Rafa has always rotated his team. He did at Valencia, he has done at Liverpool. He has won La Liga (x2), Spanish Cup, Champs League, Super Cup (x2), Fa Cup, Community Shield and we have got to the League Cup and World Club Championship Finals. Not bad for a manger who rotates his squad alot. Rotation as Hansen says, is only a problem when the team is struggling. If the team is winning, then it is seen as great management. Like you have said rotation is essential now in football and it should be done at the right place in the right time. But it is a high risk strategy and can make a manager look foolish or great. It is one of the reason why Rafa thinks we won the Champs League in his first season. It was also another reason why his teams look fitter from January onwards compared to the challengers. We saw this last season where we played numerous games (given Champs League qualification and WCC)... but we still looked the fittest team around and went on another great run. Benitez also says it was one of the main reasons why his Valencia team won the La Liga championships. I personally think Rafa can make too many changes at times. For example one game this season he made 8 changes. But I do think 2 or 3 changes can mean the players stay fresh, as well as keeping cohesion and structured. But if the players were on form... I don't think rotation would be as much as an issue.
