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Eddie Howe is not given to dramatics or sweeping media pronouncements. Based on his usual demeanor, his media briefing after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat counts as a furious outburst. His side scored first but West Ham took the lead by the interval, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a triple change at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe this indicated of where we were in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. In fact, I don’t think having done so during my tenure as manager of the club, therefore I believed the team required some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I made those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and Newcastle managed to steady to an extent in the latter period, without ever really looking like they could get back into the game against a side that had secured just a single victory of their last nine fixtures. Considering how packed the middle of the table is, with a mere three-point gap separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of 12 points from ten matches has not placed Newcastle adrift but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The problem partially is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle have the richest backers in the world. The expectation when the PIF acquired 80% of the club in recent years was that it would bring a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that those two investors took over before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (while the ongoing charges against City relate to if they breached those guidelines once they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their teams and so in that sense likely would have hindered any Saudi attempt to elevate Newcastle to the standard of Manchester City. However there is no need for Newcastle’s spending to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have spent more and remained within the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa fine given their major problem is more with the European than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Investment and Financial Rules

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR assessments; the simplest way to raise income to create additional financial flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the arena. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, practically that likely means building an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of possibly undertaking the short move to a local park – resistance from community organizations might have been surmounted with a promise to build a replacement green space on the current stadium site – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has occurred substantial cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle seems completely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak saga was born of that tension. A more confident leadership might have portrayed his transfer as essential to release capital for further investment; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to retain him. This resulted in the team started the campaign amidst a feeling of frustration even with the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was mixed: a single victory in their initial six games.

But it seemed a turning point was reached. They secured five victories in six matches before the weekend, a streak that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. This explains the performance against West Ham was so surprising. The problem maybe is that the team's approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have profound consequences. Perhaps the pressure of Premier League, Champions League and cup competition, five fixtures in 15 days, had taken its toll. The German forward started all five matches and appeared particularly fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Football

That’s the nature of today's football. Coaches have to be ready to make changes. The manager has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is lacking forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –especially after taking the lead at a ground primed to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was just a blip, one of those days when all players is below par at once, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League next season, let alone eventually launch an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as this.