The Reasons Saudi Money Has Not Transformed Newcastle into Title Challengers

Eddie Howe is not prone to dramatics or sweeping public statements. Based on his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat qualifies as a angry outburst. His side took an early lead but West Ham were ahead by the interval, while also hitting the post 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,” the coach said. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of where we were at that stage during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. Actually, I don’t think having done so during my tenure as manager of Newcastle, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at the break. This explains why I did those decisions.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and the team managed to steady somewhat in the second half, but never really looking like they might fight back into the game against a side that had secured just a single victory of their last nine fixtures. Considering the congestion the centre of the standings currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing the top spots from mid-table, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a run of twelve points from 10 games has not placed the Magpies adrift but, equally, they must not end the campaign in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Perception

The challenge to an extent is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, Newcastle possess the wealthiest backers in the world. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the team in recent years was that it would bring a game-changing impact, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that those two owners assumed control before the advent of FFP regulations (while the current charges against Manchester City concern if they violated those guidelines once they were in place).

Financial regulations restrict the capacity of owners, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and so in that sense likely might have hindered every Middle Eastern effort to elevate the team to the level of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's expenditure to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have spent more and remained within the limit – or simply taken a relatively meagre European penalty since their major problem is more with the continental than the Premier League regulation.

Stadium Investment and Financial Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is excluded from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest way to raise income to create additional PSR headroom would be to expand or redevelop the stadium. Given the location of St James’ Park, with protected structures on multiple sides, in reality that likely implies constructing an completely new venue. Rumors circulated in March of possibly undertaking the nearby relocation to Leazes Park – resistance from community organizations might have been surmounted with a promise to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has been any progress on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club appears entirely in alignment with that change of approach.

Player Sales Saga

The star striker saga was arose from that conflict. A bolder leadership could have framed his sale as essential to release capital for additional investment; instead there was a vain effort to keep him. That meant Newcastle began the season amid a feeling of frustration despite the acquisitions of several new players. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their first six fixtures.

Yet it seemed a corner was reached. They secured five in six before the weekend, a streak that featured demolitions of a Belgian side and Benfica in the Champions League. This explains the display against the Hammers was so surprising. The issue maybe is that the team's approach is very aggressive, high-energy; a slight drop-off in energy can have significant consequences. Perhaps the pressure of Premier League, European and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in 15 days, had got to them. The German forward featured in each of those matches and looked especially fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Football

This is the reality of today's football. Coaches must be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has left him short of forward choices but, no matter how valid the explanations, Sunday’s showing was inexcusable –especially after taking the lead at a stadium ready to criticize its home team.

The Newcastle boss will hope it was just a blip, one of those days when everybody is below par simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to secure the Champions League in the future, let alone eventually mount an genuine championship bid, they cannot be as unreliable as this.