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The Newcastle manager isn't typically given to histrionics or sweeping public pronouncements. Based on his standards, his press conference following the weekend's 3-1 defeat qualifies as a furious outburst. Newcastle scored first but West Ham took the lead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” Howe said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe this indicated of our performance level at that stage during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. In fact, I don’t think having done so during my tenure as manager of the club, therefore I believed the team needed some shaking up at the break. That’s why I made what I did.”

Three key players all came off at half-time and the team did stabilise somewhat in the second half, but never appearing like they might get back into the game against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their last nine league matches. Considering how packed the centre of the standings currently is, with just three points dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a run of 12 points from 10 games has not left the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Expectations

The problem to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the wealthiest owners in the globe. The assumption at the time the PIF acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those owners took over before the advent of FFP regulations (while the ongoing allegations against Manchester City relate to if they breached those guidelines after they were implemented).

Financial regulations restrict the ability of owners, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and therefore probably might have slowed any Middle Eastern effort to raise Newcastle to the standard of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or just accepted a relatively meagre Uefa fine given their major issue is more with the European than the domestic rules.

Stadium Investment and PSR Regulations

Additionally, stadium development is excluded from PSR calculations; the simplest method to increase revenue to create more financial headroom would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Considering the site of the home ground, with protected structures on multiple sides, practically that probably implies constructing an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations might have been surmounted with a commitment to create a replacement green space on the current ground location – but there has not been no movement on that proposal. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle seems completely in keeping with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that tension. A more confident management could have portrayed his sale as necessary to free up capital for further investment; rather there was a vain effort to keep him. That meant Newcastle started the campaign amidst a feeling of disappointment even with the signings of several new players. The start was indifferent: a single victory in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a corner had been turned. They had won five in six before the weekend, a streak that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the European competition. This explains the performance against West Ham was so surprising. The issue maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound consequences. Maybe the pressure of domestic, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started all five matches and appeared especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

This is the reality of today's the sport. Managers have to be ready to make changes. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s fitness issue has left him short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the explanations, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium ready to criticize its own side.

Howe 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 qualify for the Champions League in the future, let alone eventually launch an genuine championship bid, they cannot be as unreliable as they have been.