BACK in the old days you knew the season was well under way when the first league tables were published.

And if were just behind Manchester United on goal difference we'd have been quite happy - but not after just one game!

It's quite ridiculous to publish tables after just one game; far better to wait for a handful of games when you have a far better picture of how you have started.

But, no, things are changing, everything is more instant and managers apparently face the possibility of getting the sack if things don't improve by the end of August.

Sven-Goran Eriksson wasted no opportunity to get the England players together at Newcastle this week.

If we expected another run-of-the-mill England friendly with wholesale changes and senior players simply going through the motions, we were mistaken.

On this occasion so much had to be proved with the criticism since Portugal and the lurid tabloid tales from Soho Square still ringing in the ears.

The Tyneside public are not daft when it comes to football. Their attitude to the manager and captain must have given both men a huge lift.

In general the crowd were saying 'let's get on with the football'. The team itself certainly started as if it were a competitive game and won in style.

There was no feeling that the public had been cheated as in previous friendlies apart from the ridiculously high charges of £40 and £20 for children which certainly kept the crowd down.

When will we ever learn? The Welsh, for instance, invariably fill the Millennium Stadium for every game by keeping prices as low as £10 and £5 for children.

As far as the team performances go, David James after a fairly shaky start, looked as though he has made the position his own, while John Terry and Ledley King were solid in central defence, making it harder for messrs Campbell, Ferdinand and Woodgate to stroll back in as and when they are fit.

The most impressive performances were from David Beckham and Michael Owen, who both led by example.

Anycriticism would still be against the imbalance in midfield where we do not start with a natural left-sided player and most of the opposition attacks were developed down that flank,

Kieron Dyer, a fairly gifted young player, had his opportunity towards the end to impress, but was, amazingly, roundly booed every time he touched the ball by his own supporters.

He'd apparently argued with his manager Sir Bobby Robson before the first league game, refusing to play in the same wide position which he gratefully accepts from the England manager.

He had treated the Magpies with disdain - a big mistake. As the crowd gave the right signal to Sven and his captain, they also made it quite clear to young Mr Dyer that they do not accept prima-donna tantrums from massively paid youngsters like him, no matter how good he is, or thinks he is.

The north east is often described as a hotbed. For as long as I can remember, one of the most exciting things would be to actually glimpse a player out in the town.

But young Mr Dyer might do well to stay in - the same supporters who would normally worship at his feet will certainly not be slow to tell him face to face exactly how disgusted they are with his tantrums.