Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe and, inset, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe and, inset, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly
Eddie Hope has insisted that competing with sides with bigger resources has 'never bothered' him as Newcastle United look to get the 'edge' on rivals like Chelsea.
Fourth-placed Newcastle and fifth-placed Chelsea are level on points in the race for a Champions League spot ahead of the sides' huge clash at St James' Park on Sunday. Let's just say that these clubs have taken slightly different approaches since their respective takeovers.
Chelsea's owners, with the benefit of bigger revenues, frantic trading and the well-documented sale of club assets, have splashed out £1.2bn on new signings since the club's takeover in 2022. Newcastle may have wealthy backers, but the Magpies have spent around a third of that figure in the same period to bring in the likes of Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali as the club navigate PSR constraints.
Digging deeper, Chelsea splurged £337.8m on wages last season - over £119m more than Newcastle - in an era where historically clubs with the highest wage bills pick up the most points per game. However, there is nothing to currently separate the two sides at the moment as Newcastle look to buck the trend again and qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
"My career history has always been battling against teams with bigger resources," Howe told reporters with three games to go. "That's never bothered me.
"I have lived in that world for a long time so I count on other things against the ability to sign players. I look at the other things that hopefully we can get an edge on our rivals with. That's hard work, team spirit, togetherness and all those other qualities that I never underestimate that we're going to need now more than ever."
Newcastle have not strengthened their starting line-up in the last three windows - Lewis Hall was already at the club when the defender's loan move from Chelsea was made permanent - but Howe insisted he had 'absolutely no emotion or feeling at all' after seeing the Blues flex their muscles in the same period.
Chelsea's ability to offer bigger wages, for instance, helped the Blues beat Newcastle to the signing of Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer last summer. However, the core of the side who helped Newcastle finish in the top four a couple of years ago have stepped up once again, including Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes Joelinton, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak.
In contrast, this is a new experience for many of these young Chelsea players. The two-time winners have obviously made their mark in the Champions League over the years but Newcastle actually have a more recent experience of taking a seat at Europe's top table after the black-and-whites held their nerve during the run-in a couple of years ago. Could that know-how yet prove vital?
"Definitely," Howe added. "It brings back positive memories for us. We know the feeling around the games that we have got to come. It does not guarantee us any outcome, but you can go back to those moments.
"The game against Leicester [in 2023] was a bizarre one because we absolutely dominated the game. We felt that we were going to win the game, didn't and, ultimately, they had a chance very late on and Nick Pope made a massive save for us. We can relive that tension and the drama, and hopefully it helps."