If Newcastle's Saudi owners are serious about one day competing with the likes of Liverpool, they have six weeks to prove it.
Forget talk of January being a difficult market in which to trade. That used to be the case in a pre-Covid world. Now, if you have a barrel-load of cash, there are plenty of clubs willing to drink from it.
If anything, this is a month in which the financial might of the Magpies should be used to exploit those vulnerable to temptation.
Under Mike Ashley's ownership, this 3-1 defeat at Anfield - in which Eddie Howe's side did OK - might have served as reason to stumble on through with holes in their shoes.