Why Saudi Money Hasn't Turned The Magpies into Title Challengers

Eddie Howe is not prone to dramatics or grand public pronouncements. So by his usual demeanor, his media briefing following Sunday’s loss to West Ham counts as a furious outburst. Newcastle scored first but the opposition took the lead 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.

“The opening period was particularly irritating,” the coach said. “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 extremely uncommon for me to feel that way. Actually, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of the club, so I felt the squad needed some shaking up at the break. That’s why I made those decisions.”

Three key players were substituted at the interval and the team did stabilise to an extent in the second half, but never appearing like they could fight back into the game against a side that had won only one of their last nine fixtures. Considering how packed the centre of the standings currently is, with a mere three-point gap dividing third from 11th, and a nine-point margin between the upper and lower ranks, a run of 12 points from ten matches has not placed the Magpies adrift but, equally, they cannot finish the season in thirteenth place.

The Issue of Expectations

The problem partially is one of public view. With the Saudi PIF, the club have the richest owners in the globe. The expectation when the Saudi fund acquired 80% of the team in 2021 was that it would bring a transformative effect, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour had at Manchester City. The difference is that both of those owners took over before the introduction of financial fair play regulations (while the current charges against City relate to if they violated those guidelines after they were in place).

Profit and sustainability restrictions restrict the ability of owners, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their teams and therefore probably might have hindered any Saudi attempt to elevate the team to the standard of Manchester City. However there is no need for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has; they could have invested further and remained within the threshold – or just accepted a fairly minor Uefa fine given their major issue is more with the European than the Premier League rules.

Infrastructure Investment and PSR Rules

Besides which, stadium development is excluded from PSR calculations; the simplest way to raise income to generate more financial flexibility would be to extend or redevelop the stadium. Considering the location of St James’ Park, with listed buildings on two sides, practically that probably implies building an completely new venue. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially making the short move to a local park – opposition from community organizations could surely have been surmounted with a promise to build a replacement green space on the existing stadium site – but there has not been no movement on that proposal. There has been substantial retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of projects as it refocuses on local investments; the attitude to Newcastle seems completely in keeping with that strategic shift.

The Alexander Isak Situation

The star striker saga was arose from that tension. A bolder leadership might have framed his sale as essential to free up funds for additional spending; rather there was a vain effort to keep him. This resulted in Newcastle began the season amidst a feeling of frustration even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The start was mixed: a single victory in their initial six fixtures.

But it appeared a corner had been turned. They had won five victories in six matches before the weekend, a run that included convincing wins of Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica in the Champions League. This explains the performance against West Ham was so surprising. The problem maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, very high-octane; a minor decrease in energy can have significant consequences. Maybe the strain of Premier League, Champions League and cup competition, five games in a fortnight, had got to them. The German forward started all five games and appeared particularly weary.

The Nature of Modern Football

That’s the reality of today's football. Coaches must be ready to rotate. The manager has been unlucky that Wissa’s fitness issue has meant he is lacking attacking options but, regardless of how valid the explanations, the weekend's performance was inexcusable –particularly after scoring first at a stadium ready to turn on its home team.

Howe will hope it was merely a temporary setback, one of those days when everybody is below par simultaneously, but if Newcastle are to qualify for the European competition in the future, not to mention one day mount an genuine championship bid, they must not be as unreliable as they have been.