Just eight days after thirty sweaty Scots and Samoans trampled across it, the St.James' Park playing surface looked in remarkably good nick as Newcastle once again attempted to solve the problem of what their coach had called "bloody winning football matches."

By full time that objective had thankfully been achieved - and in a manner emphatic enough to wonder whether the Gallowgate groundsman had planted magic beans while repairing the pitch.

If Steve McClaren's chronologically-challenged assertion that the season started today was indeed correct, then on this evidence the seats unoccupied for this game will soon become hot tickets, as word spreads that the Entertainers have reformed.

It's over a century since a Magpies XI conceded six in a game and then promptly scored that many next time out, but their display today here was more reminiscent of twenty years past; the frailty of the defence matched by the potency of the attack. We're gonna score one more than you indeed...

Of course it's another former England boss at the helm here rather than Kevin Keegan, but many similar traits were evident, from Daryl Janmaat reprising John Beresford's role as the full back left totally exposed by his colleagues to Moussa Sissoko echoing David Ginola in his strutting pomp. 

Smiles replaced frowns in home sections and relieved supporters stayed on to salute the whole side at full time - pre-game aspirations of scraping a 1-0 success in the manner of Leicester's visit a year ago spectacularly upgraded to the stuff of outlandish fantasy 90 minutes later.

Particular praise was afforded to four goal hero Gini Wijnaldum, but wonderful though his exploits were at the sharp end, perhaps the pivotal point of his performance was a 53rd minute goal line clearance to prevent old boy Sebastien Bassong from making it 3-3. 

Had that happened, then the course of this game, this season and even this administration could have all been radically altered.

Awful though the Manchester City defeat was, until the 49th minute it was a genuine contest. The extent of our brittleness became evident when Aguero put his side in front for the first time at that time and so it was today that we had a flat 15 minutes before Mitrovic scored. 

Fortunately though, Norwich weren't quite smart enough to find a way through; their dangerman Redmond underused and a level of defensive responsibility from the midfield crucially repelling the visitors until their attacking flow resumed.

After a run of misfortune since he arrived, everything went right for McClaren here - from having no full backs in his last game to the comparative luxury of being able to welcome back Janmaat and give both Paul Dummett and Massadio Haidara some pitch time.

And having revealed how little he's seen of top flight football in eighteen months by believing that Tim Krul's absence would cost us points, the return of Rob Elliot paid off - although he did seem in some discomfort late on and caused some excitement in the Woodman household.

Elliot was blameless for the goals but grateful to see City rattle the post twice and Anthony Taylor miss some Janmaat shirt-pulling in the box (although the referee may just have ignored that given the number of times the visitors indulged in the same trick).

Had Siem De Jong appeared from the bench then our resurrection would have been complete. As it is though, his future remains the subject of much conjecture, as does that of Florian Thauvin (and from our own perspective, the self-created problem arising from Coloccini's contract extension).

Putting aside Gini's goal-laden contribution, the difference between the sides and the basis of our victory was Moussa Sissoko. For all his lofty aspirations, so often he's flattered to deceive and rarely even played the role of a flat track bully against lesser opposition. 

Today he was handed - or just assumed - a free role and devoted his energies to running and passing to great effect. One would think that was a given for a player of his stature (and salary) but it's often possible to look back on our games and wonder just how he managed to occupy himself for an hour and a half without adding anything particularly positive or memorable.

It's not all sweetness and light though for Moussa, again a reluctant participant in the post-match festivities on the field. This shouldn't be a frivolous business though, he can be as surly and sulky as he chooses all week until that whistle goes, as long as he contributes this level of performance. 

Having lost all five derby games he's played in, this Sunday would seem to be a perfect opportunity for Sissoko to put that record straight. Defeats for the mackems and Aston Villa on Saturday mean that this victory elevated us two places to the dizzy heights of eighteenth - much more of this and we might even achieve a plus goal difference for the first time in living memory.

Given what has passed for entertainment here in 2015, there was enough commitment, confidence and competence was from United on show to gladden the heart of their most despondent fan. 

Any sort of victory was vital, but if going on the offensive and trying to score goals was pleasing - then actually achieving that for once was wonderful. Whether it's a consequence of playing two strikers or not is debatable, but certainly the physicality and mobility of Mitrovic were as important to our success as players making forward runs. In fairness we've lacked both for too long. 

Messrs Perez, Wijnaldum, Sissoko and Mitrovic all complemented each other admirably, with the Serbian's goal the point at which a collective feeling of apprehension gave way to joy and relief. Quite what that all does to the transfer meeting agenda remains to be seen, but the defence must remain high on the list of priorities.