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The Newcastle manager is not prone to histrionics or sweeping media statements. Based on his standards, his press conference following the weekend's 3-1 defeat qualifies as a furious outburst. His side took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by half-time, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions 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 where we were in that moment during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall having done so since I’ve been manager of the club, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at half-time. This explains why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and the team did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, but never really looking like they might get back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their last nine league matches. Given how packed the middle of the table is, with a mere three-point gap separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of twelve points from 10 games has not placed Newcastle adrift but, similarly, they must not finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The problem partially is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle possess the wealthiest owners in the globe. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the club in 2021 was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or the City Group did at the Etihad. The distinction is that those two investors assumed control before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (while the current allegations against Manchester City concern if they violated those regulations after they were implemented).

Financial regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and therefore likely might have slowed every Saudi attempt to elevate the team to the standard of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for the club's expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has; they could have invested further and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa fine since their major problem is primarily with the continental than the domestic rules.

Stadium Investment and Financial Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest method to increase revenue to generate additional financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the arena. Given the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on two sides, practically that probably means constructing an completely new venue. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – opposition from local groups might have been overcome with a commitment to build a new park on the existing ground location – but there has been any progress on that proposal. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on local investments; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The Alexander Isak saga was born of that tension. A more confident leadership might have portrayed his sale as necessary to release funds for additional spending; instead there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. That meant the team began the season amid a feeling of frustration despite the acquisitions of several new players. The start was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six fixtures.

But it seemed a turning point was reached. They had won five in six before Sunday, a streak that featured convincing wins of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the European competition. This explains the performance against the Hammers was such a shock. The problem perhaps is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a slight drop-off in intensity can have significant effects. Perhaps the pressure of Premier League, European and cup competition, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. The German forward started all five games and appeared particularly weary.

Reality of Contemporary Football

That’s the reality of today's football. Managers must be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is short of attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's showing was inexcusable –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 everybody is off-colour at once, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, let alone eventually mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as this.