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Interesting take on Rafa's rotation

  • 30-07-2008 4:02pm
    #1
    PHB
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,617 ✭✭✭✭


    Saw this post on another forum thought I'd post it here as it's pretty interesting:
    I had an argument with a scouser who didn't accept that Benitez rotated any more than Fergie, so I went through both teams game by game. I'm anal like that. Plus other people seemed to belive the scouser which is unacceptable.

    Liverpool made an average of 3.68 changes per game, whereas United made 3.16. Not a huge difference. However a column graph pointed to the fact that United make few changes before March 1st (2.54), and a lot more after (4.64). Basically Fergie keeps a similar team (a lot of the changes involved keeping Scholes/Carrick/Hargreaves/Andersen happy) until the end of the season when players are more knackered, and there are vital Champions league games, when he freshens things up..

    Benitez on the other hand was consistent: 3.72 before and 3.58 after. He started rotating in August and kept it up all season. However that's not his problem.

    He plays Reina, Carragher, Gerrard and Torres most of the time, so he's changing roughly half of the remaining players every single game.

    Fergie does a similar thing, but with the defence. And here's Benitez's problem: succesful English teams have a regular defence, with the players only getting rested for the odd game. Evra must get knackered occasionally playing like he does. Benitez keeps the spine of the team, and rotates either side, including the defence.

    Arsenal's unbeaten team; George Graham's league winners; us in the 90s. Mourinho at first played Bridge/Terry/Carvahlo/Ferrera consistently and won the league. Recently they've tittted round with the full backs a lot and didn't won the league.

    Clough used to go on about the spine of the team, but in those days everyone played the same defenders anyway, as there were only 15 or so in the squad.

    Having a regular defence doesn't win you the league, but I strongly suspect that not doing so precludes it under normal circumstances.

    Some interesting points there made on rotation, especially in relation to the rate of rotation at different points. This would suggest that Rafa does indeed use rotation in a different way to others.

    As for the other things about defending rotation, I know last season that would be true, but I was thinking that the season before Liverpool played Finnan-Carragher-Agger-Riise for pretty much every game?


Comments

  • #2
    jesus_thats_gre
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,441 ✭✭✭✭jesus_thats_gre


    PHB wrote: »
    but I was thinking that the season before Liverpool played Finnan-Carragher-Agger-Riise for pretty much every game?

    Was certainly under this impression myself.


  • #3
    Tusky
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,080 ✭✭✭✭Tusky


    PHB wrote: »
    Saw this post on another forum thought I'd post it here as it's pretty interesting:



    Some interesting points there made on rotation, especially in relation to the rate of rotation at different points. This would suggest that Rafa does indeed use rotation in a different way to others.

    As for the other things about defending rotation, I know last season that would be true, but I was thinking that the season before Liverpool played Finnan-Carragher-Agger-Riise for pretty much every game?

    Yup. The season before that it was Finnan - Carragher - Hyypia - Riise.

    I think ideally Rafa would like to keep pretty much the same defense. The problem last year was injuries to Agger, Finnan & Aurelio.


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