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The Newcastle manager isn't typically given to dramatics or grand public pronouncements. So by his standards, his press conference following Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a angry tirade. His side took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to make a triple change at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of our performance level at that stage in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall having done so during my tenure as head coach of the club, so I felt the team required a significant change at the break. That’s why I made what I did.”

Three key players were substituted at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the latter period, without ever appearing like they could get back into the contest against an opponent that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Given how packed the centre of the standings currently is, with just three points separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The problem to an extent is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the wealthiest owners in the globe. The assumption at the time the Saudi fund acquired 80% of the team in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, as Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two investors assumed control prior to the advent of financial fair play rules (while the current allegations against Manchester City concern if they violated those regulations once they were in place).

Financial regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their squads and so in that sense likely might have hindered any Saudi attempt to raise Newcastle to the standard of City. But there is no need for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has; they might have spent more and remained within the limit – or simply taken a fairly minor European fine given their major issue is more with the continental than the Premier League regulation.

Infrastructure Investment and PSR Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is exempted from PSR assessments; the simplest method to raise income to generate additional financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Given the location of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on multiple sides, in reality that likely implies building an entirely new venue. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially undertaking the short move to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations might have been overcome with a commitment to create a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to Newcastle seems completely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The star striker episode was arose from that conflict. A bolder leadership might have portrayed his transfer as essential to release capital for additional investment; instead there was a vain effort to retain him. This resulted in the team started the campaign amidst a sense of disappointment even with the signings of several new players. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a turning point was reached. They had won five victories in six matches prior to Sunday, a run that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. This explains the display against West Ham was such a shock. The problem perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in energy can have profound consequences. Perhaps the strain of Premier League, Champions League and cup competition, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started all five games and appeared especially fatigued.

Reality of Modern Soccer

This is the reality of modern the sport. Coaches must be ready to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's performance was unacceptable –especially following scoring first at a stadium primed to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when everybody is below par at once, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the European competition in the future, let alone eventually launch an actual championship bid, they must not be as inconsistent as this.