The Guardian Having a Pop At Rafa

[puredale]

<whispers> I am a fan of player rotation.

Not 5/6 a game and not more than one change to the back 5 - but 2 or three allowing players to play 7 or 8 games out of ten seems about right.

It also means the whole squad is involved and generates better working relationships - something Chelsea mitigate with money and ManUre with beetroot heads wobblers.

The article has at least generated some interesting replies in this thread!

[bazza76]

People have different ways of managing. Some can work, some cant.
It is absolutely idiotic to suggest that Rafa's advanced methods dont work when they already have at two topt clubs, Liverpool and Valencia.
Whoever wrote this obviously hasnt got a clue what he is on about.

[red g]

People have different ways of managing. Some can work, some cant.
It is absolutely idiotic to suggest that Rafa's advanced methods dont work when they already have at two topt clubs, Liverpool and Valencia.
Whoever wrote this obviously hasnt got a clue what he is on about.

its just **** journalism. Top foreign managers are there to be shot at and are not scared to take the flak.

1) Rafa - Rotation
2) Wenger - not playing british
3)Maureen - arrogance

All those managers dont care what the press think, they know they are doing the right thing for there respective teams and thats ALL they care about.

[Red_Polo]

I actually agree over the west ham comment. I dont think Pardew welcomes them at all. Its certainly given him a selection headache and I do believe he is under pressure to play them. Had he planned for bringing them in then fine but he didnt.

You may well be right there, but I don't think that's the point he was making. The way he said it he should also have been banging on about how the last thing we needed this season was Kuyt, Bellamy et al.

[IanTheRed]

and with familiarity comes confidence in the players around you, therefore in difficult circumstances you are more likely to pull through and get a result.

I thought familiarity breeds contempt? Now I’m ****ing confused…

[Morph]

This whole rotation thing is getting boring, it's not as if he makes wholesale changes every game. At the start of the season he had to accomodate injuries to Carra and Riise, and try to bed in 5/6 new players, now only 6 games in we're looking strong, you could argue things started to look good 4 games in. So i think he's doing a pretty good job.

Let's be honest 8/9 players pick themselves, so he only rotates 2/3 players per games, and that's usually on the flanks, which isn't exactly a position that commands consistency.

So if everyone get's off his case about it, i'm sure we'll be in a better position than most other teams come our run of about 7 winnable games at the end of the season, which could decide our title run.

[JRC]

I suspect there is a Mathematician/statistician out there who could plot Rafa's changes over the 93 games as deviations from a norm - a player rested here, back the week after, for example, as opposed to in for 5 weeks, out for 5 - correlated with our performances over the same timescale.Then something similar with a Manager - if there is one - who persists with the same team until forced to change by injury, form or suspension (or in O'Neils case, lack of options). I'm sure there is some kind of analysis - Shewhart charting? - that could compare the net effect of continuous vs discrete changes. Unfortunately - or fortunately, perhaps - I am not that statto. It wouldn't surprise me if Rafa isn't though.

IMHO, a rolling rotation policy well managed is no more disruptive than 'best 11 until forced'. Injuries, new players and a heavy early season schedule (incl WC hangover) mean it has been more notable in the past month, and highlighted by the poor results, naturally. If our next 93 games are as productive as the last 93, Rotate Away, Rafa.

[Red_Polo]

Disco loads up Excel

[MrMichael]

Est to Disco : We require your services in the rotation thread!

I think all of us want to see a "settled" side. However, we play games thick and fast at this time of the season, and to ask the same 11 players to play every game would both be foolish and stupid. The situation is a little different for sides like Villa who aren't playing in Europe, and we're not only playing, but in with at least an outside shout of winning (hopefully). For me a "settled" side now means havinga core of almost certain starters if fully fit, of whom we have 8. Reina, Finnan, Carra, Piise, Momo, Alonso, Gerrard, Kuyt. Then about the same number again who will be genuinely considered for selection for each match depending on tactics and fitness, and lastly another half dozen or so who are hopefully good enough to slot into the squad if required.

To expect any more settled team than that is just silly, and with the early injuries to players like Riise this season, and the influx of new players all of whom can only benefit from having a few early games, it could even be said to be just plain wrong.

Rafa's won La Ligua and The European Cup

Richard Williams, I mean who the **** is he eh?

[Mumsafan]

I actually agree over the west ham comment. I dont think Pardew welcomes them at all. Its certainly given him a selection headache and I do believe he is under pressure to play them. Had he planned for bringing them in then fine but he didnt.

Yeah I agree with the view on West Ham as well. He had a good team down there and these two arriving seems to have thrown a lot of good work out the window.

[Rich]

Hasn't Pardew had to bench Harewood? Big mistake if he's been forced to do that.

[bazza76]

Hasn't Pardew had to bench Harewood? Big mistake if he's been forced to do that.

If he is then that is a worry.
ReoCoker and Tevez that are too similar, not Harewood and Tevez.

[bazza76]

I actually agree over the west ham comment. I dont think Pardew welcomes them at all. Its certainly given him a selection headache and I do believe he is under pressure to play them. Had he planned for bringing them in then fine but he didnt.

Pardew said live in a interview that he was asked what did he think about signing the pair.
His reply was of course i'd love them here, Westham is about bringing in World Class players etc and looked over the moon at the signings.

[Dhav]

although it might more accurately be said that his players led Benítez to the trophy.

The house of cards came tumbling down with that line right there.

And it is also bollocks to say we have underperformed in the Premiership given the investment in the team. Sorry, but if we are going to relate investment to Premiership success then Liverpool should only be finishing 3rd behind Chelsea and ManU. Unless of course you are judging the season after matches, in which case Harry Redknapp must be manager of the Year.

This guy is a moron.

[hertsred]

Seems to me that the journalist was asked by the Editor to dash together an article quickly after the "rotation debate" at the weekend. It is a half-arsed piece of analysis, but could have been interesting if comparing how teams do things differently, what the effects are of a regular first 11 versus rotating the players. I also think the West Ham comment is spot on, Pardew has built a solid team who play for each other and really outperformed expectations last year. The argentinians have upset the balance of the side. But, right or wrong, the comment was out of place in the article. All in all, sloppy journalism. THe Guardian could do better.