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The Newcastle manager is not given to dramatics or grand media pronouncements. Based on his standards, his media briefing after the weekend's 3-1 defeat counts as a furious outburst. His side scored first but West Ham were ahead by half-time, while also hitting the post and having a penalty overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think this indicated of our performance level in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. Actually, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the squad required a significant change at the break. This explains why I did those decisions.”

Three key players were substituted at half-time and the team did stabilise to an extent in the latter period, but never really looking like they might get back into the contest against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the middle of the table is, with a mere three-point gap dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not left the Magpies stranded but, equally, they must not finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Problem of Expectations

The problem partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the richest owners in the world. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the club in 2021 was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The distinction is that both of those investors assumed control prior to the advent of FFP rules (while the ongoing charges against Manchester City concern whether they breached those guidelines once they were in place).

Financial regulations restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and therefore probably would have hindered any Middle Eastern effort to elevate Newcastle to the level of Manchester City. But there is no need for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been so restrained as it has been; they could have invested further and stayed inside the threshold – or simply taken a relatively meagre European fine since their major problem is primarily with the continental than the domestic rules.

Infrastructure Investment and PSR Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the easiest way to raise income to create more financial headroom would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Considering the site of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on two sides, in reality that probably implies building an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking the short move to a local park – resistance from local groups might have been surmounted with a promise to build a new park on the current stadium site – but there has been any progress on that proposal. There has been significant retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it refocuses on local investments; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak saga was arose from that tension. A bolder management could have portrayed his sale as essential to free up funds for additional investment; rather there was a vain effort to keep him. That meant the team started the campaign amidst a feeling of disappointment even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a run that featured convincing wins of a Belgian side and Benfica in the European competition. This explains the performance against West Ham was such a shock. The problem maybe is that Newcastle’s style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have significant effects. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, European and Carabao Cup competition, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward featured in each of those games and looked particularly weary.

Reality of Modern Soccer

That’s the reality of today's football. Coaches have to be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unlucky that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, no matter how valid the explanations, the weekend's performance was unacceptable –particularly after taking the lead at a ground primed to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, an off-day when all players is off-colour at once, but if Newcastle are to secure the European competition in the future, let alone eventually mount an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as this.