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Eddie Howe isn't typically given to histrionics or grand media statements. So by his standards, his media briefing following Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a angry outburst. His side scored first but the opposition were ahead by the interval, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, leading Howe to make a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of where we were in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I don’t think having done so since I’ve been head coach of Newcastle, so I felt the squad required a significant change at the break. This explains why I did what I did.”

Three key players all came off at the interval and the team managed to steady to an extent in the second half, without ever really looking like they could get back into the game against a side that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the centre of the table is, with just three points separating 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 left Newcastle stranded but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in 13th.

The Problem of Expectations

The challenge to an extent is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the richest owners in the globe. The assumption at the time the PIF acquired a majority stake of the team in 2021 was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those investors took over prior to the introduction of FFP regulations (and the ongoing charges against Manchester City concern if they violated those regulations once they were in place).

Profit and sustainability restrictions limit the ability of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and therefore likely would have slowed every Middle Eastern effort to raise Newcastle to the standard of Manchester City. But there is no need for the club's expenditure to have been so restrained as it has; they could have spent more and remained within the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa penalty given their big problem is more with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Spending and PSR Rules

Additionally, stadium development is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest way to raise income to generate additional financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Given the location of the home ground, with protected structures on multiple sides, in reality that probably means constructing an completely new venue. There was talk in spring of possibly making the short move to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a commitment to create a new park on the current ground location – but there has not been any progress on that proposal. There has been substantial cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on local investments; the approach to the football club appears completely in alignment with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was born of that tension. A bolder leadership could have portrayed his transfer as essential to release capital for additional spending; rather there was a vain effort to retain him. That meant the team began the season amidst a feeling of disappointment even with the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six games.

Yet it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches before the weekend, a run that featured convincing wins of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the display against West Ham was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that the team's approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound consequences. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward started all five games and looked particularly fatigued.

The Nature of Contemporary Soccer

This is the reality of modern football. Managers must be ready to rotate. Howe has been unfortunate that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is lacking forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the reasons, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss 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 European competition next season, let alone one day launch an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.