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Eddie Howe is not prone to dramatics or sweeping public statements. Based on his usual demeanor, his media briefing after the weekend's loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious outburst. His side scored first but the opposition were ahead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of where we were in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. Actually, I don’t think having done so during my tenure as manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the squad required some shaking up at the break. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Three key players all came off at the interval and the team did stabilise somewhat in the second half, without ever really looking like they could fight back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the middle of the table is, with a mere three-point gap separating third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from ten matches has not left the Magpies stranded but, equally, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the richest owners in the globe. The assumption when the Saudi fund acquired 80% of the club in 2021 was that it would bring a transformative effect, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two owners assumed control prior to the advent of financial fair play rules (and the current allegations against City relate to if they violated those regulations once they were in place).

Financial regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their squads and therefore probably would have slowed any Saudi attempt to raise the team to the standard of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they could have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a relatively meagre Uefa fine since their big problem is more with the European than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Spending and Financial Regulations

Additionally, stadium development is excluded from PSR calculations; the simplest way to raise income to generate more financial headroom would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Given the site of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that likely means constructing an completely new stadium. There was talk in March of possibly making the short move to a local park – opposition from local groups could surely have been overcome with a promise to build a replacement green space on the current ground location – but there has been no movement on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to the football club seems completely in alignment with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Situation

The Alexander Isak saga was born of that tension. A bolder leadership could have framed his sale as essential to free up funds for further investment; rather there was a vain effort to retain him. That meant Newcastle began the season amid a feeling of disappointment despite the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was indifferent: one win in their first six games.

Yet it appeared a corner was reached. They had won five victories in six matches before the weekend, a streak that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. This explains the performance against West Ham was such a shock. The issue maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started each of those matches and appeared especially fatigued.

The Nature of Contemporary Football

That’s the nature of modern the sport. Managers have to be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's fitness issue has meant he is short of attacking options but, regardless of how valid the reasons, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –especially after scoring first at a stadium ready to turn on its home team.

Howe will hope it was just a blip, an off-day when all players is below par simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to secure the European competition next season, not to mention one day mount an actual title challenge, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.