Gerrard speaks out on rotation

[Shaggy]

Haha. Fair play, never noticed that sly edit.

[CAD]

Reina, Carra, Finnan, Arbeloa, Gerrard, Kuyt and Torres all start the majority of games for us.

If you ask me it's splitting hairs. Last season Ferguson, Rafa and Mourinho all made a very similar number of changes.

How can people not be getting used to rotation? What do you want? Us to win the league again using only 14 players?

Ferguson had a much more defined spine. He would never make 5 change in a side that won 6-0 the match before. NEVER.

Reina
Carra
Finnan
Gerrard
Agger

That was pretty much the spine in the last season. To throw Torres, kuyt and Arbelao in there is premature even though it might suit you argument.

Our spine was never as defined as Scums. Look at the rotation made. Look at keyplayers changed and you will find that the "they rotated the same last season" argument, is pure nonsense made up by the same people who said that Gerrard scored 23 from the RM and that Cisse scores 15 as a winger.

It's nonsense.

Fergie never rotated his spine anywhere near as aggressive as Rafa.

[JohnDoe]

Fergie never rotated his spine anywhere near as aggressive as Rafa.

Look what I copied and pasted from an article of Paul Tomkins.

[Shaggy]

That was pretty much the spine in the last season. To throw Torres, kuyt and Arbelao in there is premature even though it might suit you argument. .

It isn't premature. Arbeloa has started every single league game for us this season.

[paulcooper4]

Id like to rotate fergies spine

[Craig_H]

Haha. Fair play, never noticed that sly edit.

Shaggy gets out-shaggy'd

[sonsofthedesert]

Look what I copied and pasted from an article of Paul Tomkins.

Don't let facts get in the way of a good argument.

[lfcruleus]

Ronaldo and Rooney were rested at many points last season, the figures dont lie, Vidic was out injured for a while so was Neville, so they werent settled either. The strongest squad will win this league, always has.

[CAD]

Quote from boring Tomkins article:



And more

I have read this before and I consider it Lies, damn lies and statistics. How can I refute the great Tomkins?

I would like to see the data. I would like to see the sides Fergie picked in the top games:

Against Liverpool away:
Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Larsson (Saha 67).
Against Liverpool at home:
Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Saha.

Call me naive but I'm pretty sure Ronaldo and Saha would have played if fit. There is your spine. What Fergie did against inferior sides is of little consequense. This is a man who has a format and a strongest XI.

Against Scum away:
Reina,
Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise,
Gerrard, Sissoko, Alonso, Gonzalez,
Luis Garcia, Kuyt.

Against Scum at home:
Reina,
Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise,
Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, Gonzalez,
Kuyt, Bellamy.

0-1 lineup against Chelsea

Reina,

Finnan, Agger, Carragher, Warnock,

Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko Bellamy,

Kuyt.

2-0 lineup against Chelsea:

Reina,
Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise
Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso, Aurelio,
Crouch, Kuyt.

What strikes me the most about Rafa is:
Constant change of formation.
Moving keyplayers around to accomodate others. (Gerrard/momo)
Mucking about with the CM. Sissoko or no sissoko. It makes a massive diffence to our side and the way we play and look.
Mucking about with the Central defense. 23 games started to Agger/Hyppia.

I think that shows the difference between Fergie and Rafa. Fergie might rotate but he knows what he thinks is his best lineup. He doesn't change formation and he doesn't **** about with the CB's.

He tinkers far less than Rafa when it comes to the big matches.

This is a valid point from Tomkins:

"Of course, as Chelsea's squad cost three times as much as Liverpool's, and United's almost twice as much, the odds were stacked in the favour of those two teams contesting the title.

Those clubs still have far more expensive squads, but Benitez has been able to bring in some top-class players this summer. This suggests that when Benitez rotates this season, he will always be introducing quality into the line-up. So perhaps rotating less is not the key –– given Benitez rotates to an identical level of his rivals –– just having a better squad to rotate with. And that certainly appears to be the case now"

I will argue that the squad is still NOT good enough to be rotated as much as Uniteds.

I will argue that Saha, Smith, Solskjær forced Fergie to rotate far more up front than he would have liked to. Larsons 4 month stay kicks up the percentage as well.

I will argue that the key players for United like Rooney and especially Ronaldo made such a big impact that rotation was less likely to affect their team. The fundamental philosophy playing away with these high impact players made a fair difference. They dominated the small sides though grit, skill and using the same formation away and home.

I do realise that nothing is pure good or bad and obviously there are good points to Rafas rotation. I do appreciate all the good work Rafa has done. Bless him. I just don't think rotation will win us the PL. The squad isn't good enough. If we rotated less we might just have a shot. That's all I'm saying.

Ps: I do apologize if this post is a little messy. The wife is screaming at me because I'm still in bed with my laptop.

[rushscored4]

Ps: I do apologize if this post is a little messy. The wife is screaming at me because I'm still in bed with my boyfriend.

[Tom]

Ferguson made as many changes last season as Rafa and won the league.

Stop coming out with common sense Shags otherwise we'll have to start rotating the mods

the whole rotation debate is a complete sideshow. All the big (i.e. rich) clubs do it. Please put it in the box labelled "zonal marking".

[Tom]

I have read this before and I consider it Lies, damn lies and statistics. How can I refute the great Tomkins?


I do realise that nothing is pure good or bad and obviously there are good points to Rafas rotation. I do appreciate all the good work Rafa has done. Bless him. I just don't think rotation will win us the PL. The squad isn't good enough. If we rotated less we might just have a shot. That's all I'm saying.

Ps: I do apologize if this post is a little messy. The wife is screaming at me because I'm still in bed with my laptop.

But we're only 2 points behind manure with a game in hand. So obviously, with the new players we've got, rotation this year is working.......

[CAD]

Ok ok - cards on the table. I'm involved in a heavy 4some with Paul, Speedy and Kaip. We do a lot of polls together. It's 'out of hand' as we say.

Ps: No Pezzer - you can't join.

[CAD]

But we're only 2 points behind manure with a game in hand. So obviously, with the new players we've got, rotation this year is working.......

It's still early days. I don't normally watch the Scum but I did see the reading and Pompey game. Those two draws were like our away game against Newcastle last season. (2-1) As joyful as it was to watch I have to say that Scum will be a hard act to follow.

If Rafa stays with the '0-0 rotation Pompey state of mind' I don't believe no 19 is on the way.

[StevieG08]

Rotation and zonal marking seem to be everyone's favourite way of attacking the team when we go through a bad run of results and yet it's never mentioned when we go on good and sometimes great runs. At the end of the day it's Rafa's policy and one which has brought him a great deal of success both here and back in Spain, i really hope he does win the league and rams peoples words back down their throats!