A lesson in football or a crash course in finance - whichever way you look at it, the 19-point gap between Newcastle and Chelsea still takes some of the gloss off yesterday's scintillating 2-1 success to the Magpies.

Newcastle might have displayed immense resilience and resolve to bounce back from Joe Cole's early opener but, sadly, no amount of determination will see them match Chelsea this season.

It might not have looked it as United ran their opponents ragged in the second half, but the two clubs no longer operate on the same level playing field they occupied four and a half years ago.

It was then that Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle adventure began with a tame 1-0 surrender at Stamford Bridge.

Ruud Gullit had presided over a disastrous start to the season that had seen the Magpies pick up just one point from their first five games, and things didn't improve when they were thrashed 5-1 at Old Trafford in the aftermath of the Dutchman's acrimonious departure.

But, while Robson didn't exactly hit the ground running in West London, his first home game resulted in an 8-0 rout of Sheffield Wednesday that was to set the tone for what was to come.

Since then, the Newcastle boss has led his side to a third place finish in the Premiership, the second group phase of the Champions League, an FA Cup semi-final and, most recently, to within one game of the club's first European final in 35 years.

Quite an achievement but, with yesterday's opponents almost out of sight in terms of the Premiership table, the upward momentum that has characterised Robson's tenure in the St James' Park hotseat is still being challenged for the first time.

European success would ensure this season is remembered for all the right reasons but defeat in Marseille, coupled with a disappointing finish to the domestic campaign, would leave Newcastle to reflect on their first backward step since Frank Leboeuf's penalty handed Robson a losing return to the English game.

Avoiding relegation was the number one priority at that time, so it is a measure of what Robson has achieved on Tyneside that a fifth or sixth-place finish this season would be a near catastrophe.

But the United manager is now a hostage to the raised expectations he has cultivated since replacing Gullit.

During his time at the helm, Newcastle have consistently tussled with Chelsea for the right to challenge Arsenal and Manchester United.

It's a battle the Magpies might be losing but, in many ways, Chelsea provide a strange barometer to measure a team's progress. They were desperately scrapping for Champions League football a year ago and yet, suddenly, find themselves within touching distance of being crowned the number one side in Europe.

But, because of Roman Abramovich's multi-million pound investment, Chelsea's recent experience teaches absolutely nothing. The £16.8m that it took to prise Hernan Crespo from Inter Milan will be substantially more than United's entire budget for the next two or three summers.

Money can't buy you Alan Shearer's sensational second-half winner or Shay Given's gravity-defying save from Eidur Gudjohnsen - but what it can buy you is a squad with the depth of quality needed to succeed both at home and abroad.

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