A number of Tottenham fans will certainly have questioned Antonio Conte's decision nine minutes from time in Sunday's defeat against Newcastle United. Trailing 2-1 following first-half strikes from Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron, Harry Kane had given Spurs a glimmer of hope, but they struggled to test Nick Pope after he had reduced the deficit in the 54th minute.
Having already introduced Ivan Perisic and Lucas Moura around the hour mark, the head coach's final throw of the dice saw defenders Ben Davies and Matt Doherty enter the fray. Making a double defensive change against Marseille in the Champions League in September that actually helped the team secure a vital 2-0 win, this time, the substitutions didn't have the desired effect.
With Davies and Doherty replacing Clement Lenglet and Davinson Sanchez in the Spurs XI, Bryan Gil sat on the bench, probably wondering what he has to do to get some much-needed pitch time. Taking his rare opportunity earlier in October with an eye-catching five-minute cameo in the European win over Eintracht Frankfurt, Bryan, who was rarely seen warming up down the touchline against Newcastle, has yet to take to the field for Tottenham since.
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He certainly deserves another shot to show all what he can do. What makes his situation even more perplexing is that Lucas has only just returned from injury, a hamstring issue has stopped Dejan Kulusevski from featuring since the international break, and Richarlison is also on the sidelines with a calf problem sustained against former club Everton. Tottenham aren't exactly blessed with attacking options, but there have been times when Conte could have turned to the Spaniard. Notably in Wednesday's 2-0 defeat at Manchester United and then on Sunday against Newcastle.
However, Bryan has remained on the bench, and Conte has instead selected other players. Perhaps not ready for the demands of the Premier League on a weekly basis just yet as he needs to get to grips with the pace and physicality of the league, the youngster would have benefitted massively from a bit more pitch time, and Spurs may have also profited due to his attacking qualities.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Conte was asked by football.london, if he has time and patience, given his frustrations due to the current situation. Outlining that he would like a number of "good substitutions" available to him and "invent situations" were also two keywords, as that's what he clearly tried to do late on by bringing two defenders on in the hope of changing the outcome of the match.
He said: "Yeah, for sure, this type of situation makes me frustrated because I would like to play this type of game, also in the Champions League, with the best team and then to have on the bench three, four or five good substitutions and not to try to invent situations you understand?
"But we knew this, and when I spoke before, I always said, look, we have just started the process for Tottenham to bring Tottenham into the best position to be more competitive to fight for something important, we have just started. For this reason, we need to cope with this situation.
"For me, it is not easy, it is not simple, but we have to cope and manage the situation with experience and stay together. Today I don't have complaints about the attitude, will and desire of the players because every single player performed. The attitude and effort was really strong and really big, but sometimes it is not enough. Tonight it was not enough to avoid a loss."
Bryan's wait goes on, but it doesn't exactly look too promising for him at present, especially with no minutes coming his way in the wake of Kulusevski and Richarlison's injuries. Desperately needing a summer exit with a loan return to Valencia on the cards, the 21-year-old unfortunately went without as Tottenham couldn't bring in a replacement which would have given him the green light to head back to his home country.
Conte's decisions on Sunday very much highlighted that one of Fabio Paratici's first January transfer priorities must be to bring in a new attacker who can more than play his part for the team. Missing the injured duo over the past couple of games, Tottenham are crying out for another option at present, with Conte's bench looking more than a tad defensive.
Another attacking alternative on the bench may have simply helped Spurs find a way back into two games where they recorded a total of zero points. Just over two months away from the January transfer window opening for business, Conte ideally needs to find a temporary solution before he and Paratici can address the issue at the turn of the year.
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