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The Newcastle manager is not given to histrionics or sweeping public statements. So by his usual demeanor, his press conference after the weekend's loss to West Ham counts as a angry outburst. Newcastle scored first but West Ham were ahead by half-time, while also striking the woodwork and having a penalty revoked by VAR, leading Howe to make a triple change at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe this indicated of our performance level in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as head coach of Newcastle, so I felt the squad required 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 second half, 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 table currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of 12 points from 10 games has not left the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the richest owners in the world. The assumption when the PIF acquired 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would have a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group did at the Etihad. The distinction is that both of those investors took over before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (and the ongoing charges against Manchester City concern if they breached those guidelines after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions limit the ability of owners, however rich, to spend money on their teams and therefore probably would have slowed every Middle Eastern effort to elevate the team to the level of City. However there is no need for the club's expenditure to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have invested further and stayed inside the threshold – or simply taken a relatively meagre European fine since their major problem is more with the European than the domestic rules.

Stadium Spending and PSR Regulations

Additionally, stadium development is exempted from PSR calculations; the easiest method to increase revenue to create additional PSR headroom would be to expand or redevelop the stadium. Considering the site of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, practically that probably implies constructing an entirely new venue. There was talk in spring of possibly making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – resistance from local groups could surely have been overcome with a promise to build a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has been substantial cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on local investments; the attitude to Newcastle seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The star striker episode was arose from that conflict. A bolder management could have framed his sale as essential to release capital for additional investment; instead there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. That meant Newcastle started the campaign amidst a sense of disappointment even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was mixed: a single victory in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a turning point was reached. They had won five in six prior to the weekend, a streak that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. That’s why the display against West Ham was so surprising. The issue perhaps is that Newcastle’s style is extremely intense, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound consequences. Maybe the strain of domestic, European and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade featured in each of those matches and looked particularly fatigued.

The Nature of Contemporary Football

This is the reality of modern the sport. Managers must be ready to make changes. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has left him short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the explanations, the weekend's performance was unacceptable –especially following taking the lead at a ground primed to criticize its home team.

Howe will hope it was just a blip, one of those days when all players is below par at once, but if the Magpies are to secure the European competition in the future, not to mention one day mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as unreliable as this.