This is quite interesting to read because I’ve had similar issues with many of our recent managers, from Poch to Conte, and even at times now with Ange. When these finally did make squad changes it often game in lower priority cup games where they’d make 9+ changes to the XI and the team would then lack cohesion and multiple players would look rusty as it’d be their first minutes in weeks or months. I can only assume that the pressure they’re under forces them to make the decision that playing the best XI on paper for as long as possible will lead to better results, even though - in my opinion - when players are becoming clearly fatigued and overused, that best XI on paper is no longer the best and then those underused players are often unable to help change things. Whilst I’m not gonna sit here and say I analyse every other manager, the only one I’ve sort of clocked on to that has quite a solid squad rotation game and sound use of subs plan is Klopp. He very often (I’ll stress though not always) makes a double or even triple sub at 60-65 minutes regardless of the scoreline, he’s also shown he’s willing to bench a key player here and there during congested periods and I think this substantially helps him to maintain his very intense way of playing. The squad players get respectable amounts of game time which keeps them from looking rusty when called upon and the key players get relatively decent amounts of rest to keep them as fresh as possible. I the guy’s a monumental wet wipe but I can’t stress how good of a manager I think he is.
All this goes hand in hand with the changes to football that allowed substitutes during the game and then slowly increased the numbers allowed. Now you can change half a team and it's a fundamental change because if you are not careful you are up against a very fresh team playing a tired one. Add to that the variations in quality and game time for the players coming on all makes for some very difficult decisions for managers that they simply will not get right all the time. Contrast that with the 1960's when clubs like Burnley and Everton were title contenders (as well as Spurs of course) Burnley only had a bout 13 players if I remember correctly. It's a different game even for the managers who were players quite recently. Many changes all the time in recent years.
It's been my main criticism of Arteta for a long time. Saka in particularly seems to be getting run into the ground, despite decent cover. I'd level similar criticism towards Moyes, but it's even worse at West Ham. Their minimalist squad, despite being in Europe, has held them back. Arsenal don't have that excuse. Guardiola has the luxury of an insanely deep squad, but he rotates it very well. Arteta generally doesn't do so unless he's forced to. The end to your season could vindicate this approach or it could be a repeat of what we've seen. You should be looking to have a squad clear-out regardless of what happens. Soares, Elneny, Vieira, Smith-Rowe, Partey and Nelson aren't in his plans.
Dundee v Rangers will be played at St Johnstone if Dens Park is waterlogged again: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68820217 It's quite funny to me that they can't play it the other ground in this picture: please log in to view this image
Saka and Gabriel have reportedly been having to take injections to avoid aggravating current knocks they've got. I can't verify whether this is true, but I know for a fact they've both played a lot of football and it's clear both of them need a bit of a breather, especially the former. It's crazy to me that Arteta insists on playing them no matter what. I am extremely frustrated at his squad utilisation. He's had 4 full years at the club now, so the squad should be shaped in his image. Yet I'm still hearing that it's 'not complete' and that we need more players. At what point can we expect him to coach the players at his disposal? If the squad still isn't ready yet, then that's completely his fault. He has almost a fully available group of players to pick from apart from Timber. He's still overworking the same core players and refusing to use the bench unless we're absolutely desperate. Against Villa, he also decided to revert back to the starting XI that had 1 win in 7 back in December, where we looked unbalanced and profligate. There was no need to change what had been working for us since the start of the year. Zinchenko and Jesus waltzed back into the team when they haven't played well when starting. It was utterly insane. Dropping Havertz back into midfield when he's not as effective there and giving Rice (who also looked knackered) more ground to cover by having him anchor the midfield by himself was ridiculous. Letting Xhaka go and not replacing him was even more insane. I don't know how the club thought they'd done enough to improve on last year. And don't get me wrong - we've obviously improved under Arteta, but he's his own worst enemy at times. He's a bit like Wenger in that sense. Assuming we don't win anything this season (which looks likely if we're honest), and he has another Summer of big spending, he is going to be under enormous pressure next season to deliver silverware. I don't want to hear any excuses.
