Why Saudi Investment Has Not Transformed The Magpies into Title Contenders

The Newcastle manager isn't typically prone to dramatics or grand media statements. Based on his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat qualifies as a furious tirade. His side took an early lead but West Ham were ahead by half-time, while also striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, prompting Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe this indicated of our performance level in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. In fact, I cannot recall I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, so I felt the squad required a significant change at the break. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and Newcastle managed to steady somewhat in the second half, but never appearing like they might fight back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their last nine league matches. Given the congestion the middle of the table currently is, with just three points dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a sequence of 12 points from 10 games has not placed Newcastle adrift but, equally, they cannot end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Problem of Perception

The problem to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the richest backers in the world. The expectation at the time the PIF acquired a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would bring a transformative effect, as the former Chelsea owner achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group did at the Etihad. The distinction is that those two owners took over before the advent of financial fair play rules (while the ongoing allegations against City relate to whether they breached those guidelines once they were in place).

Financial restrictions restrict the capacity of owners, however rich, to invest funds on their teams and therefore likely would have slowed every Saudi attempt to raise Newcastle to the standard of City. But 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 threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor European penalty given their big problem is primarily with the European than the domestic rules.

Stadium Investment and PSR Regulations

Additionally, infrastructure spending is exempted from PSR calculations; the easiest method to raise income to generate additional PSR flexibility would be to expand or renovate the arena. Considering the site of St James’ Park, with protected structures on multiple sides, in reality that probably means constructing an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in March of possibly undertaking the short move to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a commitment to build a new park on the current stadium site – but there has not been any progress on that proposal. There has occurred significant retrenchment from the PIF on a range of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the approach to the football club seems entirely in keeping with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The star striker episode was born of that tension. A more confident leadership might have framed his sale as necessary to release funds for additional spending; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. That meant Newcastle started the campaign 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 games.

Yet it appeared a turning point was reached. They had won five in six prior to the weekend, a run that included demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the European competition. This explains the display against the Hammers was so surprising. The problem maybe is that the team's approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have significant effects. Maybe the pressure of domestic, European and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in 15 days, had taken its toll. Woltemade started all five matches and looked especially weary.

The Nature of Modern Football

This is the nature of today's the sport. Coaches must be ready to make changes. The manager has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is short of attacking options but, no matter how valid the reasons, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –especially after scoring first at a ground ready to criticize its home team.

The Newcastle boss will wish it was just a blip, one of those days when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to qualify for the Champions League next season, let alone one day mount an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as they have been.