DirtyACE

I would like to know what is a good rotation schedule and how many players should I rotate at the same time?

I once rotated 4 players and following match my team played kind of poorly. So I restarted the match just to try a test. After restarting I rotated only 1 player and the team played well again.

How many players do you usually rotate at once? Should I rotate 1 player one game, then the following game rotate another player?

Justified

Ah quite a delicate subject this. I depends entirely on in what context it is. Personally squad rotation should kick in around November-December because you need a team that is well gelled before attempting to rotate them.

After that it depends on the match and what you're going for so to speak. If you're doing badly in the league (midtable) and you've got a big cup game inwedweek then I would contemplate resting your 2-3 key figures in the league to try and advance in the cup.

Rotation is a risky business but obviously your tactics play a part as well. If you're playing a tactic which does strain your players physically then you're going to tire them out quicker. Slow Tempo tactics do seem to tire out players less then quick tempo tactics.

DirtyACE

Thanks Justified.

Anyone else have any advice or tips?

timpino

IMO rotation should be avoided when possible, when I do rotate I usually rotate in central midfield and forwards, almost never on the wings and never at central defence. (injuries aside)

The only problem I see with not rotating is that you can easily get a squad full of players wanting first team football...

Come the end of season I usually let the young guns have a try in the first team (1-3 per game) but only if the games don't really matters.

DirtyACE

Thanks tempino,

It seems that I rotate a bit too much. I'll try to tone it down and hopefully my players will remain happy that I won't play them as much.

geneticdeviant

Well i rotate my players quite a bit. But where possible i keep my back four the same. Rotate my defensive midfielder, my attacking midfielders and strikers quite a lot. Then again im having a lot of fixtures what with champions league and world club championships this season et al lol

ubos

Being Chelsea, I have the chance to rotate my squad very often. I use my first XI for all EPL games, and use my 2nd (but still very good) XI for ALL cup games such as ECC group stage, League Cup, etc. I only start using my first XI in the cup final or semi finals. In this case, all players are guaranteed like 15+ starts a season and no one gets unhappy. Everyone is well rested as well.

Poorer teams won't get such a luxury, and if the squad is small and there is no ECC or cup games to contend with, I would rotate my squad slightly every 5 games and drop poor performers.

moomoomoo

I have a big squad, but i have a prefared first 11 that will play all big games if there fit. I only roatate on home matchs and cup matchs. Plus i tend to look at the games a few days in advance. If i have a week off before the next game i play the first 11, but if i have a game mid week or in 3 days time i maybe rest a few.

moomoomoo

oh i also put players not playing in the reserves and arrange reserve friendlys to make sure there match fitness stays up.

DirtyACE

I have started to rotate my players less and when I do rotate, I do it during home games.