No squad is ever complete. Everyone always needs to make transfers and move forward. City could do with a left-back, for example. Guardiola barely uses Sergio Gomes. Arteta seems to want to keep players that he doesn't actually like, though. Elneny and Soares clearly aren't anywhere near good enough and barely get minutes. Smith-Rowe would start for a lot of clubs, but rarely gets a sniff. Nelson signed a 4-year contract to sit on the bench. Maybe it's got something to do with club grown numbers? Is that an issue for Arsenal?
It speaks to not trusting in the squad as a whole. For me one of the great traits of Fergie was his trust in less than stellar squad players, to play games at the business end of the season, in the cause for the greater prize.
Ferguson had a great respect for unglamorous workhorses and their place in a squad. Nicky Butt and Phil Neville weren't anyone's Ballon d'Or nomination, but they'll win you trophies. Having dependable, reliable players who can take orders can get you over the line quite often.
Darren England was on VAR for West Ham v Fulham on the weekend. It's his first time doing it since his mistake in our win over Liverpool. **** up in a way that benefits Spurs? Six month ban, apparently.
Not even them. Look at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Premier_League_winning_players So many Man Utd players who were neither greats nor stalwarts. most of whom we wouldn't recall if our lives depended on it, yet often played their part at the business end of the season.
Of course, no squad is ever 'complete' in the sense that no squad is ever perfect - however, he's had enough time and transfer windows to have a squad that he can trust. And, as RDBD mentions, he clearly doesn't trust them. I'm sure it can't be easy for the likes of Nelson, Nketiah, ESR etc knowing that, no matter how well they perform in training or how poorly a senior first team player is performing on matchday, the manager still won't turn to them unless it's an absolute last resort. Regarding homegrown numbers, to my knowledge, it's not a huge issue or an issue that's been raised. The minimum quota for a PL club is 8 homegrown players, right? We have 11 in our first-team squad, so I think we're ok. Nelson's contract was running out in the Summer, so I assumed we'd renewed it in order to get a fee for him. No acceptable bids came in, but I thought he'd be playing more this season due to his contributions off the bench last season. I'd be amazed if he's not sold this Summer, though. Not sure how much we'll get, but any fee will count as pure profit anyway. I'm assuming Nketiah, Nelson, ESR and Ramsdale will be goners - we might keep one, but I can see three of them being sold. Cedric and Elneny's contracts expire in the Summer. Other question marks are around Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jorginho. Then there's players on loan like Tierney, Lokonga, Tavares and Marquinhos who I think will all be looking at permanent departures. Realistically, we won't get rid of all of those, but I think we get rid of a large chunk of them either on loan or permanently.
There was an incident at Old Trafford a few years ago with David May. A steward refused him pitchside access, despite him having a pass, as he didn't know who he was. He won two league titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League with them! Separate thing, but I also noticed Laurent Blanc there. He's still Montpellier's top goalscorer ever. Such a bizarre stat.
The game has changed though. The game is less physical (in terms of contact), but players are more athletic - and therefore more adept at pressing and getting up and down the pitch repeatedly. Players are highly conditioned, which I think makes them more likely to pick up muscular injuries. They need more rest and recovery time to remain in peak condition. The days of winning the league using 13 or 14 players, 7 or 8 of whom played every game has long gone. Having a large squad, managing the use of it well, making substitutions in games effectively etc are all key now. City seem to be primed to peak at this time of the season onwards, whereas Arsenal are showing that they may be a spent force. That may be harsh - we’ll see over the next few weeks - but some signs are there again.
Cole Palmer has a hat-trick in the first half hour - and is only one goal behind Haaland now!! Carrying Chelsea. It’s surprising City let him go
It would be interesting to see how the two teams would be doing if you switched him to Everton. He's really putting pressure on Southgate to select him now, too. Stick Bellingham alongside Rice with Foden, Saka and Grealish behind Kane. Then you've got Rashford, Palmer, Gordon and Watkins as attacking options from the bench.
We've got 15/30 points in our final 10 games over the last 2 seasons. Regardless of how this season ends, we cannot have a capitulation 3 years in a row. He needs to show this team actually have some character and backbone. If this season ends with a whimper again, then uncomfortable conversations will be had.
If the score remains the same, then Chelsea will be 3 points behind Utd with a game in hand. +6 GD compared to their -1, too.
