Footballer fortunes are like shifting sands and sometimes there's only a limited amount they can do to influence matters.
Take Manchester United's full-backs. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer favoured Luke Shaw at left-back and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back so regularly you could practically guarantee they'd be on the teamsheet.
But the new interim manager at Old Trafford, Ralf Rangnick, is already hinting pretty strongly that Alex Telles and Diogo Dalot will be the way forward.
Alex Telles (left) and Diogo Dalot (right) impressed for Manchester United as they beat Crystal Palace on Sunday in Ralf Rangnick's first match as interim coach
Rangnick will be assessing the strengths and weaknesses of his squad at Old Trafford
Shaw and Wan-Bissaka started the first 12 Premier League matches of the season under Solskjaer but, all of a sudden, you wonder how they'll win their places back.
The England left-back is currently sidelined after taking blows to the head against Manchester City and Watford, allowing Telles a rare opportunity that he has taken.
Wan-Bissaka missed the win over Arsenal with a hand injury but was then left on the bench by Rangnick for his first game in charge against Crystal Palace. Dalot got the nod and duly impressed.
You can't escape the feeling that Telles and Dalot might be better suited to Rangnick's style of play, which favours full-backs happy to cross the halfway line and support the attack as well as press high.
As United legend Rio Ferdinand said after the Palace win: 'I've got to be honest, Wan-Bissaka has got a hell of a job getting back in this team. The same for Luke Shaw.
Rio Ferdinand believes Aaron Wan-Bissaka (pictured) will be sweating on his place in the side
Luke Shaw is sidelined having taken a couple of knocks to the head but also faces a fight to reclaim his place at left-back for United
'One thing this manager likes if full-backs who can actually play and get on the ball.
'As well as doing the other stuff like pressing, he wants output with the ball. That's the weakest part of Wan-Bissaka's game, there's going to be a big fight for him to get back into this team.'
The four games since Solskjaer's dismissal - three overseen by Michael Carrick and one by Rangnick - have strongly suggested the former manager was too loyal to Shaw and Wan-Bissaka.
Dalot and Telles always had ability but weren't given the opportunity. Now their time may have come or at the very least Rangnick will rotate a bit more. Fortune can be fickle for players.
As Ferdinand said, Wan-Bissaka looks the more vulnerable. His right-back spot was so nailed down last season, Dalot was sent out on loan to AC Milan to actually get some football.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was loyal to Shaw who rose to the challenge of competition from Telles
