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Eddie Howe isn't typically prone to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. Based on his usual demeanor, his media briefing after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a angry tirade. Newcastle 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. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe that was a reflection of our performance level at that stage during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall I have since I’ve been manager of the club, so I felt the team required a significant change at half-time. This explains why I made those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the second half, without ever appearing like they could fight back into the game against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their last nine league matches. Considering how packed the middle of the standings is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies stranded but, equally, they must not finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Expectations

The problem partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the richest owners in the globe. The expectation at the time the PIF bought 80% of the club in 2021 was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those investors took over prior to the introduction of financial fair play rules (while the ongoing charges against City relate to whether they breached those regulations after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions restrict the ability of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and so in that sense probably might have slowed every Middle Eastern effort to raise the team to the level of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have spent more and remained within the limit – or just accepted a relatively meagre Uefa penalty since their major problem is primarily with the continental than the Premier League regulation.

Stadium Spending and PSR Rules

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest method to raise income to create more PSR flexibility would be to extend or renovate the stadium. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, practically that likely implies constructing an entirely new venue. Rumors circulated in March of possibly undertaking the short move to a local park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a promise to create a new park on the existing ground location – but there has not been no movement on that plan. There has been significant retrenchment from the PIF on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club seems entirely in keeping with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker saga was arose from that tension. A bolder management might have framed his transfer as necessary to free up capital for additional investment; instead there was a vain attempt to retain him. That meant the team started the campaign amidst 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 initial six games.

Yet it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a run that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the display against West Ham was so surprising. The issue perhaps is that the team's style is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have profound effects. Maybe the strain of domestic, European and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started all five matches and looked especially weary.

Reality of Contemporary Football

This is the reality of today's football. Managers must be ready to rotate. Howe has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the explanations, the weekend's showing was inexcusable –particularly after scoring first at a ground primed to criticize its own side.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour at once, but if the Magpies are to secure the European competition next season, not to mention eventually mount an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as this.