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The Newcastle manager is not given to dramatics or sweeping media statements. So by his standards, his media briefing following the weekend's 3-1 defeat counts as a furious tirade. His side took an early lead but the opposition took the lead by half-time, while also hitting the post and having a penalty overturned by VAR, leading Howe to execute a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of where we were at that stage during the match 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, so I felt the squad needed some shaking up 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 to an extent in the latter period, without ever appearing like they might get back into the game against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Given how packed the middle of the standings is, with just three points dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies stranded but, equally, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the richest owners in the world. The assumption at the time the Saudi fund acquired 80% of the team in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two owners assumed control prior to the advent of FFP regulations (and the current charges against Manchester City relate to whether they violated those guidelines after they were in place).

Financial restrictions restrict the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their squads and so in that sense probably would have hindered every Saudi attempt to elevate the team to the standard of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has; they might have invested further and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a relatively meagre Uefa penalty given their big issue is more with the continental than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Investment and PSR Rules

Additionally, stadium development is excluded from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the easiest way to increase revenue to create additional PSR flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Given the site of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that likely implies building an entirely new venue. There was talk in spring of potentially making the short move to Leazes Park – opposition from local groups could surely have been overcome with a promise to create a replacement green space on the existing ground location – but there has been any progress on that proposal. There has occurred substantial retrenchment from the PIF on a range of projects as it shifts focus on local investments; the approach to Newcastle appears entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that tension. A bolder leadership could have portrayed his sale as necessary to release funds for additional spending; rather there was a vain attempt to retain him. This resulted in Newcastle started the campaign amid a feeling of frustration 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 games.

But it seemed a corner had been turned. They secured five victories in six matches before Sunday, a run that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the display against West Ham was so surprising. The problem perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have significant consequences. Perhaps the pressure of Premier League, Champions League and cup competition, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade featured in each of those matches and appeared especially fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Soccer

This is the reality of today's the sport. Coaches must be ready to make changes. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has meant he is short of forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –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 off-colour simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to secure the Champions League in the future, let alone eventually launch an genuine title challenge, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.