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Eddie Howe isn't typically prone to histrionics or sweeping media pronouncements. So by his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a angry tirade. Newcastle scored first but the opposition were ahead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think that was a reflection of where we were in that moment during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. Actually, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, so I felt the squad needed a significant change at the break. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and Newcastle managed to steady 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 previous nine league matches. Considering how packed the middle of the table currently is, with just three points dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The problem partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the richest owners in the globe. The expectation at the time the PIF bought a majority stake of the club in 2021 was that it would bring a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that both of those owners assumed control before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (and the ongoing allegations against City concern if they breached those guidelines after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions restrict the capacity of owners, however rich, to spend money on their teams and so in that sense probably might have slowed any Saudi effort to elevate the team to the level of City. However there is no need for the club's expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has; they could have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor European fine given their major problem is primarily with the European than the domestic regulation.

Stadium Investment and Financial Rules

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR assessments; the easiest method to raise income to generate more financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the arena. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with protected structures on multiple sides, in reality that likely implies building an entirely new venue. There was talk in spring of potentially undertaking the nearby relocation to a local park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to build a replacement green space on the existing stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has occurred substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that conflict. A more confident management could have framed his transfer as necessary to release funds for further investment; instead there was a vain effort to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amid a feeling of disappointment despite the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches before Sunday, a run that featured convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the European competition. This explains the display against the Hammers was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have significant effects. Perhaps the pressure of Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had taken its toll. The German forward featured in each of those matches and appeared particularly fatigued.

Reality of Modern Football

This is the reality of today's football. Coaches have to be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is short of forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after scoring first at a stadium ready to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when all players is below par simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to secure the Champions League in the future, not to mention one day mount an actual title challenge, they must not be as inconsistent as this.