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The Newcastle manager is not prone to histrionics or sweeping public pronouncements. Based on his usual demeanor, his press conference after the weekend's loss to West Ham counts as a furious tirade. Newcastle took an early lead but the opposition took the lead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the half-time.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” Howe stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think that was a reflection of our performance level at that stage during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I don’t think I have since I’ve been head coach of the club, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Three key players all came off at the interval and the team did stabilise to an extent in the second half, without ever really looking like they might fight back into the contest against a side that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the middle of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap separating third from 11th, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, 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 Perception

The problem to an extent is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle possess the richest owners in the world. The expectation when the Saudi fund bought 80% of the team in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two investors took over prior to the introduction of financial fair play regulations (while the ongoing allegations against City relate to if they breached those guidelines after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their squads and therefore probably would have slowed any Middle Eastern effort to raise the team to the standard of Manchester City. However there is no need for Newcastle’s spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they could have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a relatively meagre European fine since their big issue is more with the continental than the domestic rules.

Stadium Spending and Financial Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the simplest way to increase revenue to generate more financial headroom would be to expand or redevelop the stadium. Considering the site of the home ground, with listed buildings on two sides, practically that probably implies building an completely new venue. There was talk in March of potentially making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – opposition from local groups could surely have been overcome with a promise to create a new park on the existing ground location – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has occurred significant cutbacks from the PIF on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to the football club appears entirely in keeping with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker saga was arose from that tension. A bolder management could have portrayed his transfer as essential to free up funds for additional investment; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to retain him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amidst a feeling of disappointment even with the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

But it seemed a corner was reached. They secured five victories in six matches before the weekend, a streak that included demolitions of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the European competition. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was so surprising. The problem maybe is that the team's approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound effects. Maybe the pressure of Premier League, European and Carabao Cup competition, five games in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade featured in each of those games and looked especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

That’s the nature of today's the sport. Coaches have to be ready to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, no matter how valid the explanations, Sunday’s performance was inexcusable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium ready to turn on its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour at once, but if Newcastle are to secure the European competition next season, let alone one day launch an genuine championship bid, they cannot be as unreliable as they have been.