Rotation Argument Comes Full Circle
Sir Alex may yet be toasting Rafa come the end of the season...
As the news came through last night that Wayne Rooney had scored United's third en route to yet another routine win over Fulham, one Rafa Benitez must have smiled a wry smile, the kind you put on for a joke you don’t quite understand, at a dinner party you don’t quite want to be at. Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick turned in yet another excellent performance by the United centre midfield, and the addition of a good performance by Dimitar Berbatov ensured that the hosts cruised to a 3-0 victory. Nothing unusual you might say. On the contrary – this was another superb performance in the middle of the park despite the Scholes – Carrick axis being the sixth midfield pairing United have used this season.
It is an astonishing statistic, and one that will not have gone unnoticed behind closed doors at Anfield. Squad rotation has become a sort of footballing pariah over the last number of seasons, and one which has plagued Benitez in particular. It is one which has also evoked some quite ridiculous commentary over the years with Tony Cascarino citing Rafa’s “resting” of Fernando Torres as the reason Liverpool fell away in the title race despite him being rested for all of one premier league game at the time. Commentary on the issue has been conspicuously absent this year, with this seemingly down to a combination of a more settled Liverpool side and the Robbie Keane issue taking precedence over any other stories related to the club.
The statistics make for extremely interesting reading. With the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo with 29 appearances, no United midfielder has made more than 23 starts this year in all competitions. When you consider that Ronaldo was out injured for a considerable period at the start of the season, this becomes doubly intriguing. Players that would have threatened to be bit part players at the start of the season have become integral to United’s inexorable march towards the title. John O’Shea, (23 starts) Jonny Evans, (17) Ryan Giggs (17) and Paul Scholes (12) have all made far bigger contributions to the side than their appearance figures would indicate. While the likes of Alan Hansen are going a bit over the top with calls for Giggs to be crowned PFA player of the year, there is no doubt that their seamless integration into the side is a key reason for United charging like an enraged hippo through what on paper should have been a punishing schedule, particularly with the trip to Japan in December.
Nigel Clough summed it up nicely following his Derby sides 4-1 trouncing on Sunday when he said, "It's impossible to prepare for playing against them. We watched them for six consecutive games and they played six completely different teams with different ways of playing. You can watch them in 60 consecutive ways but then they'll just change who plays where." This is an extremely astute point. It’s all well and good preparing a team to deal with Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, but you could just as easily be facing a combination of Ryan Giggs and Anderson come kick off. The squad depth at defence has been highlighted through injuries and suspensions to Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra throughout the season, and Gary Neville has been able to rest his weary ‘tasche while Rafael da Silva fills in admirably. A lot has been made of Carlos Tevez not getting a fair chance, but he has made the same number of starts as Rooney this year, and is only one behind Berbatov.
What I am trying to get at is that with the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo, not a single Manchester United midfielder or forward appears to have nailed down a position as their own. This kind of carry on would typically result in some bad results, and a public crying that too much rotation is the cause. Yet United have come back fresh from their travels, motivated because of Ferguson and apparently hell bent on disproving the managerial cliché that squad rotation is the root of all evil.
This begs the question; why has squad rotation not worked for its greatest proponent over the years, one Senor Benitez? It comes down to the issue of quality at the end of the day; United are able to call on the likes of Ryan Giggs when needed, one of the most decorated players in the history of the game, while the Liverpool sides of the past few years would spring Igor Biscan or Florent Sinama-Pongolle when one of their key men needed a rest. It would be rude not to acknowledge the formidable displays of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand when analyzing United’s year thus far, but much of United’s success to date has less to do with the record breaking 14 clean sheets, and more to do with Alex Ferguson’s continuing presence at the forefront of footballing innovation. He has consistently been able to identify the trends necessary to succeed over the years, and if his side is to master a difficult fixture list and achieve an unprecedented quadruple, he may well be tipping a glass of cabernet sauvignon to the manager of his greatest rivals.
