had grown and he took his place in Everton's line-up against Newcastle United following a British record &2.2m transfer. He scored after 35 seconds on his way to a hat-trick and a 4-0 victory.

'I nearly didn't make that game,' said Cottee. 'I'd not long moved to the area, didn't know where the ground was and ended up having to follow Neil McDonald, who was also making his debut. Luckily, it didn't affect how I started.

'It was similar to West Ham. When you make your debut you have family and friends in the crowd and new team-mates who you want to impress. It gives you that extra five per cent edge. You're determined to succeed, maybe a bit scared to fail.

'At Everton, I probably made a rod for my own back because after a hat-trick, where do you go from there? The expectation was up among the fans. While I did OK, it never really took off for me there.'