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Eddie Howe isn't typically given to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. Based on his standards, his media briefing after the weekend's loss to West Ham qualifies as a angry tirade. Newcastle scored first but the opposition took the lead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and having a penalty overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe this indicated of our performance level at that stage in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. In fact, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of the club, therefore I believed the team required some shaking up at the break. This explains why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at the interval and the team did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, but never really looking like they could get back into the game against a side that had won only one of their last nine league matches. Given the congestion the centre of the standings is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from 10 games has not left the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The problem partially is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club have the richest owners in the globe. The expectation at the time the PIF bought a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those owners assumed control prior to the advent of financial fair play rules (and the current allegations against City relate to whether they breached those guidelines after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the capacity of owners, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and therefore probably would have hindered any Saudi effort to raise the team to the level of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s spending to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they might have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a relatively meagre European penalty given their big problem is primarily with the European than the domestic regulation.

Infrastructure Investment and Financial Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is excluded from PSR assessments; the easiest way to raise income to create more PSR headroom would be to expand or redevelop the stadium. Given the location of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on two sides, practically that likely implies constructing an completely new venue. There was talk in spring of possibly undertaking the short move to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has not been no movement on that plan. There has been significant cutbacks from the PIF on a range of initiatives as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to Newcastle seems entirely in keeping with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that tension. A bolder leadership might have framed his sale as essential to release funds for additional spending; rather there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. That meant the team began the season amid a sense of frustration even with the acquisitions of several new players. The start was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six games.

But it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five in six prior to the weekend, a streak that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the European competition. This explains the display against West Ham was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that the team's style is extremely intense, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have profound effects. Perhaps the strain of domestic, European and Carabao Cup matches, five games in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade featured in all five matches and looked especially fatigued.

The Nature of Contemporary Football

That’s the reality of today's the sport. Managers must be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –especially after taking the lead at a ground primed to turn on its home team.

Howe will hope it was just a blip, 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 one day mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as this.