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Eddie Howe isn't typically prone to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. Based on his usual demeanor, his press conference following the weekend's 3-1 defeat counts as a angry outburst. Newcastle took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading 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 think that was a reflection of where we were at that stage in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as manager of the club, therefore I believed the squad required some shaking up at the break. That’s why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at the interval and the team did stabilise somewhat in the latter period, but never appearing like they could fight back into the contest against a side that had secured just a single victory of their last nine league matches. Considering how packed the centre of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap separating the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a run of twelve points from 10 games has not placed the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they must not finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge partially is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club possess the wealthiest owners in the globe. The expectation when the PIF acquired 80% of the team in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The distinction is that both of those investors assumed control before the advent of financial fair play regulations (and the ongoing allegations against City concern if they violated those regulations once they were in place).

Financial regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and so in that sense likely might have hindered every Middle Eastern attempt to raise Newcastle to the level of City. But there is no need for the club's expenditure to have been so restrained as it has; they might have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or simply taken a relatively meagre Uefa penalty since their big issue is more with the European than the Premier League regulation.

Stadium Investment and Financial Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is excluded from PSR assessments; the easiest way to increase revenue to create additional PSR flexibility would be to extend or renovate the arena. Given the site of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that likely means building an completely new venue. There was talk in March of possibly undertaking the short move to Leazes Park – resistance from local groups could surely have been overcome with a promise to create a new park on the current ground location – but there has been any progress on that proposal. There has occurred significant cutbacks from the PIF on a variety of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to the football club seems completely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker saga was arose from that tension. A bolder leadership might have portrayed his sale as necessary to free up capital for additional investment; rather there was a vain effort to retain him. That meant the team began the season amidst a sense of frustration even with the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their first six games.

Yet it appeared a corner had been turned. They secured five in six before the weekend, a streak that featured convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. This explains the performance against the Hammers was such a shock. The problem perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have profound consequences. Perhaps the pressure of Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade started all five matches and looked especially fatigued.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

That’s the nature of modern football. Coaches must be ready to make changes. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has left him lacking forward choices but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after scoring first at a ground ready to turn on its home team.

Howe will wish it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the European competition next season, let alone eventually launch an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.