Newcastle United fans may have had to wait 23 days for that Coventry City disappointment, but they only have five more to process what happened at the CBS Arena before the Magpies are back in action once again.
Matthias Jaissle's men take on Aston Villa in Saturday night's televised game at St James' Park, when a big response will be expected by the home faithful.
While the two 4-1 drubbings to Coventry and Leeds have come away from Tyneside, United remain unbeaten on home turf, but will know they cannot be as generous against Unai Emery's Villa.
Changes on the Cards
Changes must be made if United are to bounce back, although Jaissle will once again have to consult medical staff when it comes to how many minutes his returning players can manage.
Joelinton, Will Osula and Amar Dedic returned from the bench at Coventry, while Dan Burn played the final minutes, but the Magpies head coach must weigh up some bold changes for this weekend. Here are four that need to happen.
Change the Formation
It's not working. It's not that it can't work - plenty of sides operate with the 4-2-3-1 Jaissle prefers - but he doesn't have the right players to make it work right now.
Newcastle cannot deal with any transition in midfield, with simple clearances too often turning into dangerous attacks. Nico Gonzalez is talented on the ball but cannot cover the ground Sandro Tonali did and is too often beaten in individual duels, while Sean Steur, Lewis Miley and Joe Willock have not been able to step up to what is a hugely demanding box-to-box role.
Steur was excellent against Hull City but was exhausted midway through the second half. That's not sustainable. United have to abandon the No 10 role and go back to a three-man midfield, with Joelinton, Gonzalez and one of either Steur or Miley, or risk being over-run by Villa's midfield yet again.
Dan Burn Return
The lack of cover in front of them has badly exposed the backline, but the decision making has not been good either. While Malick Thiaw has not been the calm presence he was last term, it's Sven Botman whose place is in doubt now Burn is in the squad.
While Lukas Hornicek rightly took the blame for conceding the early penalty, the ball should never have got through to him in the first place.
United need a leader at the back - Thiaw is captain in name only - and Burn is the man to bring them together. It's tempting to also recall Fabian Schar, who has a strong case, but Burn is a must.
Lewis Miley has deputised well at right-back, but Amar Dedic needs to start as soon as the medics give the green light - ideally on Saturday.
Toure Role
Bazoumana Toure's second-half performance at Coventry largely reflected the overall display . . . looked good up until the final ball. The Ivory Coast winger is still very raw, but offered more in the first 10 minutes after his introduction than anything else that had come down the right all game.
Yes, he chose the wrong option on several occasions, but Coventry couldn't handle his pace and he looked a real threat. Harvey Barnes has the left flank wrapped up, but while we wait for Anthony Elanga to recover from injury, Toure is the best bet on the right. He needs to learn quickly, and hopefully the knock which forced him off late on at Coventry isn't serious, but he won't do that sitting on the bench.
Osula Solution
Newcastle have not had a goalscorer since Alexander Isak left in August 2025. For all Matias Fernandez-Pardo's potential, the 21-year-old does not look like a centre-forward.
I would be tempted to drop the Belgian into a deeper role, or on the flanks, but Osula has to start against Villa, providing he is deemed fit enough.
It's a concern that United have to rely on the young Dane, who couldn't get into the side 12 months ago, but that's where they are right now. He can lead the line, something which has been alarmingly absent since that opening day at Liverpool.
As things stand, opposing defences know they will not be overly tested as long as they close ranks, so Newcastle need someone who can pull players out of position, and that man is Osula.
