The Reasons Middle Eastern Investment Has Not Turned Newcastle into Championship Challengers

The Newcastle manager isn't typically prone to dramatics or grand public statements. Based on his standards, his media briefing following Sunday’s 3-1 defeat qualifies as a angry outburst. His side took an early lead but the opposition were ahead by the interval, as well as striking the woodwork and seeing a spot-kick overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a three substitutions at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” the coach stated. “Virtually any player could have been substituted and I think this indicated of our performance level at that stage in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. Actually, I cannot recall having done so during my tenure as head coach of Newcastle, so I felt the team required a significant change at half-time. This explains why I did what I did.”

Three key players were substituted at the interval and the team did stabilise to an extent in the latter period, 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 fixtures. Considering the congestion the centre of the standings currently is, with just three points dividing the top spots from mid-table, and nine points between the upper and lower ranks, a run of twelve points from ten matches has not left the Magpies adrift but, similarly, they cannot finish the season in 13th.

The Problem of Perception

The challenge partially is one of public view. In the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Newcastle have the wealthiest owners in the world. The expectation at the time the PIF bought 80% of the club in recent years was that it would have a game-changing impact, as the former Chelsea owner had at Chelsea or Sheikh Mansour did at the Etihad. The difference is that those two owners took over before the advent of FFP rules (while the current charges against City relate to whether they violated those guidelines after they were implemented).

Financial regulations limit the capacity of proprietors, no matter how wealthy, to spend money on their teams and so in that sense probably would have hindered every Middle Eastern effort to raise Newcastle to the level of Manchester City. However it wasn't necessary for the club's spending to have been so restrained as it has been; they could have invested further and stayed inside the threshold – or just accepted a relatively meagre European fine since their major problem is primarily with the European than the domestic regulation.

Stadium Spending and PSR Regulations

Besides which, stadium development is excluded from PSR calculations; the easiest way to increase revenue to generate more financial headroom would be to extend or renovate the stadium. Considering the site of St James’ Park, with protected structures on two sides, practically that probably means constructing an entirely new stadium. Rumors circulated in spring of potentially making the short move to a local park – resistance from community organizations could surely have been overcome with a commitment to create a replacement green space on the current ground location – but there has not been any progress on that proposal. There has been significant retrenchment from the Saudi fund on a range of initiatives as it refocuses on domestic affairs; the attitude to the football club seems completely in keeping with that strategic shift.

Player Sales Saga

The Alexander Isak episode was arose from that conflict. A more confident leadership might have framed his sale as necessary to free up capital for additional investment; instead there was a vain effort to retain him. That meant the team began the season amid a feeling of frustration even with the signings of Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Anthony Elanga. The opening was indifferent: a single victory in their first six fixtures.

But it seemed a turning point was reached. They secured five victories in six matches before Sunday, a streak that included convincing wins of a Belgian side and Benfica in the Champions League. That’s why the performance against West Ham was so surprising. The issue maybe is that Newcastle’s approach is extremely intense, high-energy; a minor decrease in intensity can have profound effects. Maybe the pressure of domestic, European and cup competition, five fixtures in a fortnight, had got to them. Woltemade featured in each of those games and looked particularly fatigued.

Reality of Contemporary Soccer

That’s the nature of modern the sport. Coaches have to be prepared to rotate. Howe has been unfortunate that Wissa’s injury has meant he is lacking attacking options but, regardless of how reasonable the explanations, Sunday’s performance was unacceptable –especially after taking the lead at a ground ready to turn on its own side.

Howe will hope it was just a blip, one of those days when all players is below par simultaneously, but if the Magpies are to secure the European competition in the future, not to mention one day launch an genuine championship bid, they cannot be as unreliable as they have been.