Why Saudi Investment Has Not Transformed The Magpies into Title Challengers

Eddie Howe is not prone to dramatics or grand media pronouncements. Based on his standards, his media briefing following the weekend's loss to West Ham counts as a furious tirade. His side scored first but the opposition took the lead by half-time, while also striking the woodwork and having a penalty overturned by VAR, prompting Howe to make a triple change at the half-time.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think that was a reflection of our performance level at that stage in the game and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. Actually, I don’t think having done so during my tenure as head coach of the club, therefore I believed the squad required some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did those decisions.”

Three key players all came off at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise to an extent in the second half, but never really looking like they might fight back into the game against an opponent that had won only one of their previous nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the centre of the standings currently is, with just three points separating third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not left Newcastle adrift but, similarly, they must not finish the season in 13th.

The Issue of Expectations

The problem to an extent is one of perception. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the richest backers in the world. The assumption at the time the PIF bought a majority stake of the club in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or the City Group had at Manchester City. The distinction is that those two owners assumed control prior to the advent of FFP rules (while the current charges against Manchester City concern if they violated those regulations once they were in place).

Financial regulations limit the ability of owners, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their teams and therefore likely would have slowed any Saudi attempt to elevate the team to the level of Manchester City. But it wasn't necessary for Newcastle’s expenditure to have been quite as cautious as it has; they might have invested further and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a relatively meagre European penalty since their big issue is primarily with the European than the domestic regulation.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is excluded from PSR calculations; the simplest method to increase revenue to create additional financial headroom would be to extend or renovate the stadium. Considering the site of St James’ Park, with protected structures on multiple sides, in reality that probably means building an entirely new venue. Rumors circulated in March of potentially undertaking the short move to a local park – opposition from local groups could surely have been surmounted with a promise to create a new park on the current stadium site – but there has not been no movement on that proposal. There has been substantial cutbacks from the Saudi fund on a variety of initiatives as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle appears completely in keeping with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that conflict. A bolder management could have portrayed his sale as necessary to free up funds for additional investment; instead there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle began the season amidst a sense of disappointment even with the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was indifferent: one win in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a turning point was reached. They secured five victories in six matches prior to the weekend, a streak that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the Champions League. This explains the display against West Ham was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Perhaps the strain of Premier League, European and cup competition, five games in a fortnight, had taken its toll. Woltemade started all five games and appeared particularly weary.

Reality of Contemporary Football

That’s the nature of modern the sport. Coaches have to be prepared to make changes. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's fitness issue has meant he is lacking forward choices but, no matter how reasonable the explanations, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –particularly after taking the lead at a stadium primed to turn on its own side.

Howe will wish it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is below par at once, but if the Magpies are to secure the Champions League in the future, let alone eventually mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as inconsistent as they have been.