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The Newcastle manager is not prone to dramatics or grand media statements. So by his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a furious outburst. His side took an early lead but the opposition were ahead by half-time, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe this indicated of our performance level in that moment in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as manager of the club, therefore I believed the team needed a significant change at the break. That’s why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, without ever appearing like they could get back into the game against a side that had won only one of their previous nine league matches. Given how packed the middle of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a run of twelve points from ten matches has not placed Newcastle adrift but, similarly, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The problem partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the richest backers in the world. The expectation when the PIF acquired 80% of the team in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those owners took over prior to the introduction of FFP regulations (and the ongoing allegations against Manchester City relate to if they breached those regulations after they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the ability of owners, however rich, to spend money on their squads and so in that sense likely would have slowed any Middle Eastern attempt to elevate Newcastle to the level of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s spending to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have spent more and remained within the threshold – or simply taken a fairly minor Uefa penalty since their major problem is primarily with the European than the domestic rules.

Infrastructure Investment and Financial Rules

Additionally, stadium development is excluded from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest method to raise income to generate 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 likely means building an entirely new stadium. There was talk in spring of potentially making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a promise to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has been any progress on that proposal. There has occurred significant cutbacks from the PIF on a variety of initiatives as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the approach to the football club seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The Alexander Isak saga was arose from that tension. A more confident leadership could have framed his sale as essential to free up funds for further spending; rather there was a vain effort to retain him. That meant the team started the campaign amid a feeling of frustration despite the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was mixed: one win in their initial six fixtures.

But it seemed a turning point had been turned. They secured five victories in six matches before Sunday, a run that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the European competition. This explains the performance against West Ham was such a shock. The problem perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have profound effects. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started each of those matches and appeared particularly weary.

The Nature of Contemporary Soccer

This is the nature of today's football. Coaches have to be ready to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, Sunday’s performance was inexcusable –particularly following scoring first at a ground ready to turn on its home team.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is below par at once, but if the Magpies are to secure the European competition in the future, let alone one day launch an actual championship bid, they must not be as inconsistent as this.