Newcastle United doing exactly what you expect them to do isn't a new feeling. It used to be that Newcastle United would do exactly what you expected them to do - and more often than not that was to mess things up.
On the pitch, they would lose when it was easier to win, and off-the-pitch decisions in the boardroom would be detrimental to the very purpose of a competitive football club. But not this Newcastle United. Not Eddie Howe's Black and White Army.
That was the Newcastle United of old - when dread and fear were the overwhelming feelings on match days, or at best a feeling of routine rose to the surface as you take your seat. But not now. Not this Newcastle United.
As Newcastle went in to take on Leicester City knowing that a point would secure Champions League Football, there was simply an expectation that United would do it. Not an expectation built on arrogance but one that's underpinned by hard work, commitment, and a desire to give you all for this fantastic football club.
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Some would argue that for those players who here pre-takeover, their effort and commitment was never in doubt, which is true for the likes of Callum Wilson and others. Sadly though it was all the club was built on. On match days under Rafa Benitez and Steve Bruce, any plan was essentially to run a lot, absorb pressure and give it to Wilson or Allan Saint-Maximin and see what happens. It seemed game by game - it's hard to argue that Benitez and Bruce were not hampered by a lack of ambition in the boardroom.
But not this is Newcastle United. Not only has the effort and commitment of these players gone up a level - it's flanked by a real game plan in which the team very rarely, if at all, comes into a game looking for a 'bonus' but instead, expecting a win. And there is a boardroom with big ambitions.
In time Newcastle will fall to another thrashing, there will be a game approach that doesn't work or a substitution that backfires - that's just football. But it will never happen because of a lack of effort or commitment, bad days just happen.
But you can rest assured that when bad days do occur, Howe and his staff will look to fix it as soon as possible. There will be no looking back to the previous good result and writing the bad one off - there will be hard work and a move to remedy the mistakes of the team. Even with good results, it will never be enough to satisfy Howe - there is always room to improve, always another level to go, and no chance to rest on your laurels.
The hard work and commitment of the players are what links the squad to the fan base - supporters see a group pulling on the black and white shirt and playing as if it were them living out the dream. They may have local lads like Elliot Anderson, Sean Longstaff, and Dan Burn to talk of the years gone by - the legend of Wor Jackie, the power of Super Mac, and the magic of King Kev - but in many ways, this fan base knows they've got another 15 or 16 adopted Geordies who may not have grown up supporting the club but give there all as if they did.
That of course makes the new additions to the side harder - how do you maintain that understanding of what this club means to a fanbase, where no player is bigger than the institution of Newcastle United, while also improving the standard? So far Steve Nickson alongside Howe and the rest of the transfer team have managed it but with the need to balance out the squad for Champions League Football, the task is set to become even more challenging.
And there will be mistakes along the way. This is football, it is inevitable. A player may be signed who doesn't prove to be the gem they hope he would be, or a sale of a player will be sanctioned that some won't agree with but the difference with this Newcastle United is that these decisions will always be done with the club's best interests at heart.
It seems something so simple, doesn't it? Making decisions that will enhance the club, not hamper it. Making decisions that show the fans that those in the boardroom value the club and its history as much as they but while at the same time wanting to create their own chapter.
The Top 4 is a fantastic achievement - but in many ways, it's a just small part of what has changed at Newcastle United since the change of ownership. From communication with fans, improving the stadium, and reopening the doors to club legends - these for some are just as important as the achievements on the pitch.
Once again it may sound daft - in fact, it does sound daft that cleaning the windows on the stadium is held anywhere near the thoughts of playing at the San Siro or the Nou Camp, but that is how far the standards at the club had fallen.
Upon buying the club, co-owner Amanda Staveley told fans: "We will try to become the best custodians of this club we can be.
"You're the greatest fans in the world and you deserve somebody who will look after your club."
So early on into the new era, few would argue against the claim they're doing a pretty good job so far - the excitement is, there's more to come but it will be planned, precise, and with the end goal of making Newcastle United one of the finest teams in Europe.
One might say it's what you expect of owners of this great football club, but that wasn't always the case - and that's exactly why Newcastle United securing Champions League football is about much more than top 4 football.
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