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The Newcastle manager isn't typically given to histrionics or grand public pronouncements. Based on his standards, his media briefing after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a angry tirade. Newcastle took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by the interval, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe this indicated of where we were in that moment during the match 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 Newcastle, therefore I believed the team required some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Three key players all came off at half-time and Newcastle managed to steady somewhat in the second half, but never really looking like they could fight back into the contest against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Given the congestion the middle of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of twelve points from 10 games has not placed the Magpies adrift but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The problem partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle possess the richest owners in the world. The expectation at the time the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or the City Group did at the Etihad. The distinction is that both of those owners took over prior to the advent of financial fair play regulations (while the current charges against City concern whether they breached those regulations once they were in place).

Financial regulations restrict the ability of owners, however rich, to invest funds on their squads and therefore likely might have hindered any Middle Eastern attempt to elevate Newcastle to the level of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for the club's expenditure to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have invested further and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor European fine given their big issue is more with the continental than the Premier League regulation.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Regulations

Additionally, stadium development is excluded from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest method to raise income to create additional PSR headroom would be to extend or renovate the arena. Considering the location of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, practically that likely means building an entirely new stadium. There was talk in March of possibly making the short move to Leazes Park – opposition from local groups might have been overcome with a commitment to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has occurred substantial retrenchment from the PIF on a variety of initiatives as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle seems entirely in keeping with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker episode was arose from that tension. A more confident management might have portrayed his sale as essential to release capital for further investment; instead there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle began the season amidst a feeling of frustration even with the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six games.

But it seemed a turning point had been turned. They secured five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a streak that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the display against West Ham was so surprising. The issue maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have profound consequences. Maybe the pressure of domestic, European and Carabao Cup competition, five games in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade featured in each of those matches and appeared particularly weary.

Reality of Contemporary Soccer

That’s the nature of today's football. Managers have to be ready to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, regardless of how valid the explanations, Sunday’s performance was inexcusable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium ready to criticize its home team.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, one of those days when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, not to mention eventually mount an genuine championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as this.