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Eddie Howe is not prone to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. Based on his standards, his press conference following Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle took an early lead but the opposition took the lead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty revoked by VAR, leading Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think 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 team needed some shaking up at the break. This explains why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the second half, without ever really looking like they could fight back into the game against a side that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Given the congestion the centre of the table currently is, with just three points separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a run of 12 points from 10 games has not left the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they cannot end the campaign in 13th.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club have the wealthiest owners in the world. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired 80% of the club in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The distinction is that both of those investors assumed control prior to the advent of financial fair play regulations (while the ongoing charges against Manchester City relate to if they breached those guidelines after they were in place).

Financial regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to spend money on their teams and therefore probably would have slowed any Middle Eastern effort to elevate the team to the standard of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has; they might have spent more and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor European fine since their big issue is primarily with the continental than the domestic rules.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Rules

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the simplest method to raise income to generate more PSR headroom would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Considering the site of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that probably means building an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of possibly making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations might have been overcome with a commitment to create a new park on the existing ground location – but there has not been no movement on that proposal. There has been substantial cutbacks from the PIF on a variety of initiatives as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to the football club seems entirely in keeping with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak saga was arose from that conflict. A bolder leadership might have portrayed his sale as necessary to release funds for additional spending; rather there was a vain attempt to retain him. This resulted in the team started the campaign amidst a feeling of frustration even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was mixed: one win in their initial six fixtures.

Yet it appeared a turning point was reached. They secured five in six before the weekend, a run that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the European competition. That’s why the performance against West Ham was such a shock. The issue maybe is that Newcastle’s style is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Maybe the pressure of Premier League, Champions League and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had taken its toll. Woltemade started all five games and appeared especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Football

This is the reality of today's football. Managers have to be ready to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has left him short of attacking options but, regardless of how valid the explanations, Sunday’s showing was unacceptable –particularly following taking the lead at a stadium ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour at once, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the European competition in the future, not to mention eventually launch an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as this.