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The Newcastle manager is not given to histrionics or sweeping media statements. So by his standards, his press conference after 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 striking the woodwork and having a penalty overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to execute a three substitutions 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 in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as head coach of the club, therefore I believed the squad required some shaking up at the break. This explains why I did what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the second half, without ever appearing like they might fight back into the game against a side that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Considering how packed the middle of the standings is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they must not end the campaign in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club possess the richest backers in the world. The assumption when the PIF acquired a majority stake of the team in 2021 was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or the City Group did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two owners assumed control before the advent of FFP regulations (while the current charges against City relate to if they breached those guidelines after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to spend money on their teams and so in that sense probably might have slowed any Saudi attempt to elevate Newcastle to the level of Manchester City. However there is no need for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have invested further and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a relatively meagre European penalty given their major problem is primarily with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Investment and PSR Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR assessments; the simplest way to raise income to create more financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the arena. Given the location of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that probably implies building an entirely new venue. There was talk in spring of potentially undertaking the nearby relocation to a local park – opposition from local groups might have been surmounted with a promise to build a new park on the current stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has been significant retrenchment from the PIF on a variety of initiatives as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle appears completely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker episode was born of that tension. A more confident leadership could have framed his sale as necessary to release capital for additional spending; instead there was a vain effort to retain him. That meant 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 start was mixed: one win in their initial six games.

But it appeared a turning point was reached. They secured five in six prior to the weekend, a run that included demolitions of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the display against the Hammers was such a shock. The problem maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Perhaps the strain of Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward featured in all five games and looked especially fatigued.

Reality of Modern Football

That’s the nature of today's football. Coaches have to be ready to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s fitness issue has left him lacking attacking options but, no matter how valid the explanations, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –especially after scoring first at a stadium ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, an off-day when all players is below par at once, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the European competition next season, let alone eventually mount an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as this.