🔗 Share this article

The Newcastle manager is not prone to histrionics or grand public statements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing after Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a furious outburst. Newcastle scored first but the opposition were ahead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty revoked by VAR, leading 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 our performance level in that moment in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. Actually, I cannot recall having done so during my tenure as head coach of the club, therefore I believed the squad required a significant change at half-time. This explains why I made those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the second half, but never really looking like they could get back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Given how packed the middle of the standings currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies stranded but, similarly, they cannot end the campaign in 13th.

The Issue of Expectations

The problem partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the wealthiest owners in the world. The assumption at the time the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the team in 2021 was that it would bring a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two investors assumed control prior to the advent of FFP rules (while the ongoing allegations against City relate to if they breached those regulations after they were in place).

Profit and sustainability regulations limit the ability of owners, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and therefore likely might have slowed every Middle Eastern effort to raise Newcastle to the standard of City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has; they could have spent more and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor European fine since their big issue is primarily with the continental than the domestic rules.

Stadium Spending and Financial Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is exempted from PSR calculations; the easiest way to raise income to create more PSR flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the arena. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, practically that probably means building an completely new venue. There was talk in spring of potentially undertaking the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – opposition from community organizations might have been surmounted with a promise to create a new park on the existing ground location – but there has been no movement on that proposal. There has occurred significant cutbacks from the PIF on a range of projects as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle appears completely in keeping with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that conflict. A more confident leadership might have framed his transfer as essential to release capital for further investment; instead there was a vain effort to retain him. That meant Newcastle began the season amidst a feeling of disappointment even with the acquisitions of several new players. The start was mixed: one win in their first six games.

But it seemed a turning point was reached. They secured five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a streak that featured convincing wins of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the European competition. This explains the performance against West Ham was so surprising. The problem maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have profound consequences. Perhaps the pressure of domestic, European and Carabao Cup matches, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward started each of those games and looked especially fatigued.

The Nature of Modern Soccer

This is the reality of today's football. Coaches have to be ready to make changes. The manager has been unfortunate that the forward's fitness issue has left him short of forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the explanations, Sunday’s performance was inexcusable –especially after taking the lead at a ground ready to criticize its home team.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was just a blip, one of those days when everybody is below par simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the European competition next season, let alone one day launch an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.