Even in a "dead" game, there should always be important information to glean. Leeds United's 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur showed their squad is not fit for its new purpose.
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November's game at Manchester City was a turning point not just in their season, but their whole course.
Daniel James and Willy Gnonto were substituted at half-time as the Whites changed from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2. The team has not looked back since, but both have found themselves without a job to do.
Two injuries, to Gabriel Gudmundsson and Jayden Bogle, left them scraping the barrel in a match which was only a different result or two out of 35 from being crucial.
James and Gnonto are wingers at a club which no longer does wingers. Both have played for their countries at centre-forward, but manager Daniel Farke is not keen on either there.
Gnonto started Farke's first Leeds game as a No 9, never to return. James has not played there for him.
James is a good player now at the wrong club. Unsurprisingly, he looked ill-at-ease at right wing-back when, just as predictably, Spurs targeted him.
Left winger Mathys Tel was Spurs' best player and scorer. Richarlison should have been on the scoresheet too, when played onside by James. It was hard to be too critical.
James was substituted in the second half for Gnonto to give a better fist of the role he played well in the FA Cup at Championship Derby County, but Leeds needed someone more suited to the role. With left-back Jayden Lienou on the bench and right-footed James Justin at left wing-back would such a low-risk game for the visitors have not been a good time to look at the 18-year-old?
Last summer, Leeds built their squad around a 4-3-3 formation, having solidly stuck to 4-2-3-1 for two Championship seasons. But November’s rethink demands something different and when just two hamstring injuries struck, they did not have it.
The spirit Leeds have shown all season – even when fighting from a goal down on Monday in a game they could afford to lose but West Ham United needed them not to – has justified a tight squad, but limited the eventualities it can cover.
"(On Sunday) Jayden Bogle was ready to travel with us but he injured himself somehow," said Farke. "I've never experienced someone who has a hamstring strain by doing (gym work).
"James Justin, a right-footed full-back, had to play as a left wing-back because simply I didn't have any other left wing-back available.
"Daniel James had to play, for the first time in his career at club level, as a wing-back – keeping in mind that he hasn't played many minutes – simply due to the fact that I didn't have any other wing-back options.
"I wanted to go offensive instead of putting a centre-back into this position. Sebastiaan Bornauw perhaps could have played there, but I wanted to attack this game."
The reality of Leeds has changed, and now their squad needs to change with it, with more wing-backs and left-footed defensive options.
They have been fortunate with injuries in 2025-26, but they cannot push their luck.