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The Newcastle manager is not given to dramatics or sweeping public statements. Based on his standards, his media briefing after the weekend's 3-1 defeat qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle scored first but the opposition took the lead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think that was a reflection of our performance level in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, so I felt the squad required some shaking up at the break. This explains why I did what I did.”

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 could get back into the game against a side that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Given how packed the middle of the table is, with just three points separating third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from 10 games has not placed the Magpies adrift but, similarly, they cannot end the campaign in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle have the wealthiest backers in the world. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that both of those investors took over prior to the advent of financial fair play rules (while the current allegations against Manchester City relate to whether they violated those regulations after they were implemented).

Financial restrictions limit the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to invest funds on their squads and therefore probably might have hindered any Saudi attempt to raise the team to the level of City. However it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they might have spent more and remained within the threshold – or simply taken a fairly minor Uefa fine given their major problem is more with the European than the Premier League rules.

Stadium Investment and PSR Rules

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest method to raise income to create more PSR headroom would be to expand or redevelop the arena. Given the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that likely means building an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of possibly making the short move to a local park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a commitment to build a new park on the current stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has been substantial cutbacks from the PIF on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on local investments; the approach to the football club seems entirely in keeping with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The star striker saga was born of that tension. A bolder management could have framed his sale as necessary to free up funds for further spending; instead there was a vain effort to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle began the season amid a sense 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 initial six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a corner was reached. They secured five victories in six matches before the weekend, a streak that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. That’s why the display against the Hammers was so surprising. The problem maybe is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound effects. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, European and Carabao Cup competition, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. The German forward started each of those games and appeared especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Football

That’s the nature of today's football. Coaches have to be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has left him short of forward choices but, regardless of how valid the explanations, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after scoring first at a stadium primed to turn on its home team.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League next season, let alone eventually mount an genuine title challenge, they must not be as unreliable as this.