There are winners like Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, aye and Rafa Benitez. Then there are winners like Pep Guardiola.
Those who triumph through tactical defensive astuteness with a defiant bolted door policy raiding on the counter like some footballing Dick Turpin looking to nick a prize. Compared to the purveyors of the beautiful game who passionately believe life is too short for negative thinking and prefer the artist's brush weaving magical patterns of delight.
Pep who has just completed the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup is their standard bearer though history also gave us the likes of Johann Cruyff who was artistically pleasing as a footballer and equally as a manager of Pep's old club Barcelona. And Dutch coach Rinus Michels, original creator of Total Football.
READ MORE: Newcastle have given glimpse of transfer plans as elite signings are targeted
Kevin Keegan followed that doctrine at Newcastle and almost reached the promised land. He gave creation to The Entertainers and came so agonisingly close to glory pushing United on to the runners-up perch in the Premier League.
We all know which route Eddie Howe is attempting to take to immortality. He is a front-foot aggressor with panache where previous Magpie managers like Steve Bruce were decidedly back-foot defenders.
Keegan was desperate to win the PL title the hard way through pure football and after United blew a 12-point lead to Fergie's Manchester United he was crushed. In my opinion KK never ever recovered throughout his managerial career with the likes of Fulham, Manchester City and England.
Perhaps he failed to fully appreciate the set up he benefitted from at Newcastle with the board's generous backing in the transfer market because it was his first job in management. Nevertheless King Kev remains the target for an ambitious Howe who has a mind like a sponge absorbing all ideas and an attention to detail second to none.
Howe is a better coach than Keegan, is his equal as a man motivator, but has to continue to challenge him in the transfer market where the eagle-eye of a master turned the likes of Andy Cole, Philippe Albert, David Ginola, Rob Lee, and John Beresford into superstars. Shearer was already that but Keegan persuaded him to come here rather than sign for Alex Ferguson and was a major influence on the genius of Peter Beardsley both as a team-mate and his manager.
Howe can point to the already achieved successes of Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak, Dan Burn and Nick Pope to underpin his reputation as a buyer. Kieran Trippier is his Shearer - already a blue-chip player but lured here rather than elsewhere.
If Keegan is Howe's immediate target in terms of Newcastle history then Guardiola with City is step number two, the ultimate ideal of Arab takeover, relentless building of a model, and total success. No need for a Pep talk, treble winning is what Amanda Staveley and Co crave in the longest term and Howe is commissioned to help eventually produce.
City's inspirer is unquestionably the greatest modern-day manager now being lauded in almost saintly reverence. His tactical conversion of John Stones into a fluid position floating between defence and midfield is used as a perfect example of innovative thinking and of course Pep is a genuis.
But then I would respectively suggest that the conversion of Joelinton surpasses that of Stones. England's central defender was sometimes accused of being a risk taker, too visionary on the ball rather than a "get rid" defensive barrier and therefore we were all aware of his comfort in finding time to play his passes.
FIXTURE LIST: Newcastle United's 2023-24 Premier League fixtures in full
However there were no tell tale signs of what Big Joe was about to become. He was a centre-forward who was physically timid and apprehensive given a sight of goal yet the same man has under Howe become a midfield colossus using his strength to outmuscle opponents and drive forward into attacking positions.
Joelinton has gone from a No 9 United would have sold if they could have got their money back to being invited to become a member of the Brazilian international squad.
Howe has been rightly applauded for the transformation but perhaps naturally not to the same degree as Pep for his miracles. Why? Because Eddie is in the early stages of his managerial development whereas Pep has done it and won it - a serial collector of 47 trophies in his lifetime of football, 35 of them as a boss.
Of course a manager's standing in the all-time ranks of greats at his club can only be truly established once his time is over and that is frightening with Howe because the future knows no boundaries. He could finish as the greatest Newcastle manager of all time . . . or a magnificent Nearly Man like KK.
What we now know is how his second full season of unlimited adventure will start. The Premier League fixtures are out and being greedily devoured and dissected by Geordies across the global village of football.
Much is being made of Newcastle's toughest of starts - Aston Villa who are rising like us to soaring heights under Unai Emery followed by triple winners Manchester City away and then, if that was not enough, Liverpool, and Brighton.
It is natural to pray for a good start because then confidence builds upon results and a virtual irreversible trend is established. Who wants to play catch up? However if the beloved computer has dealt us the hand from hell let me stress one thing: every single one of those sides will not fancy playing Newcastle United.
Let us not forget who we are and how far we have come. Let them worry not us! It is a stern challenge but then everything is when you enter rarefied air.
