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

[AFII]

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.

The season we finished on 82 points we used more or less the same back four week in week out. That was the main reason to why we finished on 82 points that season.

This season we have rotated very much in our back four, that means less stability. The only real improvement in attack from that season is Torres.

Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal have more ball possession than us and that means less defensive work for the back four and that in return means that it won't mean that much for them if they are missing a player or two in the back four compared to us.

[DomL]

"Sometimes maybe I take too many gambles. But it is necessary sometimes when opponents have top class, expensive players, and lots of them.

Thats telling for me, he tries to incorporate players that would fit against certain players. Now for me i think thats down to the fact the likes of Risse, Aurelio, Kewel arent actually good enough to play every team we me up against.

Rafa has shown that when he has the quality he will play them all the time, Arbeloa, Torres, Masch, Gerrard, Agger, Carra even Pennant at the start.

Rafa im shore has a first 11, but Rafa hasnt got the first 11 he wonts to play, people complain he worries about the opposition to much well with the players we have he has to.

Once he has a back four that are of a class of liverpool he will play all the time, once he has a midfield i.e. wingers he wants i dont think he will change them.

Rafa never rotated this much even at Valencia why because his first 11 were so good and when he did rotate the quality he had in the squad helped him ahcieve is goals with rotation.

at the momment Rafa has one part missing from his back four thats a left back.

so I can imagine a back four of
Arbeloa, Skertal, Agger, ?

then it coms to the middle are centre two are sorted it just needs the wingers.

?, Masch, Gerrad, ?

The front 2

Babel and Torres,

Thats seven out of a starting 11 that i feel Rafa will use and are of the quality he wants . If he gets the rest we will have a 11 he will use most of the time with the youngsters or squad members coming in when people are in need of a rest.

Rafa hasnt been given a opportunity to get a high quality first team 11 together in my opinion once he has the rotation and the players out of possition will not be as constant as perculier as they are now.

[Diego]

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.

so do our back four, at least untill this season, gerrard, alonso last season. torres now etc. rafa has always has a spine that plays almost every game...

he rotated aimar very much for example and was highly criticized for it.

[AFII]

so do our back four, at least untill this season, gerrard, alonso last season. torres now etc. rafa has always has a spine that plays almost every game...

he rotated aimar very much for example and was highly criticized for it.

Rafa more or less only left out Aimar when he was injured.

He played...

25 games 2003-04 in the league, he had hamstring problems that season.
31 games 2002-03 in the league.
33 games 2001-02 in the league.

So he missed in total 25 league games in three seasons. If you call that rotated him very much then it's up to you.

[Diego]

how many times did he come of the bench?

might have been miss informed

[Armchairkopite]

A consistant four of

Finnan-Carra-Hoops-Riise

Eeehhh no i don't think so.

[Diego]

A consistant four of

Finnan-Carra-Hoops-Riise

Eeehhh no i don't think so.

what is it that you do not think?

[Skillz]

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.

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 your implying is that if Rafa stopped rotating we would win the league cos ManU, Arse and Chelsea aren't really that much chop.

Absolute crap.

[Armchairkopite]

I don't think this back four playing every game this season would've given us any more points in the league then we already have.

[Armchairkopite]

What your implying is that if Rafa stopped rotating we would win the league cos ManU, Arse and Chelsea aren't really that much chop.

Absolute crap.

Well put.

[dww]

I don't think this back four playing every game this season would've given us any more points in the league then we already have.

I do. I think for example that the goals we have conceded from freekicks would have been reduced. The problem is though that the changes in the back four this year seem mostly to have been intitially enforced by injury and Hyypia's age. The consequent lack of form of Finnan being the sole real exception and I would imagine but for injury we would have played Arbeloa more consistently.

[Skillz]

I do. I think for example that the goals we have conceded from freekicks would have been reduced. The problem is though that the changes in the back four this year seem mostly to have been intitially enforced by injury and Hyypia's age. The consequent lack of form of Finnan being the sole real exception and I would imagine but for injury we would have played Arbeloa more consistently.

Carra hasn't been a model of consistency either if we're honest.

[akjs123]

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.

This season itself, in the first four months, before the reading game, this was our record in the league.
14 played 8 won 6 drawn. Out of those 6 we played blackburn and pompey away(where even the other top 3 have struggled) and 2 were to arsenal and chelsea (in 1 game we had 2 players injured and in the other we were robbed). So i would say its a good if not great record. Are you suggesting Rafa didnt rotate during this period or that he has rotated more after this period.

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

"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?

Common sense is great.

Shame our manager fails to use it often enough.

[Armchairkopite]

Th defensive shuffle is down to one player lads and thats Agger, simple as.