For the 600 or so toon diehards who made the trip over, a healthy 4-0 win and an absence of the predicted grief from the local police made for a good season opener. However, the return on Tyneside should confirm to a wider audience the poorness of Lokeren. 

Just about the only thing our Belgian hosts had in common with our last Euro opponents, AS Roma, was the fact that we still didn't feel confident enough to unleash Marcelino on them...

Before mocking Lokeren though, it may be prudent to reflect on our reduced circumstances: Champions League pride to Intertoto back door in four years is no occasion for drum banging.

It's Europe, but not as we know it. 

The real stuff is another 5 games away.

Biffa