In various ways, Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United are all going through transitions. The trio of clubs have each hired a new head coach over the last 12 months. Eddie Howe may have arrived with his side seemingly in the greatest amount of strife, but now sees his team third in the Premier League above Manchester United and Chelsea and coming off a convincing win against the latter.
That match saw a team battling in unison to maintain an impressive press that compacted the Blues well into their own half, a team that was willing to stick up for each other when relations threatened to boil over at full-time and a group of players connected to their supporters around them and embracing every moment, as could be seen in the full-time celebrations. Each stakeholder at Newcastle United at the moment appears to be pulling in the same direction, and the team is living up to its name. It's something that is not lost on Howe.
Following the win over Chelsea, he said: "Last season was a very different one to the one we are experiencing this time around. We just want to get as many points as quickly as we can. We're enjoying the moment we're in. Everyone is together, everyone is united fighting for the same cause."
