Before this incredible campaign began its relentless path, who would have risked betting hard-earned bucks on Newcastle United smashing the barricades of Champions League football and Chelsea becoming lost in lower midtable embarrassment?
Yet here we are about to confine 2022-23 to history with these two historic clubs locked in final day combat occupying exactly such contrasting positions. Oh the joy for Geordies whose model has been perfection and the humiliation for Chelsea who have played like the Pensioners of their nickname despite a new owner splashing obscene amounts of cash apparently without thought or direction.
How to do it ably displayed by one club, how not to do it by another.
