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Eddie Howe isn't typically prone to dramatics or sweeping public statements. Based on his standards, his press conference after the weekend's loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle scored first but West Ham took the lead by half-time, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a triple change 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 that was a reflection of where we were in that moment in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall having done so during my tenure as manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the squad needed a significant change at half-time. This explains why I made those decisions.”

Three key players all came off at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, without ever really looking like they could fight back into the contest against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Considering how packed the middle of the table 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 10 games has not placed Newcastle stranded but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the richest owners in the world. The expectation when the PIF acquired 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would have a transformative effect, as the former Chelsea owner achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that both of those investors assumed control before the introduction of FFP rules (and the current allegations against Manchester City relate to if they violated those regulations after they were in place).

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 would have hindered any Saudi effort to elevate the team to the level of City. But it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have spent more and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a relatively meagre Uefa penalty since their big problem is primarily with the European than the Premier League regulation.

Stadium Spending and Financial Regulations

Additionally, stadium development is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest way to increase revenue to generate more financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Given the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on two sides, in reality that likely means constructing an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially making the short move to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a commitment to build a replacement green space on the existing ground location – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has been significant retrenchment from the PIF on a range of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle seems completely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak saga was born of that conflict. A bolder management might have framed his sale as essential to release capital for additional investment; instead there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. That meant Newcastle began the season amidst a sense of frustration despite the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six games.

Yet it appeared a turning point was reached. They secured five in six before the weekend, a streak that featured convincing wins of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the European competition. That’s why the display against West Ham was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's style is very aggressive, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound consequences. Maybe the strain of domestic, European and cup competition, five games in 15 days, had taken its toll. The German forward featured in each of those matches and looked especially weary.

Reality of Contemporary Football

That’s the reality of today's football. Coaches must be ready to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has left him short of attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the reasons, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –especially following taking the lead at a stadium primed to turn on its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour at once, but if Newcastle are to secure the Champions League in the future, not to mention eventually mount an actual title challenge, they must not be as inconsistent as this.