The team that brought you a trio of 4-1s and one 5-1 away win last season went one step further on Sunday, scoring a couple more for good measure to reach previously uncharted territory on the road for the club in 130 years of league participation.  

An unforgettable afternoon in the Steel City ended after eight goals were scored without reply by eight different players; a feat made even more incredible by this game concluding a week during which the side returned to Champions League action with an energy-sapping rearguard action in Milan.

Many of those in the away end may have been nursing sore heads but there was no trace of any hangover in the visiting dressing room at Bramall Lane. Eddie Howe's team allowed the hosts to make and miss a couple of early half chances, but then hit form with a three goal first half salvo from the unlikely trio of Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn and Sven Botman. 

Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon were to the fore as that assault continued; the former making a well-timed return to form from set pieces and the latter running the home side ragged after hastily appearing from the bench to replace foot injury victim Harvey Barnes. 

Newcastle could have inflicted even greater punishment in the opening 45 minute on a Blades side missing a substantial portion of the squad due to injury and suspension, had Callum Wilson not spurned three excellent chances and a dubious VAR call deprived Gordon of a penalty award.  

With old campaigner Stuart McCall prowling around the technical area, Paul Heckingbottom had the opportunity to refashion his side at the break but gaping holes in their midfield remained and they would be exploited by a rampant Magpies side that maintained their relentless onslaught.

Wilson finally got his goal as Trippier completed his own personal treble of assists to mark a half century of league outings for the club before Gordon unleashed an unstoppable effort that curled into the goal - prompting another wave of disconsolate home fans to rise from their seats.

Next to get in on the act was Miggy Almiron, having earlier seen a close-range finish rightly ruled out for offside. £150m-worth of talent then entered the action in the shape of Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak and Tino Livramento in what was close to an act of cruelty by Eddie Howe - and the sort of thing we had done to us just a couple of years ago by the likes of Manchester City.

A hoped-for debut strike from from Elliot Anderson failed to materialise, but Bruno exploited the lack of defensive work required by getting off the mark for the season before Isak rounded off what was the nearest thing to a cricket score seen on this ground since Yorkshire took their leave in 1973.

There's a bigger picture of the one-sided aspect to this game in terms of the have and have not composition of the Premier League, but that's not for today. What we will say though is that what Bramall Lane lacks in players or facilities it makes up for with internet signal. What's their secret?  

Full time was met with roars from the away support and relief from the battalion of stewards who raced across the perimeter track in front of them following all five second half goals (and Almiron's disallowed one) to try and deter potential pitch invasions. In fairness a few of them took the ironic cheers and catcalls in good spirits as they retraced their steps - better to have a moving human cordon than static ones of a previous era obstructing the view, or worse still, fences. 

Having acknowledged the delight among the younger element in midweek in beginning their European adventure, there was substantial satisfaction in seeing a mature set of supporters here today - a good number of whom were also present on previous dark days. They deserved to witness this. 

Playing our curmudgeon card at this point, anyone ever tempted to label a poor display by this team as the "worst ever" is directed to our 1980/81 season, when it took us 21 away league games to score as many times as we did here today in less than 90 minutes. Never mind loyalty points, the club should have given out campaign medals that year. This is light years away.

And so, rumours of our demise proved to be premature, along with the Howe in peril chat that surfaced in some quarters following the Brighton defeat. Our first half dozen fixtures largely adhered to form and history, leaving Newcastle two points and three places better off than a year ago.

Question marks about rotation are yet to be answered and have been partly offset over narrowing squad availability with the Barnes injury and Gordon's proximity to suspension. If nothing else though, Joelinton's current absence has at least slowed down his acquisition of bookings.

We remain a work in progress, with today a pertinent and welcome reminder that the potential is unlimited and the occasions when things do click are immensely enjoyable. If you're looking for a yardstick of progress, Botman's 50 games for us have seen him beaten just eight times. 

The visiting players took the field to acknowledge their support at full time, the song from the away end concise and accurate: "this is the best trip I've ever been on". They weren't wrong.

Biffa