There is somewhat of a myth about Manchester United's squad depth this season. Sure, they have a lot of players and options to choose from, but that doesn't mean they have used them, or necessarily have any plans to do so.
Over the past five days, there have been two chances for Erik ten Hag to switch things up a bit, firstly for the visit of Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League and secondly against Newcastle in the Premier League this past weekend.
On both occasions, the United boss resisted the desire to experiment, instead relying on a group of players already in the first-team picture, all of whom have had opportunities since he took over.
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The Europa League's very second-string character and their opponent made the absence of fresh players for the encounter against Omonia the most disappointing, yet the goalless draw with Newcastle still provided similar displeasure considering United only made one replacement.
Ten Hag had raised spirits ahead of kick-off on Sunday when he named Youth Cup hero Kobbie Mainoo on the bench alongside fellow academy starlets Zidane Iqbal and Alejandro Garnacho. There was also room for the more experienced Anthony Elanga and Facundo Pellistri.
It might be too soon for any of those to make regular impacts for United at first-team level, but on an afternoon in which they were so underwhelming and short of ideas, they were at least worthy of a chance.
Given United's lack of ideas and inspiration, why not throw a raw youngster onto the pitch? Sure, they might not be up to the challenge, but neither were many of the senior stars. Instead, using a relative unknown could bamboozle the Newcastle defence given they won't be fully aware of the player they are up against, one who would be determined more than ever to make a name for themselves on the biggest stage of them all.
Additionally, should the game have finished scoreless, the use of inexperienced players would have provided some mitigation. Rather than feeling like an underwhelming opportunity missed, the match would have had a more positive spin had it given a few young hopefuls a proper taste of senior football.
What it does tell us is two things.
Perhaps most telling is that Ten Hag simply doesn't trust many of the options he has in reserve. This is not a criticism of the younger players to make the bench, but perhaps more so of those who have already been handed senior experience before, such as Elanga.
The Dutchman is perhaps a little in danger of becoming over reliant on a core of players when there are alternatives in reserve, though that in itself highlights how early on we are in the rebuild and the fact that further overhauling of the squad is required.
What it also tells us is that Ten Hag is well aware of the pressure to win right now. Expectations for early success have increased after losing the first two Premier League games as well as the initial Europa League game.
Given his track record for giving youth a chance, it is telling that right now he is focused on the short-term goal of winning matches and easing criticism of his side, rather than looking at the long-term development of his side.
Another issue is that there is a lack of any obvious upcoming opportunities for considerable rotation that would offer young players an opportunity to shine.
United are already making up ground in the Premier League and will likely need to win their final two Europa League matches if they are to have any chance of finishing top of the group in order to avoid a play-off.
Beyond that, they have Aston Villa in the EFL Cup, a match which should see some element of rotation, though it won't necessarily be the case.
That home clash will be the penultimate club match before the World Cup, meaning that there won't be so many long-term worries about squad fatigue to consider. It also represents their best chance of silverware this season, and while it is not a priority competition, Ten Hag would certainly benefit from winning it.
Ten Hag has a lot of options, but that doesn't mean he is going to use them.
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