It is no longer the Nottingham Forest of Brian Clough and Frank Clark. Of Peter Shilton and Trevor Francis, roly poly Robertson and a scruffy Kenny Burns. No longer the club of European Cups and top flight championships.
However it is a Premier League club of impressive home stats.... At the City Ground they are undefeated in their last nine PL games having won four and drawn five. That is a darned sight better than many of the clubs above them.
Maybe Forest are pussycats when visiting but in Robin Hood territory backed by a ferocious crowd they continue to growl and give hope that the dreaded drop can be beaten. This then is the side Newcastle must overcome to go into the international break on a high after restoring European hopes with victory over Wolves when for a first-half period scintillating attacking football was once again a Geordie trademark.
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Having ended their goal drought with a 2-1 win they owe it to themselves to revert to a clean sheet philosophy which would guarantee a points return of course. Do that and extend the sort of adventurous football of the first 45 minutes against Wolverhampton for the full hour and a half and Forest's proud undefeated run will be blown to smithereens.
Those brought into a jaded side proved their worth. Alexander Isak more than anyone, a real breath of fresh air, but also Joe Willock, Allan Saint-Maximin and Jacob Murphy. Of course Miggy Almiron, who extended his top scorer standing with the winner, will be pushing to be recalled to the starting team sheet. All of which bodes well.
While it was a bit of an eye popper that Steady Eddie abandoned nature to make as many as five changes to a team that turned out to be a winner it would now appear that three of them were actually forced upon him, Callum Wilson had been ill and was "lucky to make the bench" opening the door for star performer Isak, Murphy came in for Anthony Gordon because of an injury which will also keep the old Evertonian out at Forest, and of course Joelinton was serving the first of a two-match ban which saw goal maker Willock join the fray.
So it seems Howe only voluntarily swapped two positions , Fabian Schar for Jamaal Lascelles and Saint-Maximin for Almiron. It matters nought of course because the calls worked out. Thank goodness especially for the inclusion of Isak and Willock, even if forced, because they were not only instrumental in United's two goals but overall played magnificently.
Isak now has four goals from very limited PL play time and he promises much if given the full backing to bloom that he requires. What I like about him apart from his natural pace, good control, and an eye for goal is that he runs in behind stretching defences and allowing colleagues the space to play further upfield. He can give United what others do not.
Meanwhile Forest have three former Magpies on their payroll preparing a welcome - Jonjo Shelvey, Chris Wood and Jack Colback. However the question is who starts and who misses out given the crowded home dressing-room after a scatter gun transfer policy.
Wood is the biggest case in point. Firstly it is unclear whether he is eligible to play given that he joined Forest on loan from Newcastle but has since met the criteria to make that temporary switch into a permanent deal. If Wood is still technically on loan then he cannot feature.
Then there is his fitness. He came off with a haematoma in his left thigh during the defeat at Spurs having lasted only six minutes as a sub and is obviously doubtful in any case.
The Nottingham version of the Reds have signed 30 players since the summer transfer window which frankly is ludicrous though Shelvey maintains that the spirit in the dressing-room is "fantastic" despite the fact that players must still be introducing themselves to one another with a polite handshake. "Hi, I'm Jonjo."
Maybe it will be an old boys' reunion as well as a new boys' welcoming party but on the field of battle nothing can be chummy. There is far too much at stake for both sides.
It was fabulous that two of Newcastle's old Wembley heroes were at St James Park to witness United's return to the winners podium at the weekend even if both are in far from robust health.
John Tudor, who has lived in America for years, attended with his wife Anne and son Jonathan while elsewhere Tommy Cassidy was also present with wife Rosemary.
Jonathan arranged tickets with the club for him, mam and dad to go to SJP one last time.
There was a lovely touch as they and Jonathan's daughter Brianna were making their way to the ground from their hotel. Who should they bump into but John Tudor's old strike partner Malcolm Macdonald!
John suffers from dementia of course but their surprise reunion saw them hug one another and Anne says John smiled all through the match!
Tommy Cassidy, still living on Tyneside, has had Alzheimer's disease since 2017.
Both John and Tommy are dear friends. John flew to Germany with me to cover the 1974 World Cup for the Chron while Tommy was my manager at Gateshead for a period.
They were loyal servants to Newcastle. Tudor played in 222 games for the Mags scoring 74 goals and Cass made 239 appearances notching 28 times.
