Everton supporters know what it's like to have a bench for a Premier League match where it looks as though there's no help to be had. In recent years, a group of substitutes featuring two goalkeepers has not been a rarity.
But if you look at the options that David Moyes had on Saturday against Liverpool, and, frankly, through the first few matches of the season so far, that occurrence appears to be a thing of the past.
The bench features several players capable of changing a game if starters are getting tired or proving ineffective. The likes of Thierno Barry, Tyler Dibling, and Charly Alcaraz, all of whom were subbed on at Anfield, might be starters on other clubs, and that doesn't even include players like Adam Aznou, Dwight McNeil, and Tim Iroegbunam, each of whom could be useful as depth or fresh legs.
And so, it was frustrating to see Moyes continue to act like he has no potential game changers on the bench during Saturday's 2-1 loss to Liverpool.
Sure, he did make the switch at striker, bringing on Barry at halftime when it became clear that it was not Beto's day, either through Moyes' fault or the player's, but after that, the manager waited to bring on Dibling and Alcaraz until the 86th minute.
If the goal was to allow those two young attackers an opportunity to impact the match, which was still very much in the balance, Moyes didn't give them much time to do so, as the pair would only be on the pitch for seven minutes, including stoppage time.
The players he subbed off didn't make a lot of sense either, but that's a conversation for another article. The problem here is that Moyes is still operating as if his bench lacks top choices, and that just isn't the case anymore.
Surely it would have been more useful to not square-peg James Garner at left back again with Dwight McNeil sitting right here, even if it appears that Moyes doesn't rate McNeil very highly. But if you're chasing a goal, another attacking minded, especially one who is left footed in this particular situation, would have made more sense.
This doesn't mean that Moyes must use all five of his subs every single match. It's just that he needs to expand his way of thinking about his sub usage if Everton want to have a successful campaign this season.