As experiments go, this was like confusing water with nitroglycerine. Having opted for a formation he thought would beat Leicester, David O'Leary saw the whole thing blow up spectacularly in his face. Poor Rio Ferdinand found his reputation slightly singed in the explosion.
The £18 million sterling debutant can hardly be blamed for this Leeds defeat but it is safe to assume his manager will not opt for 3-5-2 again in a hurry. O'Leary was right to point out that individual errors were ultimately responsible for his team's downfall, but several of his players looked as comfortable with the new formation as they might playing in shirt and tie.
Jonathan Woodgate was chief among them. By the time he was hauled off after an error-prone 37 minutes and 4-4-2 was restored, Leeds were 3-0 down. Never mind Rio, until then the visitors' defence had displayed stability more readily associated with 1914 and Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
The marking which allowed Ade Akinbiyi and Gerry Taggart to head in was awful, the space left behind the wing-backs smacked of unfamiliarity and Leicester's midfielders made too many forward runs untracked. "What a waste of money," the home fans chimed.
Watching Ferdinand trudge off dejectedly at the end it was hard not to feel sorry for him. As his captain Lucas Radebe said: "Rio must have thought `Jesus Christ, what's happening here'?"
Having started in a back three, Ferdinand finished alone. Not only was Woodgate substituted but Radebe was sent off. When the new signing saw West Ham sixth and Leeds 11th he cannot have known whether to laugh or cry.
Through it all Ferdinand played acceptably, winning challenges and generally distributing the ball simply and accurately. Seeing him on the left side of a back three rather than as sweeper was a surprise and there were no buccaneering runs. But, as O'Leary said, he was let down by those around.
Woodgate will surely play at Lazio tomorrow because Ferdinand is ineligible but his place could now be threatened.
Not that he or Radebe put the collapse down to formations. "It's got nothing to do with the defensive system," Radebe said. "It is a system we are not used to and we did have to adjust but good players should be able to do that. We let in two terrible goals.
"It doesn't matter what system you are playing, you can't afford to make mistakes like that. This is a massive setback for us after the way we beat Arsenal last week."
What is certain is that a big improvement is needed to get back into the Champions League. As well as defending poorly, Leeds gave away possession cheaply.
Yet Leeds' failings should not overshadow how well Leicester started. Their back three of Gary Rowett £3 million, Matt Elliott £1.6 million and Taggart (free) showed how it should be done. The midfielders got forward to good effect, Robbie Savage heading in the first after Paul Robinson had parried a Darren Eadie shot.
Not long after Jones had given the ball away, enabling Akinbiyi to finish Frank Sinclair's cross at the far post, Leeds conceded again. This time Taggart lost Woodgate from Callum Davidson's free-kick and headed in.
Despite losing Radebe for a second mistimed tackle in the 68th minute, Leeds dominated the second half, particularly after Harry Kewell came on for his first appearance of the season. Mark Viduka pulled a goal back from close range, but there was to be no happy beginning for Ferdinand.
Leicester: Royce, Rowett, Davidson, Sinclair (Impey 72), Elliott, Taggart, Lennon, Savage, Izzet, Akinbiyi (Oakes 89), Eadie. Subs Not Used: Price, Guppy, Gunnlaugsson. Booked: Lennon. Goals: Savage 8, Akinbiyi 17, Taggart 29.
Leeds: Robinson, Kelly, Radebe, Woodgate (Wilcox 38), Ferdinand, Matteo, Bowyer, Dacourt, Jones (Kewell 61), Smith, Viduka. Subs Not Used: Mills, Harte, Milosevic. Sent Off: Radebe (67). Booked: Smith, Radebe. Goals: Viduka 75.
Referee: S Bennett (Orpington).
