Rafa & The Rotation Conspiracy

Squad rotation, the most talked about topic when it comes to Liverpool and more specifically Rafa Benitez today and every other day for that matter. The subject is so writhe in the English press over the last year or so that when Liverpool are talked about in any way shape or form this will undoubtedly will be part of the piece. So just how bad is 'Rafa's Rotation'? Is it a disease? Is it simply to prove critics wrong? Or is it really a deep lying belief that Benitez feels will deliver results in the long term that is a full domestic and European footballing season?

I remember when Manchester United where on the quest for a treble in 1999 and the media where almost at a stump when it came to Alex Ferguson and in which the ease he could change his line up on a regular basis and still get results. It's always been the belief of the English footballing culture that a consistent and settled side will bring results, that a winning team cannot be altered and if you do alter it then you have ruined your chances of success and can only have yourself to blame.

It has only become the norm in the last 10-15 years to have a squad of players rather than a first team then a bunch of lesser players who can play if someone is injured or suspended. The main reason for this is that theres more games in a season than in previous years and the demands of modern day football cannot solely be placed on a squad of 16 players. So now we have teams with squads of 25-30 players and most of which are senior players and not just full of youth team players. There now comes the eternal question in football. How do you keep all those players happy? Well squad rotation is one way of doing so.

Rafa Benitez, the world's current most well-known consumer of the rotation brand. Whilst managing Valencia he deployed this method to great effect, winning two La Liga titles and also the UEFA Cup. Despite great results his rotation policy was still criticised in the Spanish media. Benitez argued that by using rotation it allows his players to be fresher come the latter stages of the season. No one could really argue when you looked at what he achieved. Fast forward to now and he uses the method with Liverpool, English football's most successful club side domestically and in European competitions. Now in his fourth season in charge of the Anfield side - in which time he has won one Champions League final and lost another, won the FA Cup and also won smaller trophies - he is still constantly subjected to talk about rotation. Some say he's addicted to rotation or that he simply rotates because everyone keeps telling him not to. Whatever way you put it its quite clear that 'Rafa's Rotation' has become a constant nationwide debate.

Now if you were to ask yourself which manager rotates the most in the Premiership its natural to say Benitez. The media have told you this every day for the last few seasons and its the easy answer since its up for constant ridicule. However you maybe shocked to learn that this is not the case.

Last season Alex Ferguson made 118 changes to his title winning side over the course of the Premiership season, an average of 3.11 changes per game. The season before that and Jose Mourinho made the exact same 118 changes also to his title winning Chelsea side. Now we come to Rafa Benitez and the number of changes he made last season. How many you ask? Well unbelievably it was 118. Yes the exact same as Sir Alex and 'The Special One' have made in previous campaigns. But what about the season before that when Chelsea won the league you may ask? Surely he made lots more that season. Well Benitez made 119 changes that season, a whole 0.02 more changes on average than 'The Special One' and helped Liverpool to finish third in the league with 82 points, which in 9 of the previous 12 seasons would have been good enough to win the league.

Yet Benitez is still labelled as the new tinker man (previously preserved for ex-Chelsea Manager Claudio Ranieri) and Ferguson and Mourinho are given special dispensation for their actions. Its true to point out that Benitez makes more changes in cup competitions but given his success in these it doesn't stand firm with me.

So why the constant scrutinizing of Benitez and his line-ups?

Lazy journalism is one of the main reasons. Instead of just accepting that this is the way Benitez does things and has done for years and instead talk about the actual performance or the tactical failings. Notice that when Liverpool win that rotation is barely mentioned, if at all. Journalists, pundits and commentators simply cannot get away from the rotation issue however and as soon as Liverpool don't win they simply bring out this excuse and run with it. Rotation may very well be part of why Benitez hasn't won the league with Liverpool but its an issue that is growing tiresome. Yes we know he rotates and may do so more than others but what I have proved is that its not to the extent that the media has made out. Instead of always using the lazy excuse of rotation as a way to criticise Liverpool and Benitez, these so-called experts should instead try and use there 'expert knowledge' and find other reasons as to why Liverpool didn't win.