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Eddie Howe isn't typically given to histrionics or grand media pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing after the weekend's loss to West Ham counts as a angry tirade. Newcastle scored first but West Ham were ahead by the interval, while also striking the woodwork and having a penalty overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of where we were in that moment in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. Actually, I cannot recall I have during my tenure as head coach of Newcastle, so I felt the squad required some shaking up at half-time. This explains why I did those decisions.”

Three key players all came off at half-time and Newcastle managed to steady to an extent in the second half, without ever really looking like they might get back into the contest against a side that had won only one of their last nine league matches. Considering the congestion the middle of the standings currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies stranded but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in 13th.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the richest owners in the globe. The assumption when the PIF bought 80% of the team in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two owners assumed control before the introduction of FFP regulations (and the current allegations against City relate to if they violated those guidelines after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions restrict the capacity of owners, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their teams and therefore probably would have slowed any Middle Eastern effort to raise the team to the standard of City. However it wasn't necessary for the club'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 penalty given their major issue is primarily with the European than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Regulations

Additionally, stadium development is exempted from PSR assessments; the easiest method to raise income to generate more PSR flexibility would be to extend or renovate the stadium. Given the site of the home ground, with listed buildings on two sides, in reality that likely means constructing an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking the nearby relocation to a local park – resistance from local groups could surely have been surmounted with a promise to create a new park on the current ground location – but there has not been no movement on that proposal. There has occurred substantial retrenchment from the PIF on a range of initiatives as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to Newcastle appears completely in keeping with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker saga was arose from that tension. A more confident management might have framed his sale as necessary to release funds for additional investment; instead there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. That meant the team began the season amidst a sense of frustration despite the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

But it seemed a turning point was reached. They had won five victories in six matches before Sunday, a run that included demolitions of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the European competition. That’s why the display against the Hammers was such a shock. The problem maybe is that the team's approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a slight drop-off in energy can have profound consequences. Maybe the strain of Premier League, Champions League and cup competition, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward featured in each of those games and appeared particularly fatigued.

The Nature of Modern Football

That’s the nature of today's football. Managers must be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's injury has meant he is short of forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the reasons, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after scoring first at a ground ready to criticize its own side.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, one of those days when everybody is off-colour at once, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League next season, let alone eventually mount an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as this.