Newcastle United's Ciaran Clark on Rafa's Rotation Policy
Newcastle United’s recent draw at Aston Villa has fans disappointed. But Ciaran Clark accepts that he may not be playing next match.
Rafa Benitez has always had a strong rotation policy, and that’s not going to change after a draw with Villa. He sat a few players like Chancel Mbemba, and played Ciaran Clark ahead of him. It’s a policy that is used to keep players rested for the most important matches, and against teams that he thinks the players are more likely to succeed.
There is a lot of quality in Newcastle United’s squad. Quality that needs to be used one way or the other. That’s the only excuse I can find for the club purchasing so many players. For the purposes of rotation.
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Ciaran Clark recently spoke about the rotation policy at the club.
“We all know the way it goes here. We’ve got a big squad and top-quality players. We’ve all bought into the way we’ve been rotated and kept fresh for certain games.”
I think that’s a very strong statement. Rafa Benitez had floundering success with Real Madrid (and it still feels nice to say that) because the players were not 100% on his side. With Ciaran Clark’s statement that that’s just how it goes, and they understand the policy, is a big step forward for the club.
Each player can bring something important, something that the next guy can’t bring. If Aleksandar Mitrovic starts over Dwight Gayle, it will be because Rafa is looking for a bit more aerial supremacy up front and physical play.
It’s how we win matches.
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“I think over the next few days we’ll be looking at the game and seeing where we went wrong. We’ll get all the information about that and told how he need to put it right and move forward.”
Ciaran Clark had a great match against Villa, but it may be time for Benitez to rotate him out of the lineup and bring someone else in.
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