"Squad rotation"

[thoward]

We changed formation alot in the CL early years. Can remember Eric being used as a lone striker in a two nil away at Fenerbache with Cruyff and either Giggs or Poborsky alongside him in a 4-3-3, the example of tinkering with the formation against Porto without Keano I gave above and a host of other examples from that season. It calmed down when the treble side got together, back to 4-4-2 for the most part but Fergie has been tinkering with team selections and formations in Europe since we got tonked 4-0 in Barca.

True. I remember Butt and Keane were both unavailable. And lets not froget that Scholes only established himself in central midfield after Keane did his cruciate in 97-98. It often seems to be forgotten that Keane and Butt were the favoured pairing in 95-96 and 96-97 and that Scholes usually played either in the hole, the odd time as a number 9, and on the right wing as well.

We have rotated a lot for years. It became riskier to rotate around 2003-2006 when Arsenal and then Chelsea were so consistent in the league. But i believe that rotating is necessary not just to keep players fresh but also to keep players as involved as possible.