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Eddie Howe isn't typically given to histrionics or sweeping public pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a furious outburst. Newcastle scored first but West Ham were ahead by the interval, as well as striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe this indicated of where we were at that stage in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. Actually, I cannot recall I have since I’ve been head coach of Newcastle, so I felt the squad needed some shaking up at the break. That’s why I made those decisions.”

Three key players were substituted at the interval and Newcastle managed to steady to an extent in the second half, without ever really looking like they could get back into the contest against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Considering how packed the centre of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from 10 games has not placed the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The problem partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle possess the wealthiest backers in the world. The assumption when the PIF bought a majority stake of the club in 2021 was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those owners assumed control before the introduction of FFP rules (while the ongoing charges against Manchester City relate to whether they breached those guidelines once they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and therefore probably might have slowed any Middle Eastern attempt to raise the team to the standard of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have spent more and remained within the limit – or just accepted a relatively meagre Uefa fine given their major issue is more with the European than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Investment and Financial Rules

Additionally, stadium development is excluded from PSR assessments; the easiest way to raise income to generate additional PSR headroom would be to expand or renovate the arena. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that probably means constructing an completely new venue. There was talk in March of possibly undertaking the short move to a local park – resistance from local groups could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to create a new park on the current stadium site – but there has been no movement on that proposal. There has occurred significant cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle appears entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker episode was born of that tension. A bolder leadership could have portrayed his sale as necessary to release funds for further spending; instead there was a unsuccessful effort to retain him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amid a sense of frustration even with the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: one win in their initial six games.

But it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches prior to Sunday, a run that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was so surprising. The problem maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have significant effects. Maybe the strain of domestic, Champions League and cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward featured in all five games and looked especially fatigued.

Reality of Modern Soccer

That’s the nature of modern football. Managers have to be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has left him lacking forward choices but, regardless of how valid the explanations, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium ready to criticize its own side.

Howe will wish it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, let alone one day launch an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as they have been.