Sunday evening saw the culmination of both Chelsea and Newcastle's seasons at Stamford Bridge. The contrast in atmospheres in each camp was evident of how both teams' terms had panned out.
The visitors surpassed expectations in 2022/23 with Champions League qualification and the Magpies have appeared on an upward trajectory since their takeover and the appointment of Eddie Howe, with a project that has so-far thrived in sync. Chelsea's struggles on the other hand have been well-documented with a 12th-place finish in the Premier League, four separate figues in charge of the team throughout the season and some hefty spendy to boot.
For Newcastle, arrivals such as Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes settled in seamlessly in early 2022 and have helped lead the side since. That was backed up with arrivals such as Sven Botman and Alexander Isak in the summer, who have also played key roles but Howe has also reinvigorated players such as Sean Longstaff and Jacob Murphy to play crucial roles.
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Newcastle CEO described the contrast between the two teams as a 'perfect illustration' of the Toon Army's success in building their squad.
Eales told Truth Faith: "It's not just about the money you spend - it's about how you spend it. The weekend's game [against Chelsea] is a perfect illustration of that. You're in safe hands with Eddie and Dan [Ashworth] in terms of knowing what it is we're looking for.
"The reality is we are always going to spend what we can under FFP. I can say that to you hand on heart here. The club will always be doing its best to get to where we want to get to, but we have got to make sure we do it methodically, in the right way that is sustainable.
"With Eddie Howe, it's unbelievable to see just what he does with the squad, the way he has galvanised them. It's really important that we keep building with that in mind. We've got a great pair of hands there with Eddie because he's unbelievably good."
Chelsea's early spending was led by Todd Boehly when he became interim sporting director last summer. In truth, while a lot of the process played out in public, a number of signings were well-received at the time but the likes of Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella have not entirely hit the ground running as they would have liked.
The late arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang swiftly followed by the sacking of Thomas Tuchel felt more like jumbled up thinking. However, the new ownership dreamed of a more collaborative process at Stamford Bridge and that is something that can still be achieved. It seemed Graham Potter would fit that mould and having the addition of Kyle Macaulay to act as a conduit between coaching and recruitment as Chelsea put in a place a team of Laurence Stewart, Joe Shields, Paul Winstanley and Christopher Vivell.
The ownership still played their role in January in assisting their new team as exciting prospects arrived in Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana and Benoit Badiashile arrived into a difficult situation. Frank Lampard had sympathy for that group of young arrivals who could not settle without being placed under scrutiny to immediately perform.
However, more pertinently he has highlighted the biggest challenge as being the size of the squad - the result of trying to speed up Chelsea's transition.
He said: "The squad has been to deep and that's the biggest challenge I've found day to day. Coming in and trying to work with big numbers and players that are maybe a little bit, for whatever reason, disillusioned, for right or wrong, that they're not playing or they might be leaving. Those situations can be sorted out now and they have to be."
Eales highlighted how Howe has galvanised the squad, something neither Potter or Lampard were able to do for Chelsea, possibily for the reasons above. Former Everton boss Lampard noted that the spirit of the suad was absent.
He added: "If you're not together in the dressing room, and you're not vocal in the dressing room driving each other and competitive because I want your place and you want mine and all of those things - any top team has to have that. At the minute, when I came in, very quickly I could see that wasn't there enough. I think that's something needed and of course a very good manager will help that."
That will be Pochettino's task. He will need to coordinate with Chelsea's sporting structure to help trim the squad in the way he sees fit and then form a team bond to fight back at the accusations levelled at Chelsea this season.
Many of the Blues transfers can still be a success given the youth and talent brought in but now the club must prove they can be trusted to make the right decisions moving forwards. Pochettino will be central to that.
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