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Eddie Howe is not prone to histrionics or grand public statements. Based on his usual demeanor, his media briefing after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a angry outburst. His side scored first but West Ham were ahead by half-time, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe that was a reflection of our performance level 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 during my tenure as manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team needed some shaking up at the break. That’s why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, but never appearing like they could get back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their last nine league matches. Considering the congestion the centre of the standings currently is, with just three points separating the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not placed Newcastle adrift but, equally, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the wealthiest backers in the globe. The assumption when the PIF acquired a majority stake of the club in 2021 was that it would bring a transformative effect, as Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two owners took over before the advent of FFP regulations (while the current allegations against Manchester City relate to if they violated those regulations after they were in place).

Profit and sustainability restrictions limit the capacity of owners, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and therefore probably might have hindered any Saudi attempt to elevate Newcastle to the standard of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has; they could have spent more and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor European penalty given their big problem is more with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Investment and PSR Rules

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest method to raise income to generate additional financial flexibility would be to expand or redevelop the stadium. Considering the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, in reality that likely means constructing an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially making the short move to a local park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a commitment to build a replacement green space on the current ground location – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle appears entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The star striker saga was born of that tension. A more confident leadership could have portrayed his sale as necessary to release capital for additional investment; rather there was a vain effort to retain him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amid a sense of disappointment despite the signings of several new players. The opening was mixed: a single victory in their first six games.

Yet it appeared a turning point had been turned. They secured five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a streak that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. This explains the display against the Hammers was so surprising. The issue perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant effects. Maybe the pressure of Premier League, European and cup competition, five games in 15 days, had taken its toll. Woltemade featured in all five games and looked especially fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Soccer

This is the nature of modern the sport. Managers have to be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has left him lacking forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the explanations, Sunday’s showing was inexcusable –particularly following taking the lead at a stadium primed to criticize its home team.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to secure the European competition in the future, let alone eventually mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as this.