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Eddie Howe is not prone to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing following the weekend's 3-1 defeat qualifies as a angry outburst. His side took an early lead but the opposition took the lead by half-time, while also striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make 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 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. Actually, I don’t think I have during my tenure as manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team needed a significant change at half-time. That’s why I did those decisions.”

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 might fight back into the game against a side that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Given the congestion the centre of the standings is, with just three points dividing the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from 10 games has not left Newcastle stranded but, similarly, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Problem of Expectations

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the wealthiest owners in the globe. The expectation when the PIF acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those investors took over prior to the advent of FFP regulations (while the current allegations against City concern if they violated those regulations after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the ability of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and therefore probably might have hindered any Saudi attempt to raise Newcastle to the standard of City. However it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they might have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a fairly minor European penalty since their major issue is more with the continental than the domestic rules.

Infrastructure Investment and Financial Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR calculations; the easiest method to raise income to create additional financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Considering the site of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that probably means building an entirely new venue. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking the nearby relocation to a local park – opposition from community organizations might have been overcome with a promise to build a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has been no movement on that proposal. There has been significant retrenchment from the PIF on a range of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to Newcastle appears completely in keeping with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that tension. A more confident management might have portrayed his sale as essential to release funds for further spending; instead there was a vain attempt to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amidst a sense of frustration even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their initial six fixtures.

Yet it appeared a corner had been turned. They secured five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a streak that included convincing wins of a Belgian side and Benfica in the European competition. This explains the display against West Ham was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's style is extremely intense, high-energy; a slight drop-off in energy can have significant effects. Maybe the strain of domestic, Champions League and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had taken its toll. The German forward started all five matches and appeared particularly fatigued.

Reality of Modern Football

This is the nature of today's the sport. Managers must be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's injury has left him short of forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, Sunday’s showing was unacceptable –particularly after scoring first at a stadium ready to criticize its home team.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to secure the Champions League next season, not to mention one day mount an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as they have been.