Newcastle United took until March 10 to reach nudge past the 30-point mark last season and it is clear that this term will be the first for almost a decade they won't be dicing with relegation.
It was actually the 2-1 win at Southampton in the 27th match of the season that Newcastle move on to 31 points in the last campaign but here they are after 15 matches with 30 points to their name already. For context only the Kevin Keegan Entertainers team in 1995/96 that finished second have had more points at this stage when the Magpies had 38 on the board after 15 games.
Eddie Howe's men currently have one more than the Toon team that finished second in 1996/97 at the same stage and qualified for the Champions League under Kenny Dalglish, three more points than Sir Bobby Robson in 2001/02 when the club finished fourth and three more than the team that finished third in 2002/03.
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Of course, there's a long way to go but unlike all of those seasons mentioned above it doesn't feel like there is anything untoward brewing in the background. Remember Keegan ending up walking away because the club became a Plc with the former boss saying: "It was becoming a Plc and I felt the focus of the club had changed. It just wasn’t as enjoyable as it was.’"
Even when Robson led Newcastle to the Champions League and a fabulous third place he was only just over a year away from being sacked as internal politics choked the Magpies and they never returned to the big stage again. This time things feel different with the board hugely ambitious and seeking every opportunity to improve.
The mentality is significantly different these days and while Keegan and Robson were ambitious too there does not seem to be a burden on anybody at the club these days. Even this week Howe and his coaching staff did not fear the facts going into the League Cup game against Crystal Palace and used it as motivation.
The big screens around the training ground flashed: "We haven't won a domestic trophy for 67 years." Howe was reminded about how long it took Newcastle to get to 30 plus points last season after the game but said: "Last season was a very, very difficult season, a very different one to the one we're experiencing this time around.
"We just want to get as many points as quickly as we can. We're enjoying the moment we're in, everyone's together, everyone's united, really fighting for the same cause, and the players tonight deserve huge credit for what they delivered."
And it really does like the mentality shift at United is here to stay. Last season is history and Newcastle have given themselves the platform to really achieve something special this term. Keeping their cool will key but they probably couldn't have a better manager than Howe to do that.
His tone and demeanour is no different to what it was when Newcastle sat bottom of the table last season. Yes there is the odd smile now and again but United have a man who is capable of staying ice cold when it matters.
His reaction to qualifying for Europe said it all last night when he simply replied: "I don't know about that, I just think for us, we've just committed to every game.
"We haven't thought about any permutation or any consequence of the games, we've just tried to win them and think that's the best way for us to attack the second half of the season as well."
It's a policy serving Newcastle well enough at the moment, and long may it continue.
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