🔗 Share this article

Eddie Howe isn't typically prone to dramatics or grand public statements. Based on his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a furious tirade. Newcastle scored first but West Ham took the lead by half-time, while also hitting the post and having a penalty overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the half-time.

“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 in that moment during the match and it’s very, very rare 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 a significant change at half-time. This explains why I did what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the second half, without ever really looking like they could get back into the contest against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Considering how packed the middle of the table currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from 10 games has not left the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The problem to an extent is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle possess the richest owners in the world. The assumption when the Saudi fund bought 80% of the team in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two owners assumed control prior to the advent of financial fair play rules (and the current charges against Manchester City concern whether they breached those guidelines once they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, however rich, to spend money on their squads and so in that sense probably would have slowed every Middle Eastern effort to raise the team to the level of City. However there is no need for the club's spending to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they might have invested further and remained within the limit – or simply taken a fairly minor European fine since their big issue is more with the continental than the domestic rules.

Stadium Investment and Financial Regulations

Additionally, stadium development is exempted from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the simplest method to raise income to generate more financial flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the arena. Considering the location of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, practically that likely implies building an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of potentially making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a promise to create a new park on the existing ground location – but there has been no movement on that plan. There has been significant retrenchment from the PIF on a variety of initiatives as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker episode was born of that tension. A more confident management could have portrayed his transfer as necessary to free up funds for additional investment; rather there was a vain effort to retain him. This resulted in Newcastle began the season amid a sense of frustration even with the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six games.

Yet it seemed a corner was reached. They secured five in six prior to Sunday, a run that included demolitions of a Belgian side and Benfica in the Champions League. That’s why the performance against West Ham was such a shock. The issue maybe is that the team's approach is very aggressive, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in intensity can have significant effects. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, European and cup competition, five games in 15 days, had got to them. Woltemade featured in each of those matches and looked especially weary.

Reality of Modern Soccer

This is the reality of modern football. Coaches have to be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unlucky that Wissa’s injury has left him short of forward choices but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after scoring first at a stadium ready to turn on its home team.

Howe will wish it was just a blip, one of those days when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, let alone one day mount an genuine title challenge, they must not be as unreliable as this.