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Eddie Howe is not given to histrionics or sweeping media statements. So by his usual demeanor, his press conference following the weekend's loss to West Ham counts as a furious tirade. His side scored first but the opposition took the lead by the interval, while also hitting the post and having a penalty overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a triple change at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of our performance level at that stage during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. Actually, I don’t think I have since I’ve been head coach of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team required a significant change at half-time. This explains why I did what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the second half, but never really looking like they might get back into the contest against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine league matches. Given how packed the middle of the table is, with a mere three-point gap dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the wealthiest owners in the world. The expectation at the time the PIF bought 80% of the team in recent years was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as the former Chelsea owner achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those investors took over before the introduction of financial fair play rules (and the ongoing charges against City concern if they breached those guidelines after they were in place).

Financial restrictions limit the ability of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their squads and therefore likely would have slowed any Saudi attempt to raise the team to the standard of City. However there is no need for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or simply taken a fairly minor Uefa penalty since their big issue is more with the European than the Premier League regulation.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Rules

Additionally, stadium development is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest way to raise income to create more PSR flexibility would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Considering the location of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that probably implies constructing an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of potentially making the nearby relocation to a local park – resistance from local groups could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to build a replacement green space on the existing stadium site – but there has been no movement on that plan. There has been significant cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to Newcastle appears entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The star striker episode was arose from that conflict. A bolder leadership might have portrayed his sale as necessary to free up capital for additional spending; rather there was a vain attempt to keep him. This resulted in the team began the season amidst a feeling of disappointment despite the signings of several new players. The opening was mixed: a single victory in their initial six fixtures.

But it seemed a turning point was reached. They had won five in six before the weekend, a run that featured demolitions of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the European competition. That’s why the performance against West Ham was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is very aggressive, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Perhaps the strain of domestic, European and Carabao Cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had taken its toll. Woltemade started each of those matches and looked especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

This is the nature of modern the sport. Coaches have to be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's fitness issue has meant he is short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the reasons, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –particularly following scoring first at a stadium ready to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was just a blip, an off-day when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League next season, not to mention one day mount an actual championship bid, they must not be as inconsistent as this.