On Saturday, at Wembley, two of Newcastle’s best players will be in opposition when England face Brazil in a showpiece friendly. Meanwhile, in Dubai this week, Eddie Howe will struggle to organise a 5-a-side game involving senior players who are fully fit.
The comparison serves as illustration for the disparity between the club’s head and its tail. The ambition and acceleration of the former is stymied by the weight of the latter. The organisation, on and off the pitch, is stretched. When that happens, cracks appear.
All the while, of course, there is the boot on the neck that is Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR). It means money is no quick fix. That is why Newcastle, having looked like tearing into the distance 12 months ago, find themselves back at a crossroads heading into a pivotal summer. Much like water on a desert horizon, last season was a mirage.
Pools of prosperity still exist. When Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes meet at Wembley, Newcastle will be one of only four clubs with players in both squads, and one of the others is Real Madrid.
The Saudi-backed ownership have got a lot right - Gordon and Guimaraes cost roughly £40million each - and they beat modern football convention by taking the club from 19th to fourth in just 19 months. The head was all anyone could see, humming its Champions League theme tune and singing about Paris and Milan. There were some new teeth, old ones had been polished and the smile was as wide as the Tyne.
Except, on closer inspection, the tail was being dragged along, always likely to slow what was happening in front. Newcastle were a Champions League club in league-position only.
Twenty-four hours before their first home match versus Paris Saint-Germain, a handyman with a hammer
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