The Reasons Saudi Money Hasn't Transformed The Magpies into Championship Challengers

The Newcastle manager is not prone to dramatics or grand public pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his press conference after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat qualifies as a furious tirade. Newcastle scored first but the opposition were ahead by half-time, while also hitting the post and seeing a spot-kick revoked by VAR, leading Howe to execute a triple change at the half-time.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I believe this indicated of where we were in that moment during the match and it’s very, very rare for me to have that impression. Actually, I cannot recall having done so during my tenure as head coach of the club, therefore I believed the squad needed some shaking up at the break. That’s why I made what I did.”

Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth all came off at half-time and Newcastle managed to steady somewhat in the second half, without ever really looking like they might get back into the game against an opponent that had secured just a single victory of their previous nine league matches. Given the congestion the middle of the standings currently is, with just three points dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between second and 17th, a run of 12 points from 10 games has not left the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Expectations

The problem to an extent is one of perception. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle have the richest owners in the world. The assumption when the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the team in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, as Roman Abramovich had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The distinction is that both of those investors took over prior to the introduction of financial fair play regulations (and the ongoing allegations against City relate to if they breached those regulations after they were implemented).

Profit and sustainability restrictions limit the capacity of owners, no matter how wealthy, to invest funds on their squads and so in that sense likely might have hindered every Saudi effort to elevate the team to the level of Manchester City. However there is no need for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has; they could have spent more and remained within the limit – or simply taken a relatively meagre Uefa fine given their major issue is primarily with the European than the domestic rules.

Infrastructure Spending and Financial Regulations

Besides which, infrastructure spending is exempted from Profit and Sustainability calculations; the simplest method to increase revenue to create additional PSR flexibility would be to expand or redevelop the arena. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on two sides, practically that likely means building an completely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of possibly making the nearby relocation to a local park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a promise to create a replacement green space on the existing stadium site – but there has been no movement on that proposal. There has been substantial cutbacks from the PIF on a range of projects as it shifts focus on domestic affairs; the approach to Newcastle seems entirely in alignment with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Saga

The Alexander Isak saga was born of that conflict. A bolder management could have framed his sale as necessary to free up funds for additional spending; rather there was a vain effort to keep him. That meant the team began the season amid a sense of frustration even with 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 corner had been turned. They had won five in six prior to the weekend, a streak that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the European competition. This explains the performance against the Hammers was so surprising. The problem perhaps is that Newcastle’s style is very aggressive, high-energy; a minor decrease in energy can have significant effects. 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 particularly fatigued.

Reality of Modern Soccer

That’s the reality of modern football. Managers have to be prepared to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that the forward's injury has meant he is lacking forward choices but, no matter how reasonable the reasons, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –especially after scoring first at a stadium primed to turn on its own side.

Howe will wish it was just a blip, an off-day when all players is off-colour simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to secure the European competition in the future, not to mention one day mount an genuine championship bid, they must not be as inconsistent as this.