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The Newcastle manager isn't typically given to dramatics or grand public pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing following the weekend's 3-1 defeat counts as a furious outburst. Newcastle scored first but West Ham were ahead by half-time, while also hitting the post and having a penalty revoked by VAR, leading Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” Howe stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe that was a reflection of our performance level in that moment in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. Actually, I don’t think I have during my tenure as head coach of the club, therefore I believed the team required a significant change at the break. This explains why I did what I did.”

Three key players were substituted at half-time and Newcastle managed to steady somewhat in the latter period, without ever appearing like they might fight back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Given how packed the middle of the standings currently is, with just three points separating the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not left Newcastle adrift but, equally, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The problem partially is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club have the richest backers in the globe. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, similar to the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those owners took over before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (and the ongoing charges against Manchester City concern if they breached those guidelines once they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the capacity of owners, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and therefore probably might have slowed every Saudi attempt to raise the team to the standard of Manchester City. But there is no need for Newcastle’s spending to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have spent more and stayed inside the threshold – or simply taken a fairly minor Uefa penalty since their major issue is primarily with the European than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Investment and Financial Rules

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR calculations; the easiest method to increase revenue to create additional financial headroom would be to extend or redevelop the arena. Given the location of the home ground, with protected structures on multiple sides, practically that likely implies building an entirely new venue. There was talk in spring of possibly undertaking the nearby relocation to a local park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to create a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has been no movement on that proposal. There has occurred significant retrenchment from the PIF on a variety of initiatives 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 born of that conflict. A bolder leadership could have portrayed his sale as necessary to release funds for further spending; instead there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amidst a sense of disappointment despite the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was indifferent: a single victory in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a turning point had been turned. They secured five in six before the weekend, a streak that featured convincing wins of a Belgian side and Benfica in the Champions League. This explains the display against West Ham was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that the team's approach is very aggressive, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have profound consequences. Maybe the strain of Premier League, European and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started each of those games and looked particularly fatigued.

The Nature of Contemporary Soccer

This is the reality of modern football. Coaches have to be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's injury has meant he is short of attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the reasons, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –particularly following scoring first at a ground primed to turn on its home team.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, an off-day when everybody is below par simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to secure the European competition next season, not to mention eventually launch an genuine championship bid, they cannot be as unreliable as they have been.