Singing the same Toon

plenty to smile about . . . Charlie MacDonald (left) and Jose Baxter show their delight at Stevenage on the opening day of the Sky Bet League One season.

IT DOESN’T matter how many we concede... as long as we score one more than the other guys.

This philosophy served Newcastle well under Kevin Keegan. Fans of the St James’ Park club had never had it so good as when their rich array of attacking talent went close to claiming the Premier League title in 1996.

And after manager Lee Johnson spent the summer building a squad that can play in a Keegan-like way, Athletic fans might be able to look forward to similar seven-goal thrillers as the one played out at Stevenage at the weekend, when Athletic came out on top by the odd goal in seven.

The side selected for the game said everything about Johnson’s intentions. Jose Baxter, Cristian Montano, James Dayton, Adam Rooney and Charlie MacDonald were all in the starting XI — and if any of those forwards had failed to fire, Jonson Clarke-Harris, Kirk Millar and Sidney Schmeltz were poised to race on as subs.

A team moulded with the intention of producing eye-catching, attacking football makes a change at Boundary Park. Let’s face it, entertaining Athletic sides have been few and far between in recent times. In the early days of his tenure, Paul Dickov provided some thrills and spills, but he often struggled to get his team scoring goals. Before him, Dave Penney wasn’t exactly renowned for his aesthetically beautiful line-ups.

Perhaps Athletic will revert to type, but at present, the feelgood factor that has permeated the club over the summer has also transferred to the pitch.

Even if it ends up in glorious failure — as Keegan experienced — at least it will be an enjoyable ride.