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Eddie Howe is not given to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. So by his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle scored first but the opposition were ahead by half-time, while also striking the woodwork and having a penalty overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe this indicated of where we were at that stage during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team required some shaking up at the break. This explains why I made those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and the team did stabilise to an extent in the latter period, but never appearing like they might fight back into the contest against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their last nine fixtures. Given the congestion the middle of the table is, with a mere three-point gap separating third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from ten matches has not placed Newcastle stranded but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Problem of Expectations

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle possess the wealthiest backers in the globe. The expectation at the time the PIF acquired 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would bring a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that both of those owners took over prior to the introduction of financial fair play rules (while the ongoing charges against Manchester City concern whether they violated those regulations after they were in place).

Profit and sustainability restrictions limit the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their teams and therefore likely would have hindered every Saudi effort to raise Newcastle to the standard of City. However it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has; they might have spent more and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa penalty since their major issue is more with the continental than the domestic regulation.

Stadium Investment and PSR Rules

Additionally, infrastructure spending is excluded from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the simplest way to increase revenue to create more PSR flexibility would be to expand or renovate the arena. Given the location of the home ground, with protected structures on multiple sides, practically that likely implies constructing an entirely new venue. There was talk in March of potentially undertaking the short move to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a promise to create a replacement green space on the existing stadium site – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has been significant retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of projects as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle appears completely in keeping with that change of approach.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker saga was born of that tension. A bolder management might have framed his transfer as essential to free up capital for additional spending; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to retain him. That meant Newcastle began the season amidst a feeling of frustration even with the signings of several new players. The start was indifferent: a single victory in their first six fixtures.

But it appeared a corner was reached. They had won five in six prior to the weekend, a run that included convincing wins of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that the team's approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have profound effects. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, Champions League and cup matches, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade started each of those matches and looked especially weary.

Reality of Contemporary Soccer

This is the nature of modern the sport. Managers have to be ready to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has left him short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the reasons, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after scoring first at a ground ready to criticize its own side.

Howe will wish it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when everybody is below par simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to secure the Champions League next season, not to mention eventually mount an genuine championship bid, they must not be as inconsistent as this.