A quick glance at the English Premier League table tells you that there are three teams who are currently unbeaten.

The two Manchester Clubs aren’t major surprises, but for Newcastle United to be there after pre-season predictions of relegation is a shocker. Newcastle now stand fourth in the league, ahead of clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham.

Newcastle have always been a club that revelled in providing comic relief for the league’s followers for so many years; be it Bramble’s catastrophic lapses, Keegan’s famous rants, the laughable capitulation every time they faced Man Utd, the ‘marquee’ signings who never seemed to work, or changing manager after manager after manager in the vain hope of striking gold.

This year alone, they’ve lost players like Andy Carroll, Kevil Nolan, Jose Enrique, and the outspoken Joey Barton, who put a dark cloud over the Geordies’ pre-season with repeated comments against the management and ownership.

A lot of credit for their start goes to Graham Carr, their chief scout. Snapping up players like Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Cheik Tioté, Mehdi Abeid and Demba Ba on the cheap has been a shrewd bit of business, and with Chek Tiote adding real steel to the centre of the Geordie midfield, there’s a much more settled look about the team.

The true test, however, starts soon, with a run of consecutive fixtures in November end against United, City and Chelsea.

Newcastle might not be around the top four come May, but this early season momentum maybe just be enough to secure a Europa League spot. For once, they might have the last laugh.