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Eddie Howe isn't typically prone to dramatics or sweeping public statements. Based on his usual demeanor, his press conference following the weekend's loss to West Ham qualifies as a angry tirade. His side scored first but West Ham were ahead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe that was a reflection of where we were at that stage during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall having done so since I’ve been manager of the club, so I felt the squad needed some shaking up at half-time. This explains why I did what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the latter period, but never appearing like they might get back into the contest against a side that had secured just a single victory of their last nine fixtures. Given how packed the centre of the standings currently is, with just three points separating third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies adrift but, similarly, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Problem of Expectations

The problem partially is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club have the wealthiest backers in the globe. The assumption at the time the PIF bought 80% of the team in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The distinction is that those two owners took over before the introduction of FFP rules (and the ongoing charges against City relate to whether they breached those guidelines after they were implemented).

Financial restrictions restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and therefore likely might have slowed every Middle Eastern attempt to raise the team to the level of Manchester City. But there is no need for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been so restrained as it has; they could have invested further and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa penalty since their major issue is more with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest way to raise income to create additional financial flexibility would be to expand or renovate the arena. Given the site of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that probably implies constructing an entirely new stadium. There was talk in March of possibly undertaking the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a promise to create a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has been significant retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on local investments; the approach to Newcastle appears entirely in alignment with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The star striker episode was born of that tension. A more confident leadership might have portrayed his sale as essential to free up capital for further investment; rather there was a vain effort to keep him. That meant Newcastle started the campaign amidst a sense of disappointment despite the signings 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 corner had been turned. They secured five in six before the weekend, a streak that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. That’s why the performance against West Ham was so surprising. The problem maybe is that Newcastle’s style is very aggressive, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Perhaps the strain of Premier League, Champions League and cup competition, five fixtures in 15 days, had taken its toll. Woltemade featured in all five matches and appeared particularly fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Football

That’s the reality of modern the sport. Coaches must be ready to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has left him lacking attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –especially after taking the lead at a ground ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is below par at once, but if Newcastle are to secure the European competition in the future, let alone one day launch an actual championship bid, they must not be as inconsistent as they have been.