A lot of it depends on who's being rotated. The core of the team should be kept out on the field as much as possible, and this means Reina, Agger, Carragher, Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso, and Torres. We're lucky in that three of those players are midfielders, and can all bring different things to the team. If you look at that list, those guys are the ones who you can bank on to be switched on, on top of their game, and ready to perform well 90% of the time. Finnan is almost in that bracket, as is Arbeloa, but as the two are fairly interchangable - and will be swapped around depending on the opposition - I've left them out.
If you've got your backs against the wall, you dont want to see a spineless team try to hold out for a 0-0 during a grim December night at Villa Park, you want to see your best players take the game by the scruff of the neck and force the result in your favour. The above guys can do that.
By all means, rotate the supporting striker, the creative midfielder, and occasionally the fullbacks if needs be, but we should be keeping the spine of the team out on the field, focused, and playing as regularly as possible.
As obvious as it may seem, the best footballers are the ones who can be on top of their game both mentally and physically for as long a time as possible. Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Paul Scholes, Denis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola... not the type of players who'll fold under a bit of criticism or a supposed lack of form. Jermaine Pennant, Harry Kewell, Ryan Babel? Maybe. So you can rotate them when they need a break or they're not handling the pressure well.
What happened when a radio presenter called Carragher a bottler? Carragher called him up, told him to come down to Melwood and say it to his face. You cannot afford to rest those kinds of players - the talismen, the ones who will scrap for the points and drag the rest of the team up a level when needs be.
Chelsea don't rest Drogba, United don't rest Rooney, Arsenal never rested Henry, we shouldn't rest Torres. The more games we keep these guys on the pitch for, the more games we'll win. And once we hit a run of wins, they won't be tired. Trust me.
