Rafael Benitez has conceded that sometimes he "gambles too much"

[bigfooty]

We'll see if this is all talk or a sign of Rafa looking to change his ways.

There's at least one report suggesting that Crouch will not start tomorrow and that we'll go with Kuyt up top on his own. If that was to happen and we lose then I think it would be curtains for Rafa in the eyes of all but his most loyal supporters.

[LFC1892]

"If you pick the same team all the time you will find at the end of the season that you cannot win trophies."

This is bollocks.

1) The year arsenal went unbeaten in the league they hardly changed their line-up.

2) I'd rather we kept the same line-up and be still in the title chase in February - rather than destroy the confidence and consistency of the team through excessive rotation and be behind Everton and Villa in the table.

I fear it's all going to end in tears eventually for Rafa as he doesn't seem to be able to grasp how to win the Premiership.

Edit: And one more thing, all this long-term-view-of-the-season-and-resting-players **** doesn't work out so well when they get injured in training or on international duty, does it?

[Red_Polo]

The difference is that Man U for example don't rotate a players position, Rafa do that very often.

A winger is a winger, a CM a CM and so on. Very easy for a new player to learn the system.

Rafa makes is to complicated and it takes to long time for the players to learn the system, time that you don't have in todays football because new players comes in all the time.

That is a much bigger problem in my mind.

Chopping and changing roles/systems is difficult to pull off when you haven't got a successful one well engrained to build off. I think it's fine changing fringe players often, but you need to be rolling them in and out of a well defined team dynamic - something we just haven't developed.

[desertscouser]

Over rotation and the constant change in playing systems and players' roles has killed us again this season.

[Michael]

[QUOTE=LFC1892;944733]
1) The year arsenal went unbeaten in the league they hardly changed their line-up.
[QUOTE]

and now Henry can hardly walk across the car park without getting a muscle tear!

[beabeasdad]

Benitez complicates the team with mind boggling tactics. Rafa needs to realise that players are thick and just keep it simple and let them have the freedom to express their footballing talents. I believe Rafa's scientific philosophy of the game which is to look at each player and each team with the minutest of details can just complicate his ideas heading into a game.

But it worked at Valencia. So does that mean our players are thicker than the squad he had there?

[AFII]

But it worked at Valencia. So does that mean our players are thicker than the squad he had there?

Rafa didn't rotate that much at Valencia. That is a myth. The whole back four, the keeper, Albelda, Baraja, Aimar, Vicente and Mista more or less played week in week out in the league when fit.

What he did was that he rotated the team very much when they played in and won the UEFA Cup. He played one team in the UEFA Cup and one in the league.

[Jayesh87]

Rafa didn't rotate that much at Valencia. That is a myth. The whole back four, the keeper, Albelda, Baraja, Aimar, Vicente and Mista more or less played week in week out in the league when fit.

What he did was that he rotated the team very much when they played in and won the UEFA Cup. He played one team in the UEFA Cup and one in the league.

Thats because those players were world class back then, sadly we don't have enough of them atm!

[akjs123]

Over rotation and the constant change in playing systems and players' roles has killed us again this season.

Disagree mate. We have always rotated. Even when we got 82 points. Even when we were doing very well in the league till november. Its just that the media blame rotation when things arent going so well because they dont like it.

Our problems this season have been many, but rotation is not one of them. We have been poor defensively. So many goals conceeded which we should not have and so many points lost because of that. There has been bad luck with injuries and decisions which cost us points against Chelsea, Reading etc. Pako has also gone and to top it off, the G&H saga hasnt done us any good.

[Craig_H]

Over rotation and the constant change in playing systems and players' roles has killed us again this season.

See, this is what i said earlier in the season. The biggest obstacle standing between us and a title challenge isnt Arsenal, Chelsea OR Man Utd.

It's Rafa Benitez.

[Craig_H]

Disagree mate. We have always rotated. Even when we got 82 points. Even when we were doing very well in the league till november. Its just that the media blame rotation when things arent going so well because they dont like it.

Our problems this season have been many, but rotation is not one of them. We have been poor defensively. So many goals conceeded which we should not have and so many points lost because of that. There has been bad luck with injuries and decisions which cost us points against Chelsea, Reading etc. Pako has also gone and to top it off, the G&H saga hasnt done us any good.

But you say 'even when we got 82 points' as if we'd won the league and it proves the 'rotation criticism' wrong. We didnt and it doesnt.

[beabeasdad]

Rafa didn't rotate that much at Valencia. That is a myth. The whole back four, the keeper, Albelda, Baraja, Aimar, Vicente and Mista more or less played week in week out in the league when fit.

What he did was that he rotated the team very much when they played in and won the UEFA Cup. He played one team in the UEFA Cup and one in the league.

Not sure I follow you. Your two paragraphs appear to contradict each other.

Surely using two different teams (if thats what he did) playing one in the league and one in Europe, is rotation?

[Craig_H]

Not sure I follow you. Your two paragraphs appear to contradict each other.

Surely using two different teams (if thats what he did) playing one in the league and one in Europe, is rotation?

He means that Rafa didnt rotate his team in the league, like he does with us.

[akjs123]

But you say 'even when we got 82 points' as if we'd won the league and it proves the 'rotation criticism' wrong. We didnt and it doesnt.

What it implies is that we performed very well consistently despite rotation and with an inferior squad to what we have now and that proves that rotation isnt the cause of our poor form. Rotation is just an excuse used by the media to attack Rafa just like when we conceed a set piece goal, "why it wouldnt have happened in man marking" ignoring our previous excellent record with it.

[Craig_H]

I cant say i agree that it's just an excuse...

When you're swapping players week in, week out, you minimize the stability and consistency. It becomes difficult to develop an understanding and rhythm, which lessens the chances of success.

Furthermore, it negates the need for a player to put in proper effort and perform well, because he knows that his chances of playing the next game are more or less independent of how he plays in the current game.

The fact is that the 82 point season is the exception, whereas you seem to be interpreting it as the rule. What if that was a one-off lucky season? Evidence would suggest that it's more likely to have been the exception to the rule.