As the news came through last night that Wayne Rooney had scored United's third en route to yet another routine win over Fulham, one Rafa Benitez must have smiled a wry smile, the kind you put on for a joke you don’t quite understand, at a dinner party you don’t quite want to be at. Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick turned in yet another excellent performance by the United centre midfield, and the addition of a good performance by Dimitar Berbatov ensured that the hosts cruised to a 3-0 victory. Nothing unusual you might say. On the contrary – this was another superb performance in the middle of the park despite the Scholes – Carrick axis being the sixth midfield pairing United have used this season.
It is an astonishing statistic, and one that will not have gone unnoticed behind closed doors at Anfield. Squad rotation has become a sort of footballing pariah over the last number of seasons, and one which has plagued Benitez in particular. It is one which has also evoked some quite ridiculous commentary over the years with Tony Cascarino citing Rafa’s “resting” of Fernando Torres as the reason Liverpool fell away in the title race despite him being rested for all of one premier league game at the time. Commentary on the issue has been conspicuously absent this year, with this seemingly down to a combination of a more settled Liverpool side and the Robbie Keane issue taking precedence over any other stories related to the club.
The statistics make for extremely interesting reading. With the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo with 29 appearances, no United midfielder has made more than 23 starts this year in all competitions. When you consider that Ronaldo was out injured for a considerable period at the start of the season, this becomes doubly intriguing. Players that would have threatened to be bit part players at the start of the season have become integral to United’s inexorable march towards the title. John O’Shea, (23 starts) Jonny Evans, (17) Ryan Giggs (17) and Paul Scholes (12) have all made far bigger contributions to the side than their appearance figures would indicate. While the likes of Alan Hansen are going a bit over the top with calls for Giggs to be crowned PFA player of the year, there is no doubt that their seamless integration into the side is a key reason for United charging like an enraged hippo through what on paper should have been a punishing schedule, particularly with the trip to Japan in December.
Nigel Clough summed it up nicely following his Derby sides 4-1 trouncing on Sunday when he said, "It's impossible to prepare for playing against them. We watched them for six consecutive games and they played six completely different teams with different ways of playing. You can watch them in 60 consecutive ways but then they'll just change who plays where." This is an extremely astute point. It’s all well and good preparing a team to deal with Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, but you could just as easily be facing a combination of Ryan Giggs and Anderson come kick off. The squad depth at defence has been highlighted through injuries and suspensions to Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra throughout the season, and Gary Neville has been able to rest his weary ‘tasche while Rafael da Silva fills in admirably. A lot has been made of Carlos Tevez not getting a fair chance, but he has made the same number of starts as Rooney this year, and is only one behind Berbatov.
What I am trying to get at is that with the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo, not a single Manchester United midfielder or forward appears to have nailed down a position as their own. This kind of carry on would typically result in some bad results, and a public crying that too much rotation is the cause. Yet United have come back fresh from their travels, motivated because of Ferguson and apparently hell bent on disproving the managerial cliché that squad rotation is the root of all evil.
This begs the question; why has squad rotation not worked for its greatest proponent over the years, one Senor Benitez? It comes down to the issue of quality at the end of the day; United are able to call on the likes of Ryan Giggs when needed, one of the most decorated players in the history of the game, while the Liverpool sides of the past few years would spring Igor Biscan or Florent Sinama-Pongolle when one of their key men needed a rest. It would be rude not to acknowledge the formidable displays of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand when analyzing United’s year thus far, but much of United’s success to date has less to do with the record breaking 14 clean sheets, and more to do with Alex Ferguson’s continuing presence at the forefront of footballing innovation. He has consistently been able to identify the trends necessary to succeed over the years, and if his side is to master a difficult fixture list and achieve an unprecedented quadruple, he may well be tipping a glass of cabernet sauvignon to the manager of his greatest rivals.
posted by Oz @ 7:33 PM
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