Liverpool’s non-rotation system is harming title push, say insiders

LIVERPOOL’S IMPRESSIVE league form could be undermined by their manager’s refusal to constantly tinker with the line-up, according to sources within the club.

Rafael Benitez has controversially put consistency above rotation this season, and asked his men to play two, sometimes three matches in a row, ignoring their repeated requests to “have a go on the bench”.

Although Liverpool lie joint top of the Premier League, some Anfield regulars have described the season so far as “a bit samey”.

Billy Smethick, of the Liverpool Supporters Association asked: “It’s all very well putting out an eleven you can rely on to perform, but where’s the sense of pointless variety?

“Sometimes I pine for a first half of flaky crosses from Jermaine Pennant, followed by some industrious running down the flank by Yossi Benayoun after the break,” he added. “This Riera lad, the new one, I’ve seen enough of him to last at least two seasons of solid but unspectacular Champions League qualification campaigns.”

Even captain Steven Gerrard has become disillusioned with his manager’s newfound steadfastness, reflecting on weekend trips to B&Q that have become a thing of the past.

“If you play every game, week-in-week-out, you’re bound to get stuck in a bit of a rut,” Gerrard told friends at his weekly Monopoly game. “It’s hard to argue with the gaffer, but I used to enjoy being rested before a midweek Champions League tie. It was a great opportunity to get some pruning done, or varnish a cabinet.”

Benitez’s fans claim that he has not abandoned his own fickle principles, but is merely subverting people’s expectations with a ground-breaking ’stationary revolution’.

The man who waves the Benitez flag that looks a bit like that iconic Che Guevara image has vowed to carry on his displays of loyalty to the Spaniard, but it may take more to convince the increasingly marginalised pro-rotation groups on The Kop.

A survey by the group RATTOE (which takes its name from a rotated form of the word ‘rotate’) showed that 81 per cent of members think Xabi Alonso should be given two games off to reminisce with Sami Hyypia about that night in Istanbul.

Published January 18, 2009

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