Newcastle United have a grand FA Cup history littered with honours. They have won the oldest of domestic pots six times and appeared in the final on another seven occasions. Not too shabby.
The only trouble is that their roll of honour is old enough for the gold letters to be fading, they last won the trophy 68 long years ago and last made a showpiece final 24 years back.
Once basking in the description of being 'a cup team' when the competition was the pinnacle of glamorous achievement, they set out on a long winding road again on Saturday tea time with a record of recent failure after a star spangled past.
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Let us recall the years of glory:
WINNERS: 1910 v Barnsley, 1924 v Aston Villa, 1932 v Arsenal, 1951 v Blackpool, 1952 v Arsenal, 1955 v Manchester City.
FINALISTS: 1905 v Aston Villa, 1906 v Everton, 1908 v Wolves, 1911 v Bradford City, 1974 v Liverpool, 1998 v Arsenal, 1999 v Manchester United.
In truth United have enjoyed two specific periods when their cup did indeed runneth over. The Edwardian dandies at the beginning of the last century played no fewer than five finals in seven seasons and during the early fifties United spirited the silver trophy back to Tyneside from the Twin Towers of Wembley three times in five years.
Now the great search for success is taken up once again under the banner of hope provided by ambitious owners and manager Eddie Howe.
On the cusp of league cup satisfaction, United play at home to go through to the semi-finals on Tuesday of next week, they must first begin their FA Cup journey away to League One's Sheffield Wednesday on the same Hillsborough pitch where in 1974 I watched Malcolm Macdonald score two glorious goals of differing qualities to confirm a Wembley visit in the Cup final.
Saturday is a day of real significance for SuperMac, it is his 73rd birthday marked by United's rare return of recent times to his old stamping ground coming 49 years after his Hillsborough heroics in the same competition. Who can become Newcastle's new SuperMac? The position is up for grabs. Callum or Miggy, Maxi or Bruno, Big Joe or Little Joe. The challenge is theirs. Or anyone else who wishes to nick the Hillsborough headlines.
By the way if Macdonald wants to celebrate his birthday with a Magpie victory then so do I having blown my candles out only on Wednesday three days before the Super One! After the pressure cooker Premier League game at Arsenal on Tuesday night this is an ideal opportunity to climb back on the horse and charge off on another winning run as opposed to unbeaten run.
United's record of only one defeat all season was magnificently protected at the Emirates and so the platform of positivity has been established once again after the disappointment of dropping two points against Leeds.
Newcastle will be hot favourites to knock Wednesday into the middle of next week but the BBC have opted to televise the tie live because they can sniff the possibility of a giant killing given the Magpies past trait of falling flat on their face and the current form of a club with an honourable history. It is up to United to disappoint both one half of Sheffield and the television company.
Wednesday's honours board is a warning against complacency in itself. They have secured a domestic knock-out trophy United never have, the league cup, and have won the top flight title twice since United last did it in 1927. Almost immediately afterwards as it happens!
The third oldest club in the Football League has indeed a rich past, four First Division titles, three FA Cups, a Community Shield, and League Cup stand proudly in their trophy cabinet. Buoyed by a passionate fanbase, they deem now the perfect time to create more memories. Let it be through promotion.
The Owls are second in a three-club breakaway at the top of League One which means that while a couple of divisions down they have that winning feeling.
They are currently on a 13-match unbeaten run in the league under the stewardship of manager Darren Moore, once of West Bromwich, having scored a massive 30 goals in 13 matches at Hillsborough and so they will not be suspect on confidence. However they ought to be on class.
Unlike the Carabao Cup replays are allowed in the FA Cup so Wednesday can be brought north on, well, maybe a Wednesday though winning first time would be ideal for Newcastle. That is what we want and, yes, expect. These are different times.
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