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The Newcastle manager is not prone to histrionics or grand public pronouncements. Based on his usual demeanor, his press conference after Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a angry outburst. Newcastle took an early lead but West Ham were ahead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, leading Howe to make 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 think this indicated of our performance level at that stage in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I don’t think having done so since I’ve been head coach of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team needed a significant change at the break. That’s why I did what I did.”

Three key players were substituted at half-time and the team did stabilise to an extent in the latter period, without ever really looking like they could get back into the game against a side that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Considering the congestion the middle of the standings is, with a mere three-point gap separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from 10 games has not placed the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge partially is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club possess the richest backers in the world. The assumption at the time the PIF acquired a majority stake of the team in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, similar to the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two investors assumed control before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (and the current allegations against City relate to whether they breached those regulations after they were implemented).

Financial regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their squads and therefore likely might have hindered any Middle Eastern effort to elevate Newcastle to the standard of Manchester City. But there is no need for Newcastle’s spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they could have invested further and remained within the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa penalty since their big issue is more with the European than the Premier League regulation.

Infrastructure Spending and PSR Rules

Additionally, infrastructure spending is excluded from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the simplest method to increase revenue to create additional PSR headroom would be to expand or redevelop the stadium. Considering the location of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that likely means building an completely new venue. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking the short move to a local park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a promise to build a replacement green space on the existing ground location – but there has not been any progress on that proposal. There has been substantial cutbacks from the PIF on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle appears entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The Alexander Isak episode was born of that tension. A more confident leadership could have framed his transfer as essential to free up funds for further spending; instead there was a vain effort to retain him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amidst a feeling of frustration despite the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was mixed: a single victory in their initial six fixtures.

But it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five in six prior to Sunday, a run that included demolitions of a Belgian side and Benfica in the European competition. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was such a shock. The issue maybe is that the team's approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Maybe the strain of Premier League, Champions League and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started each of those matches and appeared particularly fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Soccer

That’s the reality of modern football. Coaches must be ready to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has left him lacking forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, Sunday’s showing was inexcusable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium ready to criticize its own side.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when everybody is off-colour at once, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, not to mention one day mount an actual title challenge, they must not be as inconsistent as they have been.