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The Newcastle manager is not given to dramatics or grand public statements. So by his standards, his media briefing following the weekend's 3-1 defeat counts as a angry tirade. His side scored first but West Ham were ahead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” Howe stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think that was a reflection of where we were at that stage during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I don’t think I have during my tenure as head coach of the club, so I felt the team needed a significant change at half-time. That’s why I did what I did.”

Three key players were substituted at the interval and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the second half, without ever really looking like they could fight back into the game against a side that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the middle of the table currently is, with just three points dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of 12 points from 10 games has not placed Newcastle stranded but, equally, they must not finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle possess the wealthiest backers in the world. The expectation when the PIF acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would bring a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two owners assumed control before the introduction of FFP rules (and the current charges against Manchester City concern whether they violated those regulations after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability regulations restrict the ability of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and therefore likely would have hindered every Middle Eastern effort to elevate the team to the level of City. But there is no need for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have spent more and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor European penalty given their big issue is primarily with the European than the domestic rules.

Stadium Investment and Financial Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is excluded from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the easiest method to raise income to create more financial headroom would be to extend or redevelop the arena. Considering the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, practically that likely implies building an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially making the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – resistance from local groups might have been overcome with a promise to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has occurred significant retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on local investments; the attitude to the football club appears entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

Player Sales Situation

The star striker saga was born of that conflict. A more confident leadership might have framed his sale as essential to release capital for further investment; rather there was a vain attempt to retain him. That meant Newcastle started the campaign amidst a feeling of disappointment even with the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was indifferent: one win in their first six games.

But it appeared a corner was reached. They had won five victories in six matches prior to Sunday, a run that featured demolitions of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the European competition. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have significant consequences. Perhaps the pressure of Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. The German forward featured in all five matches and looked especially weary.

Reality of Contemporary Football

That’s the reality of today's the sport. Managers have to be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's injury has left him lacking forward choices but, no matter how reasonable the reasons, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –particularly following scoring first at a stadium ready to turn on its own side.

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