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The Newcastle manager is not prone to dramatics or sweeping public pronouncements. Based on his usual demeanor, his media briefing after Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle took an early lead but West Ham were ahead by half-time, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a triple change at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think this indicated of where we were 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 since I’ve been head coach of the club, so I felt the squad required some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, but never really looking like they could fight back into the contest against a side that had secured just a single victory of their last nine fixtures. Given how packed the middle of the table is, with just three points separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from ten matches has not placed Newcastle adrift but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The problem to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the wealthiest owners in the world. The assumption when the Saudi fund bought 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would have a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that both of those owners assumed control before the advent of FFP rules (and the current charges against Manchester City relate to if they breached those regulations once they were in place).

Financial regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to spend money on their squads and therefore likely might have slowed every Middle Eastern effort to raise the team to the standard of City. But it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has; they could have invested further and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a relatively meagre European penalty given their big issue is more with the European than the Premier League regulation.

Stadium Investment and PSR Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is excluded from PSR calculations; the simplest way to increase revenue to create more financial headroom would be to extend or redevelop the arena. Considering the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that probably means constructing an entirely new stadium. There was talk in March of potentially undertaking the short move to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to create a replacement green space 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 shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club appears entirely in alignment with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was born of that tension. A bolder management could have framed his sale as essential to release funds for further investment; instead there was a vain attempt to retain him. This resulted in the team began the season amidst a sense of disappointment despite the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

But it appeared a turning point was reached. They had won five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a run that featured demolitions of a Belgian side and Benfica in the European competition. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was such a shock. The problem perhaps is that the team's approach is very aggressive, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have profound consequences. Perhaps the strain of Premier League, European and Carabao Cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had taken its toll. The German forward featured in each of those games and appeared particularly weary.

Reality of Modern Football

This is the reality of modern football. Coaches must be prepared to make changes. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the reasons, Sunday’s performance was inexcusable –particularly after scoring first at a stadium ready to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when all players is below par simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to secure the European competition in the future, not to mention eventually launch an actual title challenge, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.