Newcastle United go into the World Cup break in third but if the players and staff had their way, they would love to keep playing in the coming weeks. You can see why.
In-form Newcastle have won six successive games in all competitions and Eddie Howe's side's one and only defeat came way back in August. Newcastle, in short, have momentum.
Yet, equally, there is an alternative argument that the break could give a Newcastle side who play with such intensity the chance to catch their breaths before really attacking the second half of the season. Most importantly, the World Cup will enable Howe and his staff to work with the players for an extended period of time on the training pitches during a mini pre-season of sorts.
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While Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson, Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar will all jet off to Qatar, Howe will still have the luxury of coaching the majority of his squad from the get-go when his players return to Benton following a two-week rest unlike, say, Antonio Conte at Spurs, Erik ten Hag at Manchester United or Pep Guardiola at Man City. The break will also give Alexander Isak, Allan Saint-Maximin and Jonjo Shelvey the opportunity to get up to speed.
Even the measured Howe has said these individuals can make a 'huge difference to us so that's an exciting prospect'. As scary as it sounds, for the rest of the Premier League, this team is not even at full tilt yet despite flying high in the table.
“I think the best is yet to come for the team," Howe told reporters. "That is always going to be my belief - no matter what phase of performance we are in. You have to believe that, but I do genuinely believe it anyway. We have a lot more to give.
"We have only just started in trying to utilise the squad in the best way we feel. There is more to come from individuals and more to come from the team.”
Given the improvements Howe and his staff have made to a host of individuals, from Fabian Schar and Sean Longstaff to Joelinton and Miguel Almiron, the importance of this extended period out on the grass cannot be overestimated. Yes Newcastle have spent money - around £210m in 2022 - but that is not the sole factor behind the Magpies' turnaround as some outsiders would have you believe.
It is worth pointing out that half of Newcastle's outfield starters against Chelsea were players Howe inherited while two of the three subs who came on - Jacob Murphy and Callum Wilson - were also at the club before the takeover. Even if you include goalkeeper Nick Pope, that works out as an even split, with seven signings and seven long-serving players featuring last weekend.
There can be no doubt that Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes et al have made a huge difference, but Newcastle have spent wisely when it would have been easy to get that recruitment drive so wrong. There are no guarantees with merely spending big, after all, and you only have to look at Chelsea's £278m outlay last summer to realise that.
For just a few million more than the £60m-plus the Blues spent on Marc Cucurella, who could only make the bench on Saturday night, Newcastle have reinforced their entire backline with four key players in Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman and Dan Burn. That is a sentence worth repeating.
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