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The Newcastle manager isn't typically prone to dramatics or sweeping public statements. So by his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat qualifies as a furious outburst. Newcastle scored first but West Ham took the lead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think that was a reflection of our performance level in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. Actually, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, so I felt the squad needed 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 Newcastle managed to steady somewhat in the second half, but never appearing 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 centre of the standings is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from 10 games has not left Newcastle stranded but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The problem partially is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club have the wealthiest owners in the globe. The assumption when the PIF acquired a majority stake of the team in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two investors took over before the introduction of FFP rules (while the ongoing allegations against City relate to if they breached those guidelines once they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their squads and therefore probably might have slowed any Saudi effort to elevate 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; they could have invested further and remained within the threshold – or simply taken a fairly minor Uefa fine given their major problem is more with the continental than the Premier League regulation.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR calculations; the simplest method to increase revenue to generate more PSR flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Considering the site of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, in reality that likely implies constructing an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of possibly making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations might have been overcome with a promise to build a replacement green space on the current stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has occurred significant retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a variety of initiatives as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle seems completely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker episode was arose from that tension. A more confident management could have portrayed his sale as necessary to free up capital for further investment; instead there was a vain effort to retain him. This resulted in Newcastle began the season amid a sense of disappointment 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 fixtures.

But it seemed a turning point had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a streak that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the European competition. That’s why the display against the Hammers was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that Newcastle’s style is very aggressive, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have profound effects. Perhaps the strain of Premier League, European and Carabao Cup matches, five games in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade started all five matches and looked particularly fatigued.

The Nature of Contemporary Soccer

This is the reality of today's football. Managers have to be ready to rotate. Howe has been unfortunate that the forward's injury has left him short of attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –especially following taking the lead at a ground ready to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the European competition next season, not to mention eventually mount an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as this.