Liverpool FC, Rafa, Rotation and the Media

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:01:45 GMT

This season, has seen Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez come under immense criticism for his decision to rotate his starting eleven based on his own person tactical assessment of both the current opposition and the condition of his players. The reason of this criticism seems to be that the majority of the British media believe that you win league titles by playing the same eleven players for 42 matches, that the tactics of your opposition should not factor into your team selection and that when they do, it should be the players that cost the least that are left out of the most games.

So it came as quite a shock when Rafa named only his second ever unchanged starting eleven against Fulham. In all probability, he did so because he had nothing to lose. If Liverpool lost (or drew), his rotation methods would be justified and if they won, he'd just be happy that they did. In the end, he got the best of both worlds, as Liverpool won, but only because of the substitutions, as his starting eleven proved reasonably ineffective. Surprisingly most of the media have acknowledged this fact and have taken a slight nibble out their hats, however, only a Premier League title is going to make them eat them all.

The only downside, is that Torres scored the vital goal, which means that the next time Rafa chooses to leave him on the bench (which he will) and Liverpool fail to win (which they might), the media will once again get out the torches and pitchforks. At least for now, Gareth Southgate and Steve McClaren's plights might manage to divert the flaming red gaze of the media, if only for a month or so.

Altered Spaces: Football

Liverpool FC, Rafa, Rotation and the Media