The Reasons Middle Eastern Money Hasn't Turned The Magpies into Championship Challengers

Eddie Howe isn't typically given to dramatics or grand media statements. So by his usual demeanor, his press conference following Sunday’s 3-1 defeat qualifies as a angry outburst. His side scored first but West Ham took the lead by the interval, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty 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 think that was a reflection of where we were in that moment in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. Actually, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of the club, so I felt the team required a significant change at the break. This explains why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the second half, without ever appearing like they could get back into the game 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 the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not left Newcastle stranded but, equally, they must not finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge partially is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle possess the richest owners in the globe. The expectation at the time the PIF acquired 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would have a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that both of those owners took over before the introduction of financial fair play rules (while the ongoing charges against Manchester City concern whether they breached those regulations once they were in place).

Profit and sustainability restrictions limit the capacity of proprietors, however rich, to spend money on their teams and so in that sense probably would have slowed any Middle Eastern attempt to elevate Newcastle to the level of City. But there is no need for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have invested further and remained within the limit – or simply taken a fairly minor European penalty given their big issue is more with the continental than the Premier League regulation.

Stadium Spending and Financial Rules

Additionally, stadium development is excluded from PSR calculations; the easiest way to raise income to create more financial headroom would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Considering the location of the home ground, with protected structures on two sides, in reality that likely means building an completely new venue. There was talk in March of possibly making the short move to a local park – resistance from local groups might have been surmounted with a commitment to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has not been any progress on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the PIF on a variety of projects as it shifts focus on local investments; the attitude to the football club appears entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The star striker episode was born of that tension. A more confident management could have framed his transfer as necessary to release funds for further investment; instead there was a vain attempt to retain him. That meant Newcastle started the campaign amid a sense of frustration despite the acquisitions of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

Yet it appeared a turning point had been turned. They secured five victories in six matches prior to Sunday, a streak that featured demolitions of a Belgian side and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. This explains the display against West Ham was so surprising. The problem maybe is that the team's approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have profound consequences. Maybe the strain of Premier League, European and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade featured in each of those games and looked particularly weary.

Reality of Modern Football

This is the reality of today's the sport. Coaches must be prepared to make changes. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has meant he is short of forward choices but, regardless of how valid the reasons, the weekend's showing was unacceptable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium primed to criticize its own side.

Howe will hope it was just a blip, one of those days when everybody is below par at once, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League next season, not to mention eventually launch an actual title challenge, they cannot be as unreliable as this.