🔗 Share this article

Eddie Howe isn't typically given to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his press conference after the weekend's loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious outburst. His side took an early lead but the opposition took the lead by half-time, as well as hitting the post and having a penalty overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of where we were in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as manager of the club, so I felt the squad required some shaking up at the break. This explains why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at half-time and the team managed to steady to an extent in the second half, without ever really looking like they might get back into the game against a side that had won only one of their last nine league matches. Considering how packed the middle of the table currently is, with just three points separating third from 11th, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of twelve points from 10 games has not left the Magpies stranded but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle possess the richest backers in the globe. The assumption when the Saudi fund bought a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as the former Chelsea owner achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The distinction is that those two investors assumed control prior to the introduction of financial fair play regulations (while the ongoing allegations against City relate to if they breached those guidelines once they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the ability of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and so in that sense likely might have hindered any Saudi effort to elevate the team to the standard of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have spent more and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa fine since their major problem is primarily with the European than the domestic regulation.

Stadium Investment and PSR Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR calculations; the simplest way to increase revenue to generate additional financial flexibility would be to expand or renovate the stadium. Given the location of the home ground, with protected structures on multiple sides, in reality that likely implies constructing an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially making the short move to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to create a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that proposal. There has occurred significant cutbacks from the PIF on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle appears entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The Alexander Isak episode was born of that tension. A bolder leadership might have portrayed his transfer as necessary to release capital for additional spending; rather there was a vain attempt to retain him. That meant Newcastle began the season amid a sense of disappointment even with the signings of several new players. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

But it seemed a corner was reached. They had won five victories in six matches before the weekend, a streak that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was such a shock. The issue maybe is that the team's approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a slight drop-off in intensity can have significant effects. Maybe the pressure of Premier League, European and cup competition, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward featured in each of those matches and appeared especially fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Football

This is the reality of modern football. Managers must be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is short of attacking options but, no matter how valid the reasons, Sunday’s showing was unacceptable –especially following taking the lead at a ground ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour at once, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, not to mention one day mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.