🔗 Share this article The Reasons Saudi Investment Has Not Transformed The Magpies into Title Contenders The Newcastle manager is not prone to dramatics or grand media pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing after the weekend's loss to West Ham counts as a angry outburst. His side took an early lead but West Ham were ahead by half-time, as well as striking the woodwork and having a penalty revoked by VAR, leading Howe to execute a three substitutions 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 think this indicated of where we were in that moment during the match and it's extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. In fact, I cannot recall having done so during my tenure as manager of Newcastle, therefore I believed the team needed some shaking up at the break. That’s why I did those decisions.” Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Emil Krafth were substituted at half-time and Newcastle did stabilise somewhat in the second half, but never appearing like they could fight back into the contest against a side that had secured just a single victory of their last nine league matches. Considering how packed the middle of the standings currently is, with just three points dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between second and 17th, a sequence of twelve points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies adrift but, similarly, they cannot end the campaign in 13th. The Issue of Perception The problem partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club possess the richest backers in the globe. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired a majority stake of the team in recent years was that it would have a transformative effect, similar to Roman Abramovich achieved at Stamford Bridge or the City Group had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those investors took over before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (while the ongoing allegations against Manchester City concern if they violated those guidelines after they were implemented). Financial regulations restrict the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their teams and therefore likely would have hindered any Middle Eastern effort to raise Newcastle to the level of City. However there is no need for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they might have spent more and stayed inside the threshold – or simply taken a fairly minor Uefa fine since their major problem is more with the European than the domestic rules. Stadium Spending and PSR Rules Additionally, stadium development is exempted from PSR calculations; the simplest method to raise income to create additional financial flexibility would be to extend or renovate the stadium. Considering the site 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 short move to a local park – opposition from community organizations might have been overcome with a promise to build a new park on the current ground location – but there has not been no movement on that plan. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a variety of initiatives as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to the football club seems completely in alignment with that strategic shift. Player Sales Situation The Alexander Isak saga was born of that conflict. A more confident management could have framed his transfer as essential to release capital for additional investment; rather there was a unsuccessful attempt to keep him. That meant the team began the season amid a feeling of frustration despite the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was indifferent: one win in their initial six games. But it seemed a turning point was reached. They secured five in six prior to the weekend, a run that featured demolitions of Union Saint-Gilloise and a Portuguese club in the European competition. This explains the performance against West Ham was such a shock. The problem perhaps is that Newcastle’s approach is very aggressive, very high-octane; a minor decrease in intensity can have profound consequences. Maybe the strain of domestic, European and Carabao Cup matches, five fixtures in a fortnight, had taken its toll. The German forward featured in each of those matches and looked especially weary. The Nature of Contemporary Soccer That’s the reality of today's the sport. Coaches must be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unfortunate that Wissa’s fitness issue has left him short of attacking options but, no matter how reasonable the reasons, the weekend's performance was unacceptable –especially after taking the lead at a stadium primed to turn on its home team. Howe will wish it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when all players is below par simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the European competition next season, let alone one day mount an actual championship bid, they cannot be as unreliable as this.