Why Saudi Investment Hasn't Transformed The Magpies into Championship Challengers

The Newcastle manager isn't typically given to histrionics or sweeping public pronouncements. Based on his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s loss to West Ham qualifies as a furious outburst. His side took an early lead but the opposition were ahead by the interval, as well as hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to execute a triple change at the break.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” Howe said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I believe that was a reflection of our performance level at that stage during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. Actually, I don’t think having done so during my tenure as head coach of the club, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at half-time. This explains why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at the interval and the team managed to steady somewhat in the second half, but never really looking like they could fight back into the contest against a side that had won only one of their previous nine league matches. Considering the congestion the centre of the table is, with just three points dividing the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of 12 points from ten matches has not left Newcastle stranded but, similarly, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge partially is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club have the richest owners in the globe. The assumption at the time the PIF bought 80% of the club in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two owners took over prior to the advent of FFP rules (while the ongoing charges against Manchester City relate to if they violated those guidelines once they were in place).

Financial restrictions limit the ability of proprietors, however rich, to spend money on their squads and so in that sense likely might have hindered any Saudi attempt to elevate the team to the standard of City. However there is no need 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 simply taken a relatively meagre European penalty given their major problem is more with the continental than the domestic rules.

Stadium Investment and Financial Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is excluded from Profit and Sustainability assessments; the simplest method to raise income to generate more financial headroom would be to expand or renovate the arena. Considering the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on multiple sides, in reality that probably implies building an entirely new stadium. There was talk in spring of potentially making the short move to a local park – resistance from local groups might have been surmounted with a commitment to create a new park on the current stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has occurred substantial retrenchment from the PIF on a range of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker episode was born of that conflict. A bolder management could have framed his transfer as essential to release funds for additional investment; instead there was a unsuccessful effort to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle began the season amid a feeling of disappointment even with the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was mixed: a single victory in their first six games.

But it appeared a corner was reached. They secured five victories in six matches before Sunday, a streak that featured convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the European competition. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was so surprising. The problem maybe is that the team's style is extremely intense, high-energy; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound consequences. Maybe the pressure of domestic, Champions League and cup competition, five fixtures in a fortnight, had taken its toll. Woltemade featured in each of those matches and looked especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Football

That’s the reality of today's the sport. Coaches have to be prepared to make changes. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has left him lacking forward choices but, regardless of how reasonable the reasons, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –especially following taking the lead at a ground primed to turn on its own side.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was just a blip, one of those days when all players is off-colour at once, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, let alone eventually mount an actual title challenge, they must not be as unreliable as they have been.