He could see it. He was experiencing it. And we on the outside can sense it. The Saudis have lost their ambition. There's a clear disinterest. Newcastle are now meandering with little drive or commitment. The place is in decline, rapid decline, all due to an ownership that are showing every sign they're pulling up stumps.
With PIF's backing, Newcastle should be acting like the biggest club in the world. Stars. Glamour. Gold dust. That should be the norm for St James' Park. It should be headline after headline. Vinicius Junior. Lautaro Martinez. Harry Kane. Not just readymade players, but nailed-on superstars. Yeah, the Champions League isn't in play this season, but money can be a decisive motivator.
Instead, Alexander Isak quit on the club a year ago. Now Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and soon Bruno Guimaraes - with an Arsenal medical slated for Monday - have all gone. And beyond that, we've seen the Magpies outbid by Aston Villa for Johan Mazambi and the same with Victor Munoz and Liverpool. This isn't supposed to happen. Not for a club with the greatest spending power we've ever seen in the game.
But this is the Saudis' Newcastle. And the choice of Howe's replacement simply reflects the retreat and indifference we're now witnessing from the club's board.
A scan of Tyneside sources and they're trying to put a brave face on it. And there is a decent story to tell about Matthias Jaissle. But c'mon, this is no world-beater. And certainly, this isn't the type of profile we were all expecting when the Saudis took charge of the club five years ago.
In contrast, upon buying Manchester City, the Emiratis removed Mark Hughes within weeks and brought in Manuel Pellegrini. Then Roberto Mancini followed, before City's powerbrokers Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain convinced their old Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to reunite with them in Manchester.
That's how a big club acts. City sought the best - on the pitch and in the dugout - from anywhere across the globe. In contrast, the decision-makers at Newcastle barely drove across town back in Jeddah to tap Jaissle about leaving Al-Ahli and replacing Howe at Newcastle. The least amount of effort. Just enough to get by. The decision to turn to Jaissle smacks of the same underwhelming approach to the transfer market. A group of kids with potential, but little else. Bazoumana Touré, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steur and Ewen Jaouen, like Jaissle, all have a nice story to tell, but that's where it ends.
Any Premier League club with any type of board could make the same type of additions. We were expecting better from Newcastle. Bolder. Bigger. Instead, we're seeing a transfer policy that would suit a Crystal Palace or Brighton. And you can throw the managerial appointment in there as well. Jaissle at a Palace or Brighton - as a first step into the Premier League - would be a scenario you'd expect. But not Newcastle - and that's even without PIF's money.
Again, we were expecting so, so much more. This was supposed to be the era for Toon fans to dream. That nothing was impossible. The days of Keegan, Sir Bobby, David Ginola and Alan Shearer. If Sir John Hall could do that - then just imagine what the Saudis would do? Instead, we're seeing mediocrity. The ordinary. The mundane.
For this column, the slide began with the departure of Amanda Staveley and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi. They loved the place. The project. They loved the fans, the players and Eddie Howe. They were the face of this 'new' version of Newcastle. As we say, bigger, bolder - a club ready to take it's place amongst the elite. They not only talked about it - but fought for it. Day-in, day-out. We just don't see that now from those in charge. If the Saudis are still serious about the club, they would do well to find another Staveley-Ghodoussi combination to lead the place.
Of course, in the week of Howe's resignation, Staveley and Ghodoussi have just bought into West Ham United. Yes, they're now preparing for the Championship's kickoff, but in all honesty Toon fans, in 12 months' time, just ask yourselves... which of the two clubs will be better placed?
With Staveley and Ghodoussi you had direction. Drive... Passion. Where is that ambition now? Paolo Maldini is out there and available. As is Leonardo. That's the level we should be seeing Newcastle shoot for. Not just big names, but proven big names. Men to match the feats of Soriano and Txiki. To recapture that enthusiasm and zeal lost with Staveley and Ghodoussi's departure.
This isn't the column we wanted to write. We were expecting more - much more - from the Saudis after October '21. It started so well and with so much promise. But the place is adrift. For the fans, for the club's history, Newcastle United deserve so much better. And it's something this column never expected.