Squad Rotation? Or A Squad Of 14?

At about this point last season Aston Villa’s season was beginning to implode, as we stumbled towards a respectable sixth place finish.

A considerable achievement perhaps, but it could have been so much more considering the fact that Martin O’Neill’s side were at one time lying in fourth place, eight points ahead of Arsenal.

Over the course of the remaining games Arsenal shone and expressed their superiority by cruising into the remaining Champions League place.

Armchair pundits like me could throw many reasons around as to why Villa’s season sunk last season, but for me there is one irrefutable cause of the collapse and that is squad rotation. Or even the lack of it.

During O’Neill’s tenure he has put together a pretty strong starting XI that on their day can give any of the big boys at the top of the league a run for their money.

Big, strong, quick, athletic, experienced and youthful are all qualities that can be fairly used to describe the current Villa line-up, but it’s the depth of these abilities through the whole squad that will be tested in the remainder of the season.

As the season’s end draws ever closer and the fixture list begins to get congested, the remaining games are given an added importance as the season’s goal is finally in sight.

Recognising the looming fixture pile-up, most managers will rotate the players in their team so that they remain fresh and invigorated for important games and to keep a healthy sense of competition in the squad. The exception to this is O’Neill.

He’s a manager who I greatly admire and I’m delighted with what he’s done during his time at Villa Park, but I find his constant refusal to look beyond the select band of 12-14 players he feels comfortable with infuriating.

Seemingly he hasn’t learnt his lesson from last season, or perhaps he’s been put off rotating the squad and allowing other players to have a chance, after our youth team were dumped out of the UEFA Cup in Moscow.

Intent on sticking to what he knows, O’Neill stuck with his regular eleven last season, who eventually stumbled over the finish line in an exhausted fashion.

I fear the same thing is going to happen again this time around.

Having picked up a valuable three points on Tuesday night away at Wigan, Villa have now moved within three points of Spurs in fourth and have a game in hand.

From Saturday though Villa face three games in eight days and will surely have to utilise some of the fringe players in the squad, who should be keen as mustard to prove what they can do.

O’Neill recognises the importance of the upcoming fixtures, but will he rest players in the hope of maintaining the physical fitness of his team?

He told BBC Sport “We’re hanging in there for the chase for fourth spot. It’s a difficult run-in for us but we’re excited by it, we’re going for it and we’re going to try to achieve it.

“We knew our runs in the cups would lead to a packed schedule come the end of the season, but we’ll face the challenges as they come. I’m just delighted with my players.”

Admittedly Villa are not Arsenal. We can not comfortably field three different teams that can compete against most sides in the country.

We do however have accomplished players such as Steve Sidwell and Nigel Reo-Coker (when he’s fit) who are proven players that can comfortably and efficiently do a job for the team.

There is also plenty of excitable, but rarely utilised youth in the squad such as Nathan Delfouneso, Marc Albrighton and Ciaran Clark who have been limited to glimpses of first team action and rarely been allowed to show their potential.

Limited to warming the bench and perhaps a ten minute run around, these players aren’t allowed to offer Villa a new dimension, or stave off the threat of becoming too predictable to play against. Stoke are a prime example of a team who can comfortably stifle and frustrate us into a draw, or worse, perhaps as they know exactly what team we will field and how we are going to play.

However, if at the end of the season Villa manage to pinch fourth spot and the coveted Champions League spot that goes with it, without the aid of a squad greater than 14 players, then I’ll happily eat my words with a large side of humble pie.

Recent history though has surely taught Villa a lesson and with players such as James Milner having already played 37 games this season, the light burning bright at the start season is in once again in danger of slowly burning out.

Posted By Dan Mobbs - Wednesday March 17, 2010.
Tags: Aston Villa, Martin O'Neill