Sam Allardyce could not have wished for a better start to life as Newcastle manager as two goals from Obafemi Martins helped the Magpies to a 3-1 win over Bolton at Reebok Stadium.
To win handsomely away from home on the opening day is special enough, achieving it your former club must be especially sweet.
While Allardyce was all smiles - Charles N'Zogbia was also on target - his former assistant Sammy Lee has much work to do.
The new Bolton boss has promised to play a more expansive game than his predecessor but the team only started performing in the second half.
By then it was 3-0 down after looking nervous from the off.
Former Middlesbrough and Socceroos striker Mark Viduka nearly took advantage of a mix-up after five minutes. He managed to get a shot in only to see it deflected to safety by new boy Gerald Cid.
Newcastle took the lead in the 11th minute with a goal out of nothing. N'Zogbia drove in a free-kick from the right which eluded the Bolton defence and goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Lee looked on in disbelief as the ball nestled in the back of the net after his players had switched off.
Bolton looked rattled but Nicolas Anelka found space in the 17th minute, only to send a weak header into Stephen Harper's arms.
Newcastle extended its lead in the 21st minute and again Bolton's defending was poor.
James Milner was able to weigh up his cross and found Martins at the back post. He beat Jaaskelainen with a superb overhead kick.
Bolton almost pulled a goal back three minutes later but Steven Taylor cleared Gary Speed's effort off the line.
The agony continued for Bolton in the 27th minute when Martins made it 3-0 with his second goal of the game. He had a bit of luck, however, his shot from 20 yards taking a deflection off defender Abdoulaye Faye to leave Jaaskelainen stranded.
Bolton was struggling to find its rhythm while Martins and his Newcastle team-mates were growing in confidence. The Nigerian rattled in a shot from an acute angle after 35 minutes that went narrowly wide of the far post.
Bolton boss Lee made a change at half-time, bringing on El-Hadji Diouf for Ricardo Vaz Te, who had been ineffective. They immediately looked more of a threat and Newcastle goalkeeper Stephen Harper was tested for the first time in the 47th minute.
Bolton pulled a goal back in the 50th minute through Anelka after a superb reverse pass from Nolan. There was still work for the Frenchman to do but he gave Harper no chance and found the corner with his effort.
English Premiership
Bolton 1 (Anelka 50)
Newcastle 3 (N'Zogbia 11, Martins 21, 27)