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Eddie Howe is not prone to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. So by his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious outburst. His side took an early lead but the opposition were ahead by the interval, while also striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a triple change at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe this indicated of our performance level in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. Actually, I cannot recall I have since I’ve been manager of the club, so I felt the squad required some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Three key players were substituted at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the latter period, without ever appearing like they could fight back into the contest against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Given the congestion the centre of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not left Newcastle adrift but, equally, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle have the wealthiest backers in the globe. The assumption when the PIF acquired 80% of the club in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, similar to the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that both of those owners assumed control before the introduction of financial fair play rules (while the current allegations against City relate to whether they breached those regulations once they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and therefore likely would have slowed any Saudi attempt to raise Newcastle to the standard of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has; they might have spent more and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor European fine given their big problem is more with the continental than the domestic rules.

Stadium Spending and PSR Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR calculations; the simplest method to raise income to create additional financial flexibility would be to extend or renovate the arena. Considering the site 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 – opposition from community organizations might have been overcome with a promise to create a new park on the existing stadium site – but there has been no movement on that proposal. There has been substantial cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a range of projects as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker episode was born of that conflict. A more confident leadership could have framed his sale as necessary to release capital for additional investment; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. This resulted in the team began the season amidst a sense of frustration even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was mixed: one win in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a corner was reached. They had won five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a streak that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. This explains the display against West Ham was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in energy can have significant effects. Perhaps the strain of Premier League, Champions League and cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started all five matches and looked particularly fatigued.

The Nature of Contemporary Football

This is the nature of today's the sport. Coaches must be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that Wissa’s injury has left him short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the explanations, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –especially after scoring first at a ground primed to turn on its home team.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is below par simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League next season, let alone eventually mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as this.