... two were home games against two sides (West Ham and Fulham) with the worst away records in the Premiership last season.
We lost 4-0 to Man City when it could have been 9-0; didn't have a shot on target against West Ham at home; it took Hatem Ben Arfa to come off the bench to beat Morecambe(!); and a late Hatem goal spared our blushes against Fulham.
But ... Pardew says: "We are looking good".
The man is on another planet!
We replayed the memories last night at St James' Park, seeing Tino, Shearer, Sir Les, Ginola, and the rest from the Keegan era.
Now it's back to reality with Ashley, Kinnear and Pardew!
Alan Pardew: “We are looking good going into Villa.
“We’ve got Cheik (Tiote) back, plus most of our French players have been working hard, so we’re close to having a fully fit squad.
“A lot of our internationals stayed behind, so we’ve been able to work.
“We’ve had a good start.
“If you had offered me what we have now considering we played Manchester City in the first game, I’d have probably taken it.
“We’ve had the transfer window, and two international breaks too.
“We knew we would have our own disruption in the transfer window, but we can settle down now.
“I sensed something would take place (with Cabaye), but we’re now looking forward to the season.”