It is ten years this weekend since Kevin Keegan walked out on the nonsense of the Mike Ashley regime and still Newcastle remain trapped in the same infernal cycle of strife and struggle, hope and despair.
There have been ten managers in that period, including caretakers, and though Rafael Benitez has looked more capable than any of defying the laws of football economics, Saturday night's Premier League provides a sobering sense of the task in hand. Third bottom with a solitary point. It is the first time since 1987 that Newcastle have lost their opening three home games.