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The Newcastle manager isn't typically prone to dramatics or sweeping public statements. Based on his standards, his media briefing following the weekend's loss to West Ham counts as a furious tirade. Newcastle took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by the interval, while also striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think that was a reflection of where we were in that moment in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall having done so during my tenure as head coach of Newcastle, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at the break. That’s why I made those decisions.”

Three key players all came off at the interval and Newcastle managed to steady somewhat in the latter period, but never appearing like they might fight back into the contest against a side that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Given how packed the centre of the standings is, with just three points separating third from 11th, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not placed Newcastle adrift but, similarly, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Problem of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the wealthiest backers in the world. The expectation at the time the PIF acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The distinction is that those two investors took over before the introduction of FFP regulations (and the current allegations against Manchester City relate to whether they violated those guidelines once they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and therefore likely might have slowed every Saudi effort to raise the team to the standard of City. But there is no need for Newcastle’s spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they could have spent more and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor European penalty since their big problem is primarily with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Investment and PSR Rules

Besides which, stadium development is exempted from PSR calculations; the easiest method to raise income to generate additional PSR flexibility would be to expand or renovate the arena. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that probably implies building an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of potentially making the short move to a local park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a commitment to create a replacement green space on the existing stadium site – but there has been no movement on that plan. There has occurred significant retrenchment from the PIF on a range of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the approach to Newcastle appears entirely in alignment with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker episode was born of that conflict. A bolder leadership might have portrayed his sale as necessary to free up capital for further spending; instead there was a vain attempt to retain him. That meant the team started the campaign amid a sense of disappointment despite the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six games.

Yet it appeared a corner was reached. They secured five in six before the weekend, a run that included demolitions of a Belgian side and Benfica in the European competition. That’s why the display against West Ham was such a shock. The problem maybe is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant effects. Maybe the strain of Premier League, European and cup competition, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. The German forward featured in each of those matches and looked especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Football

That’s the reality of today's football. Coaches must be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has meant he is short of attacking options but, no matter how valid the explanations, Sunday’s performance was inexcusable –particularly following taking the lead at a ground ready to criticize its own side.

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