It seems that I spoke too soon.

After the Crystal Palace game, I wrote that it felt like Newcastle United had got their season back on track.

Okay, so I was wrong, but Newcastle did more than enough to win this game; the problem is they keep making the same mistakes.

Here are two big talking points from last night’s Carabao Cup defeat to Everton.

“It’s the Story of the Season”

Those were Matthias Jaissle’s words after the game as he reflected on yet another game where Newcastle had dominated possession but lacked quality in the final third. They had 28 shots to Everton’s 11, and nine on target to Everton’s five, but they didn’t make it count, and that has been a recurring problem.

They don’t have that clinical centre-forward that can take chances. They haven’t had one since Alexander Isak left and the players they’ve signed to fill that void – Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, and to an extent Matias Fernandez-Pardo – haven’t worked out.

The only one scoring with any regularity is Will Osula, and he was hooked at halftime after an anonymous performance.

The defending is no better. Everton picked Newcastle off too easily. The whole team seem to be crippled with nerves every time the opposition attack, which leads to mistakes.

Take last night. The first goal came from a mistake. Amar Dedić lost the ball after some pressure from Tyrique George, he found Hayden Hackney, who fed James Garner, and a few seconds later the ball was nestling in the back of Newcastle’s net. It was a gut-punch, and one they never recovered from.

So, how does Jaissle solve these issues? He needs a number nine for a start, and at least one centre-half, because Sven Botman is badly out of form and Dan Burn and Fabian Schär can’t play every game.

We don’t know what funds will be available in January, but Newcastle need to do something because this is unsustainable.

Is the Formation the Problem?

Jaissle, showing Ruben Amorim levels of stubbornness, insists on playing the 4-2-3-1 formation despite that the fact that Newcastle keep getting overrun in midfield, as they did last night.

The formation requires a number ten, which they don’t have, so a string of players have auditioned for the role. Joe Willock, Yoane Wissa, and Jacob Ramsey have all tried their luck so far, and last night Ramsey drew the short straw.

He did okay, but he was taken on as part of a triple substitution at halftime – although that was probably more to do with managing his minutes after his injury. He is a more natural fit for the role than either Wissa or Willock, but he isn’t the long-term answer.

Anthony Elanga came on for Harvey Barnes at halftime and ended up out on the left rather than his natural right side, but the move didn’t work and Jaissle sent Bazoumana Touré on 20 minutes later and moved Elanga back to the right.

Jaissle joined the club at a difficult time. Major first team players had left, and he took charge just a couple of weeks before the season started.

He isn’t responsible for the makeup of the squad. Nearly all the new signings arrived before he did, so he can only play the cards he’s dealt, but it feels like he’s trying to force his players to fit his favoured formation, rather than finding one that suits them.

He showed at Al Ahli that he can be flexible with his systems, so why not try it now? Many fans have faith in him, but that won’t last long if this rotten run continues.