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The Newcastle manager isn't typically prone to dramatics or grand media statements. Based on his standards, his media briefing following Sunday’s 3-1 defeat counts as a furious outburst. Newcastle took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by the interval, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think that was a reflection of our performance level in that moment during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did what I did.”

Three key players were substituted at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, but never really looking like they might get back into the game against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Given the congestion the centre of the standings 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 Newcastle stranded but, equally, they must not finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The problem to an extent is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle possess the richest backers in the world. The expectation at the time the Saudi fund acquired 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would bring a transformative effect, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that both of those investors took over before the introduction of financial fair play rules (and the current charges against City relate to whether they violated those guidelines once they were implemented).

Financial regulations limit the ability of owners, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their squads and therefore probably might have hindered any Saudi attempt to elevate Newcastle to the level of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they might have invested further and remained within the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor European fine given their major issue is primarily with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Spending and PSR Rules

Additionally, infrastructure spending is excluded from PSR calculations; the simplest method to raise income to create more PSR flexibility would be to extend or renovate the stadium. Considering the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, in reality that likely means constructing an completely new venue. There was talk in spring of potentially making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a promise to build a new park on the existing ground location – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has occurred substantial cutbacks from the PIF on a range of projects as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club appears entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that tension. A bolder leadership might have portrayed his sale as necessary to free up funds for further spending; rather there was a vain effort to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amid a feeling of disappointment even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was mixed: one win in their first six fixtures.

But it seemed a corner had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches prior to Sunday, a streak that featured convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. This explains the display against West Ham was so surprising. The issue perhaps is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Maybe the strain of Premier League, Champions League and cup competition, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. The German forward started all five matches and looked particularly weary.

Reality of Contemporary Football

This is the reality of modern the sport. Coaches have to be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's injury has meant he is short of forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the reasons, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –especially following scoring first at a ground ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, an off-day when everybody is below par at once, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League next season, not to mention one day launch an genuine title challenge, they must not be as inconsistent as they have been.