<\/p>\n
Newcastle has plunged into its most challenging period since the club was bought by Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund five years ago.<\/p>\n
And its under-pressure manager knows it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m aware of the results and they aren\u2019t good enough,\u201d Eddie Howe said after a 2-1 home loss to Bournemouth on Saturday, which marked a third straight defeat in the Premier League for Newcastle and a seventh in the last 11 games in all competitions.<\/p>\n
Newcastle received boos at full time and the team is languishing in 14th place in the 20-team top flight with five games remaining of the campaign.<\/p>\n
Howe \u2014 hired in November 2021, weeks after the takeover by Saudi\u2019s Public Investment Fund \u2014 has been popular with the Newcastle fans after qualifying for the Champions League in two of the last three seasons. But support might be starting to turn. Last month, the club did not give any assurances he\u2019ll be in charge beyond this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy belief in myself can\u2019t waver, and it\u2019s not,\u201d said Howe, who acknowledged his team had become too easy to beat in recent matches. \u201cAt this moment of time, I feel very flat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, these are tough times for PIF, which in recent years has spent heavily investing on sporting projects such as LIV Golf and funding the biggest soccer teams in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
This week, PIF sold its majority stake in the kingdom\u2019s most successful club, Al-Hilal, and there was also huge speculation about whether the fund was on the brink of cutting its financial backing of LIV. LIV\u2019s 2026 season is going ahead as scheduled, its chief executive said, but the situation beyond that remains cloudy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n