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Eddie Howe is not prone to histrionics or grand media statements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing following Sunday’s 3-1 defeat counts as a furious tirade. Newcastle took an early lead 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 three substitutions at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think that was a reflection of our performance level at that stage in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. Actually, I cannot recall I have since I’ve been head coach of the club, so I felt the squad required a significant change at the break. This explains why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at the interval and Newcastle managed to steady somewhat in the latter period, but never appearing like they might get back into the game against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Considering how packed the centre of the standings currently is, with just three points separating the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not left Newcastle adrift but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the wealthiest owners in the globe. The expectation at the time the PIF acquired 80% of the club in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that both of those owners took over before the advent of FFP regulations (and the ongoing allegations against City relate to whether they breached those guidelines once they were in place).

Financial restrictions restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and therefore probably would have slowed every Saudi attempt to raise Newcastle to the level of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been quite as cautious as it has; they might have invested further and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor European penalty given their major issue is more with the European than the domestic rules.

Infrastructure Investment and Financial Rules

Besides which, infrastructure spending is excluded from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest method to raise income to create additional financial headroom would be to expand or redevelop the stadium. Considering the site of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on multiple sides, in reality that likely means building an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking 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 current ground location – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has occurred significant cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The star striker saga was born of that tension. A bolder leadership could have portrayed his sale as necessary to release capital for additional spending; instead there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. That meant Newcastle began the season amid a feeling of frustration even with the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was indifferent: one win in their initial six games.

But it appeared a turning point was reached. They secured five in six before Sunday, a run that featured demolitions of a Belgian side and Benfica in the European competition. That’s why the display against the Hammers was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have profound effects. Maybe the pressure of Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade featured in all five games and appeared especially fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Football

That’s the nature of today's the sport. Coaches have to be ready to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking attacking options but, regardless of how valid the explanations, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly following scoring first at a ground ready to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the European competition in the future, let alone one day launch an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as they have been.