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Eddie Howe is not given to histrionics or sweeping public statements. Based on his standards, his media briefing following Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of where we were in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. Actually, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as manager of the club, so I felt the squad needed a significant change at half-time. That’s why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the second half, without ever really looking like they could fight back into the contest against a side that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Given how packed the middle of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap separating the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from ten matches has not left the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the richest owners in the world. The expectation at the time the PIF acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that those two owners assumed control before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (and the ongoing allegations against City concern if they violated those guidelines after they were in place).

Financial restrictions restrict the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to spend money on their teams and so in that sense probably might have slowed any Middle Eastern attempt to raise Newcastle to the standard of Manchester City. But there is no need for the club's expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have spent more and remained within the limit – or simply taken a fairly minor European fine since their big issue is primarily with the European than the domestic regulation.

Infrastructure Spending and PSR Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest way to raise income to create more financial flexibility would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on two sides, practically that likely means constructing an completely new venue. There was talk in spring of possibly making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – opposition from local groups could surely have been surmounted with a promise to build a new park on the existing ground location – but there has been no movement on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a variety of projects as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the approach to the football club seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The Alexander Isak saga was born of that tension. A bolder leadership could have portrayed his transfer as essential to release capital for further spending; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to retain him. That meant the team started the campaign amidst a feeling of frustration despite the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six games.

But it seemed a corner was reached. They secured five in six before Sunday, a streak that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the European competition. This explains the performance against the Hammers was so surprising. The problem maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have significant consequences. Maybe the pressure of domestic, European and cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade featured in all five matches and looked particularly weary.

Reality of Modern Soccer

This is the nature of today's the sport. Managers must be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's injury has meant he is short of forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium primed to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is below par at once, but if the Magpies are to secure the Champions League next season, not to mention eventually launch an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as they have been.