On the five occasions since the start of last season when Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson have not been fit to start, Newcastle have failed to win in the Premier League.
At Goodison Park, they were the better team and should have won, only to be let down by their final action in the final third. They needed a striker on the pitch.
They had two at home injured and one on the bench in William Osula who, at 21, is not yet trusted at this level.
Why, then, did Newcastle spend their only money of the summer on a player who cannot yet play?
At £10million rising to £15m, Osula is a project player.
Anthony Gordon failed to convert a penalty kick during Newcastle’s 0-0 draw at Everton
Gordon’s low effort from 12 yards was saved by his former team-mate Jordan Pickford (right)
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe pictured applauding his team’s fans after Saturday’s game
A long-term vision is all well and good. Except, it is short-sighted if the team’s need is for the here and now. And Newcastle have long since needed a back-up option to Isak and Wilson.
In their time together at the club, Isak has started 49 of 79 Premier League games, Wilson just 27. When one is injured the other is usually available, but that luck has expired in recent weeks.
Against Everton, Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes and, fleetingly, Miguel Almiron were all used as a central striker. Three wingers.
Gordon, despite missing a first-half penalty, played well. But not as well as he does on the wing, and that is the cost. An able deputy, yes, but it disables the team’s best player in his best position.
With the margins so tight in the battle for European places, points dropped in autumn could prove costly come spring. And that takes us back to the summer. Profit and sustainability rules are restrictive for Newcastle but that does not mean you can’t buy players to play, even at a modest £15m.
Earlier this year, Aston Villa bought Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough for £8m rising to £15m. Liam Delap went to Ipswich from Manchester City for £15m rising to £20m. Neither deal may have been right for Newcastle but it is proof value does exist in the market for young strikers.
Newcastle were missing star strikers Alexander Isak (left) and Callum Wilson (right) at Everton
William Osula started in Newcastle’s EFL Cup win over Wimbledon but he has only made one brief cameo appearance in the Premier League since signing from Sheffield United in August
One day Osula might look a snip, and you have to trust Eddie Howe in deciding when the time is right to use him.
But that is tomorrow. For today, Newcastle have been left short, and it means they are coming up short in matches they are good enough to win.