Everton were well beaten in the end by Tottenham in last Saturday's game as they lost their undefeated record at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. However, there was plenty of controversy, as once again the officials' decisions—or lack thereof—raised troubling questions.
However, as with the loss at Manchester City, the Blues did create a number of chances, but once more their strikers dismally failed to take them.
Although much progress has been made by the team since David Moyes returned to Merseyside, this persistent problem, which dogged his predecessors, just will not go away.
Once more, last Saturday Moyes elected to start with his main forward from last season, Beto, but the Portuguese centre-forward couldn't find the net, and when the manager turned to summer signing Thierno Barry, again nothing changed.
Both Jack Grealish and Illman Ndiaye created chances for the strikers, but neither could oblige with a desperately needed goal.
As has been said many times before, this issue has the potential to undermine Everton's campaign and undo the good work that has been done over the last year or so.
Other than experimenting with various possible changes in formation and shifting certain players to new positions, there is not much Moyes can do to address this until the January transfer window opens.
Even then, of course, it is a notoriously difficult window to get business done and certainly to find players who are available and affordable when potential sellers are in a very strong position, given the tight time frame.
One player who might possibly be available was a forward Everton were keen on in the summer, but who went elsewhere.
That player is Evan Ferguson. The young Brighton striker went on loan to the other major club, Serie A giants Roma, that are also owned by the Friedkin Group.
This was frustrating, as Ferguson could have been an option for the Blues and provided some much-needed competition for Beto and Barry.
Well, according to reports in the media, Roma are the front-runners to sign Manchester United star Joshua Zirkzee, who is looking to leave United in January, and Ferguson might be the player he replaces in their team.
The 21-year-old Irish international has not had the best time in Italy, and although he has been productive for his national team, Ferguson has not scored a goal for Roma this season.
On the face of it, then, bringing him in does not necessarily seem like the answer to the problems Everton have in front of goal.
However, Ferguson has plenty of Premier League experience and has scored goals in the English top flight before, so perhaps it is just that he has not settled abroad and did not get enough playing time either with only four starts.
So, perhaps if his loan is terminated and given that Brighton do not seem to need him, Everton could do a deal to take him for the second half of the campaign.