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The Newcastle manager is not given to dramatics or grand media pronouncements. Based on his usual demeanor, his press conference after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat qualifies as a angry outburst. His side scored first but the opposition were ahead by half-time, while also striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a three substitutions at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think that was a reflection of our performance level in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as manager of the club, so I felt the squad required a significant change at the break. That’s why I did what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and the team managed to steady to an extent 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 last nine fixtures. Given how packed the centre of the table is, with just three points separating the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a sequence of twelve points from 10 games has not left the Magpies adrift but, equally, they must not finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The problem to an extent is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the wealthiest backers in the world. The expectation at the time the Saudi fund bought a majority stake of the club in 2021 was that it would have a transformative effect, as Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those owners assumed control prior to the introduction of financial fair play rules (and the ongoing charges against Manchester City concern if they violated those regulations after they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and therefore probably would have hindered every Saudi attempt to elevate the team to the level of City. But it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they could have invested further and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a relatively meagre European penalty since their big problem is more with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Investment and Financial Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is excluded from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the easiest method to raise income to generate more PSR flexibility would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Considering the site of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that probably implies constructing an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of possibly making the short move to Leazes Park – resistance from local groups could surely have been overcome with a promise to create a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has occurred significant retrenchment from the PIF on a variety of initiatives as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club seems entirely in alignment with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was born of that tension. A more confident leadership could have portrayed his transfer as essential to free up capital for further spending; rather there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amidst a sense of frustration despite the signings of several new players. The start was mixed: one win in their first six games.

But it seemed a corner had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches before the weekend, a run that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. That’s why the display against West Ham was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in energy can have significant consequences. Perhaps the strain of domestic, European and Carabao Cup competition, five games in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade started all five games and appeared especially fatigued.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

That’s the nature of modern football. Coaches have to be ready to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –particularly following scoring first at a stadium ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, an off-day when everybody is off-colour at once, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, not to mention one day launch an actual championship bid, they must not be as inconsistent as this.