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The Newcastle manager is not prone to dramatics or sweeping public pronouncements. Based on his standards, his press conference following Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a angry outburst. His side took an early lead but the opposition took the lead by half-time, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, leading Howe to execute a three substitutions at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of our performance level in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. Actually, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did what I did.”

Three key players all came off at the interval and the team managed to steady somewhat in the latter period, but never appearing like they might fight back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Given how packed the middle of the standings currently is, with just three points separating third from 11th, and nine points between second and 17th, a run of twelve points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies stranded but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Problem of Expectations

The problem to an extent is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the wealthiest backers in the globe. The expectation at the time the PIF acquired a majority stake of the team in 2021 was that it would have a game-changing impact, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or the City Group did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two owners assumed control prior to the introduction of financial fair play rules (while the ongoing allegations against City relate to if they breached those guidelines once they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and so in that sense probably would have hindered any Saudi attempt to elevate Newcastle to the level 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 threshold – or simply taken a relatively meagre Uefa fine given their major problem is more with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Investment and Financial Rules

Besides which, stadium development is excluded from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest way to raise income to generate additional PSR headroom would be to extend or redevelop the arena. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that likely means constructing an entirely new stadium. There was talk in March of possibly making the short move to Leazes Park – opposition from local groups could surely have been overcome with a commitment to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has been significant retrenchment from the PIF on a range of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to the football club seems completely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak saga was arose from that tension. A more confident management might have framed his transfer as essential to free up capital for additional spending; rather there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. This resulted in the team began the season amid a sense of frustration even with the signings of several new players. The start was mixed: one win in their first six games.

Yet it appeared a corner was reached. They secured five victories in six matches before Sunday, a streak that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the European competition. This explains the display against the Hammers was such a shock. The problem maybe is that the team's style is extremely intense, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in intensity can have significant effects. Maybe the strain of domestic, European and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had taken its toll. The German forward started all five matches and looked especially fatigued.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

That’s the nature of modern the sport. Coaches must be ready to make changes. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has meant he is lacking forward choices but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, Sunday’s showing was unacceptable –particularly following scoring first at a stadium primed to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is below par simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the European competition in the future, let alone one day mount an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as they have been.