TALK OF THE TOON ... Andy Carroll celebrates after scoring his first goal of the afternoon
Newcaslte United 6 Aston Villa 0
IT was just like the good old days at St James' Park.
Goals were flying in, the Toon Army were jumping and a Newcastle No 9 was causing havoc by bagging a brilliant treble.
Legend Alan Shearer was sat high in the stands watching the heroics and he would have loved every second - especially hitman Andy Carroll's powerhouse display.
It was the kind of performance Super Al pulled out of his locker every week.
England Under-21 ace Carroll, watched by Fabio Capello's No 2 Franco Baldini, was playing up front on his own.
But he clinically cashed in against a shell-shocked Villa defence to help himself to his first top-flight treble.
A Kevin Nolan double and a Joey Barton scorcher made it an incredible afternoon on Tyneside.
To bag an edgy first win of the season would have sent the fans home delirious. But to smash SIX against a side aiming to gatecrash the top four was the stuff dreams are made of.
The fact it came against rivals who sent them hurtling through the trapdoor 455 days beforehand made it even sweeter.
It is very early days and there will still be many highs and lows to come as Chris Hughton attempts to keep the Geordies up. But this was amazing stuff - and well deserved too.
From Carroll's brilliant hat-trick to Barton's stellar performance in the middle, Hughton had heroes everywhere.
With Hughton's steady hand on the tiller and no big-money signings blazing into St James' Park, excitement at their Prem return had been replaced with a touch of trepidation. Thing is though, in the mad world of Newcastle United, nothing is ever predictable.
And with just 33 minutes gone yesterday, Tyneside was in dreamland again.
Not even the most hardened Geordie would have contemplated seeing Toon three up before the break.
John Carew's shocking penalty miss on eight minutes was a massive let-off.
Keeper Steve Harper rushed out but pulled down Ashley Young, leaving ref Martin Atkinson with an easy penalty decision.
The big Norwegian gave it such a thump you feared for the fans sat up in row Z as the ball shot towards them. It was just the tonic for Hughton's men because from that moment on, they made Villa look like relegation candidates.
The excellent Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini were superb at the back while Barton began to run the show in midfield.
The Scouser talks a great game but his time at Newcastle has been blighted by injuries and a spell behind bars.
Yesterday though, he finally let his feet do the talking and he brought the house down with a stunning 25-yard opener past Brad Friedel on 12 minutes.
Just after the half hour Jonas Gutierrez fed Jose Enrique on the left touchline and the Spanish full-back, playing out of his skin, delivered a great cross to the back stick.
Carroll nodded down to Nolan and after his first header was saved by Friedel, the ex-Bolton midfielder snapped up the rebound.
Poor old Villa did not know what had hit them. Stylian Petrov and Ashley Young looked lively early on. But as soon as Toon hit their double goal blast, Kevin MacDonald's men were nowhere to be seen.
Villa Park supremo Randy Lerner would not have been impressed and as job applications go, this was a stinker for MacDonald.
On 33 minutes, Williamson headed down a corner and after Richard Dunne botched his clearance, Carroll was on hand to fire in.
Barton was again involved for the fourth, winning possession on the egde of the box before teeing up Carroll to clinically fire home.
Nolan bravely hooked in from inside the six-yard area then Carroll slid in from Xisco's pass to cap a quite incredible afternoon.
STAR MAN - ANDY CARROLL (NEWCASTLE)