Forget fourth place, forget unbeaten starts, the biggest success Alan Pardew has achieved is making Newcastle United fun to watch again.
For the first time since Kevin Keegan’s brief return as manager in 2008 – a largely unspectacular nine month reign that ended in an acrimonious departure and an explosion of supporter animosity to owner Mike Ashley – everyone is enjoying themselves at St James’s Park.
Before Keegan, you would have go to back to the Sir Bobby Robson years (1999-2004) – although even the end of those were soured by bitterness and resentment as an ageing support grew disillusioned by the constant near-misses under the grand old knight.
For the first time in years, Ashley and his right hand man Derek Llambias can come to games without hearing chants asking them to leave – although obviously in rather less polite terms – supporters can come to games with belief in their side and players can enjoy playing in an arena which has few rivals for atmosphere when it gets going.
Newcastle are never more dangerous than when their long suffering support sense they have something worth supporting again.
They are not unique in that, of course, but it had been forgotten for too long at St James’s Park. There are so many clichés that can be used, but I’ll go with the most simple. When Newcastle fans are at their partisan best, they really are like an extra man on the pitch. When they roar and they scream, sing and they shout.
Anyone who has played there knows how intimidating and intense it is, the only problem is that intensity has weighed too heavily on the shoulders of home, rather than visiting, players in recent times. Newcastle United were constantly in danger of becoming victims of friendly fire.
Things have changed this season. Even when Newcastle fell behind against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, there were no signs of disgruntlement in the stands, merely a desire to help lift the players.
By the end, after Shola Ameobi had pegged Spurs back for a second time, the stadium on the hill overlooking the city crackled with energy that fuelled Newcastle’s players as they went in search of a winner.
It is to Tottenham’s credit that they did not wilt because they were clinging on for a point and were mightily relieved to head home with one. That is what Newcastle’s support can do to you – just ask Arsenal.
That magnificent, memorable clash back in February was perhaps the moment those fans remembered how important they are.
At 4-0 at half-time, Arsenal were strutting peacocks, masters of all they surveyed, but they were shivering wrecks 45 minutes later.
I will never forget the confused faces on the Arsenal players as the home crowd cheered a corner and rose to urge the players on.
Once one goal went in, Arsenal’s cockiness was replaced by fear. The game ended in a 4-4 draw and earned instant acclaim as one of the Premier League’s best.
That sort of support in such an apparently hopeless position was alien to so many in the Arsenal ranks, as it had been to most Newcastle players in recent years. But on that day something changed for the better.
For the last few years, even during the successful promotion campaign from the Championship, opposition sides have known it does not take much to make the crowd turn on their own on Tyneside. Newcastle United were anything but.
If you could get Newcastle’s support to turn. If you could get them at each other’s throats, half the battle was won, but visitors to St James’s Park are once again more worried about getting their throats ripped out these days.
Few would have anticipated it in the summer, particularly once the window shut and Andy Carroll’s replacement still hadn’t been signed, but there is a feel good factor on Tyneside which has brought unity as well as momentum.
Results have been good, but more significantly in trying to explain the current mood, they have been unexpectedly so.
As well as being hard to beat, Newcastle have a threat going forward. They have natural width and pace and should Modibo Maiga, as expected, sign in January, they should have another player to put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis alongside Demba Ba, who has notched five in his last three appearances.
The squad is small and unlikely to be able to handle injuries and suspensions, European qualification may well be beyond them because of it, but that cannot disguise the fact Pardew has built a team – with the help of chief scout Graham Carr – that plays with enterprise, spirit, speed and skill. That’s good enough for most who follow them.
There is a buzz around the city there has not been since Robson led them into the Champions League. You can feel it, sense it and I’m not even a Newcastle supporter (it will always be Leyton Orient for me).
Even during these times of financial uncertainty – the North East has the highest unemployment rate in the country – Newcastle United have done what they are supposed to do – they have made the city feel good about itself again.
Long may it continue, not just for Newcastle, but for the vibrancy and entertainment of the Premier League. In these days of billionaire owners, English football needs the rest to make the most of the strengths they have.
Newcastle United’s supporters are their gift and their curse. They can be too demanding, too expectant and they can crush those who do not provide them with what they want.
At the moment, they are a gift to Pardew and players who are thriving in the positive atmosphere they generate. The longer it lasts the longer Newcastle will maintain their challenge for Europe.
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