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The Newcastle manager isn't typically given to histrionics or sweeping public pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing after Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle scored first but the opposition were ahead by half-time, while also striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to execute a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe that was a reflection of where we were at that stage in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. In fact, I don’t think I have during my tenure as manager of the club, so I felt the team required a significant change at half-time. This explains why I did what I did.”

Three key players were substituted at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the second half, but never appearing like they might get back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine league matches. Given how packed the centre of the standings is, with just three points dividing third from 11th, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from 10 games has not left Newcastle stranded but, similarly, they must not end the campaign in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge partially is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle have the wealthiest backers in the globe. The expectation at the time the Saudi fund acquired 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two owners took over prior to the advent of financial fair play rules (and the current allegations against Manchester City concern whether they violated those regulations after they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their teams and so in that sense probably would have slowed any Middle Eastern effort to raise the team to the standard of City. But there is no need for the club's spending to have been quite as cautious as it has; they could have spent more and stayed inside the threshold – or simply taken a relatively meagre Uefa penalty given their big problem is more with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Investment and PSR Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the simplest method to raise income to create additional financial flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Considering the site of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, in reality that probably means building an completely new venue. Rumors circulated in spring of possibly making the short move to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations might have been overcome with a commitment to build a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that proposal. There has been substantial cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a range of projects as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club appears entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker saga was born of that tension. A bolder management could have portrayed his transfer as essential to release capital for further spending; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. That meant the team started the campaign amid a feeling of disappointment even with the signings of several new players. The start was indifferent: a single victory in their first six games.

Yet it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches before the weekend, a streak that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the European competition. This explains the display against West Ham was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have profound effects. Maybe the pressure of Premier League, European and cup competition, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward featured in each of those games and appeared particularly weary.

The Nature of Contemporary Football

This is the reality of today's the sport. Managers have to be ready to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's injury has meant he is short of forward choices but, regardless of how valid the explanations, Sunday’s performance was inexcusable –particularly following scoring first at a stadium primed to turn on its home team.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when everybody is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the European competition in the future, not to mention eventually launch an actual championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as they have been.