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The Newcastle manager is not given to dramatics or sweeping public pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his press conference following Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a angry tirade. Newcastle took an early lead but the opposition took the lead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a triple change at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe this indicated of our performance level in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. Actually, I cannot recall having done so since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team required some shaking up at half-time. This explains why I made those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at half-time and the team did stabilise somewhat in the second half, without ever really looking like they could fight back into the game against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their last nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the centre of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap separating third from 11th, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from 10 games has not placed the Magpies adrift but, similarly, they must not end the campaign in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The challenge partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the wealthiest backers in the world. The assumption when the PIF acquired 80% of the team in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, similar to the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or the City Group did at the Etihad. The distinction is that those two owners took over before the introduction of FFP rules (while the current allegations against City concern if they breached those regulations once they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions restrict the ability of owners, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and so in that sense likely would have slowed any Saudi effort to raise the team to the standard of City. But there is no need for the club's expenditure to have been so restrained as it has; they might have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or simply taken a relatively meagre Uefa penalty given their major issue is primarily with the European than the domestic rules.

Stadium Spending and PSR Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR calculations; the easiest way to increase revenue to generate more PSR flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that probably means building an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially undertaking the short move to a local park – resistance from local groups might have been overcome with a commitment to build a replacement green space on the existing stadium site – but there has been any progress on that proposal. There has occurred substantial cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a variety of initiatives as it shifts focus on local investments; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker saga was arose from that conflict. A bolder management could have framed his transfer as necessary to release funds for further investment; instead there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. This resulted in the team began the season amid a feeling of disappointment even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was mixed: one win in their initial six fixtures.

But it appeared a corner was reached. They secured five in six prior to the weekend, a run that included convincing wins of a Belgian side and Benfica in the European competition. That’s why the display against the Hammers was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have profound effects. Maybe the pressure of domestic, European and cup competition, five games in 15 days, had taken its toll. Woltemade featured in all five games and looked especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

That’s the reality of modern the sport. Coaches have to be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the reasons, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –especially following taking the lead at a ground ready to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the European competition next season, let alone one day launch an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as this.