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Leeds United aren’t going to be in the Premier League next season, and there may be reason for fans to point the finger at Andrea Radrizzani after their playoff semi-final defeat on Wednesday.

Just looking at their bench for the game against Derby tells the whole story. Other than an unfit Pontus Jansson the Whites could only call upon U23 players.

Derby’s difference maker

Derby proved the value of having a strong bench as Jack Marriott completely turned the game when he entered proceedings.

The striker netted twice, including the Rams’ fourth goal which eventually sent them to Wembley.

Whereas Derby could look towards the experience of Tom Huddlestone and Ashley Cole to get them over the line, Leeds had to bring on Izzy Brown, who had only played seven minutes for the Yorkshire club all season before Wednesday’s game.

Weren’t prepared

Perhaps Victor Orta and Radrizzani underestimated the size of the task ahead of them when they were heading into this campaign.

It’s no secret that Bielsa’s teams have a tendency to run out of steam towards the end of seasons, and with the Championship being such a gruelling league the higher-ups should have prepared for this.

The Argentine should have been given a couple of extra additions in January so that he could rotate regularly towards the back end of Leeds’ promotion push, and keep players as fit as possible for huge games such as this one.

Instead, the Whites came into the playoffs with a lengthy injury list and a lack of options outside of the starting XI.

Radrizzani should have recruited more in the winter window to avoid this problem. If the owner is serious about getting the Yorkshire club back into the Premier League, he can’t afford to make this same mistake again.