Why Middle Eastern Money Has Not Turned Newcastle into Title Challengers

Eddie Howe is not prone to histrionics or grand public statements. So by his standards, his media briefing following Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a furious tirade. His side took an early lead but West Ham took the lead by the interval, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe that was a reflection of where we were in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to have that impression. Actually, I don’t think having done so during my tenure as head coach of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team required a significant change at the break. That’s why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at the interval and the team did stabilise to an extent in the second half, without ever appearing like they might fight back into the game against a side that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Given the congestion the middle of the standings is, with a mere three-point gap separating third from 11th, and nine points between second and 17th, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not placed Newcastle stranded but, equally, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The challenge to an extent is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the club possess the richest owners in the world. The assumption when the Saudi fund bought 80% of the team in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that those two investors assumed control before the advent of financial fair play rules (and the current allegations against City concern if they violated those regulations once they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions limit the ability of owners, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and so in that sense probably would have hindered every Middle Eastern effort to raise the team to the level of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has been; they could have invested further and stayed inside the limit – or simply taken a fairly minor Uefa penalty since their big issue is more with the continental than the domestic rules.

Stadium Investment and Financial Rules

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR assessments; the simplest way to raise income to create more financial flexibility would be to expand or renovate the arena. Considering the location of the home ground, with listed buildings on two sides, in reality that likely implies constructing an entirely new venue. There was talk in March of potentially making the nearby relocation to a local park – opposition from local groups could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to build a new park on the current stadium site – but there has not been no movement on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to the football club appears completely in keeping with that change of approach.

Player Sales Situation

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that tension. A bolder management could have framed his transfer as necessary to release funds for further spending; instead there was a unsuccessful attempt to retain him. That meant Newcastle started the campaign amid a feeling of frustration even with the acquisitions of several new players. The start was indifferent: one win in their initial six fixtures.

But it appeared a turning point was reached. They secured five victories in six matches before Sunday, a streak that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the European competition. That’s why the performance against the Hammers was such a shock. The issue perhaps is that the team's approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a slight drop-off in intensity can have profound effects. Maybe the pressure of domestic, Champions League and cup competition, five games in a fortnight, had taken its toll. Woltemade started all five matches and looked particularly weary.

Reality of Contemporary Soccer

That’s the reality of today's football. Managers have to be ready to rotate. Howe has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has meant he is lacking attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's performance was unacceptable –particularly following taking the lead at a stadium ready to criticize its home team.

Howe will wish it was merely a temporary setback, an off-day when everybody is off-colour at once, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the Champions League in the future, not to mention one day launch an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.