Chelsea squad policy - should Arsenal adapt it?

[listen_up_fergie]

Chelsea's squad policy - having two good players for each position - is definitely one of the reasons Chelsea are so strong this season. If one player is injured, they always have another player who can come in and play in the same position almost as effectively, thus maintaining the entire squad's consistency. It also allows Jose Mourinho to adapt a squad rotation strategy which keeps players fresh and allows him to play different tactical games depending on the opponent.
At the moment, Chelsea's squad looks like this:

Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Carlo Cudicini
Rightback: Paulo Ferreira, Glen Johnson
Leftback: William Gallas, Wayne Bridge
Centreback: John Terry, Robert Huth
Centreback: Ricardo Carvalho, (William Gallas)
Central midfielder: Frank Lampard, Cardoso Tiago, Scott Parker
Central midfielder: Claude Makelele, Njitap Geremi, Jiri Jarosik
Attacking midfielder: Damien Duff, Joe Cole
Attacking midfielder: Arjen Robben, ?
Striker: Didier Drogba, Mateja Kezman
Striker: Eidur Gudjohnsen, Mikkael Forsell

As you can see, Chelsea have a lot of strength in depth, and they will probably buy a new leftback (some guy from Ajax) and a right winger (Joaquin) so that they ensure there are two quality players for every position on the pitch.
My question is, do Arsenal and Manchester United need to adapt a similar strategy? Manchester United won the treble after using a successful squad rotation strategy, but on the other hand, Arsenal managed to go unbeaten in the league with a fairly thin squad (could they have won a treble with more depth??). Of course having two players for each position is easy if you have Chelsea's millions. But rumour has it that Arsene Wenger will have a 40m pound transfer budget in the summer; on the other hand, Manchester United might claim to have used up their transfer budget on Rooney, but we all know that the board can eek out a few crores to strengthen the squad.

Currently, Manchester United's squad looks like this:
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Roy Carroll
Rightback: Gary Neville, Philip Neville
Leftback: Gabriel Heinze, John O'Shea
Centreback: Rio Ferdinand, (John O'Shea)
Centreback: Mikael Silvestre, Wes Brown
Central midfielder: Roy Keane, Darren Fletcher, Liam Miller
Central midfielder: Paul Scholes, Kleberson
Attacking midfielder: Ryan Giggs, Quinton Fortune
Attacking midfielder: Christiano Ronaldo
Striker: Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Alan Smith
Striker: Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha

In terms of strikers, United are pretty set provided they aren't faced with injuries. However, I feel they need to strengthen the squad in the following areas: (1) Goalkeeper (2) Central Midfielder (3) Attacking midfielder. Players United could target include, (1) Kameni, Lastuvka, Proto, Frey or Hildebrand for keeper (2) Essien, Gattuso, De Rossi or Mavuba for Central Midfield, or (3) Vicente, Sneijder, McGeady, or Rosicky for attacking midfielder. If they were to strengthen these three positions, they would definitely need at least a 25m pound transfer budget.


Arsenal's squad is currently (not counting Edu):
Goalkeepers: Jens Lehmann, Manuel Almunia
Rightback: Bisan Lauren, Emmanuel Eboue
Leftback: Ashley Cole, Gael Clichy
Centreback: Sol Campbell, Philippe Senderos
Centreback: Kolo Toure, Pascal Cygan
Central midfielder: Patrick Vieira, Mathieu Flamini
Central midfielder: Francesc Fabregas
Attacking midfielder: Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires
Attacking midfielder: Jose Antonio Reyes
Striker: Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie
Striker: Dennis Bergkamp

As you can see, Arsenal are practically asking for it - they don't have enough cover for many positions, and given that Arsene has been given a hefty transfer budget, one can expect to find a new goalkeeper, central defender, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, and striker at Arsenal next season.

Of course, Arsenal and Manchester United also have a lot of budding youngsters who could make the step up to the regular first team football, but they will still be inexperienced, and the clubs need to find experienced players if they want to reap the benefits of having a large squad.

The point of this thread is just a discussion of whether Arsenal and Manchester United need to expand the size of their current squad in order to be successful (or do they need to bring in new players but at the same time sell others in order to streamline the squad?)

[n4100]

Arsene has already stated he doesn't like to tinker with the squad too much, so I don't think Arsenal will be rotating anyone. Hell, he won't even make a substitution let alone rotate.

Again, you've failed to put Gilberto in the CM spot, who will be back next season. And I'd imagine next year we'll be seeing a bit more Quincy and Jeremie Aliadiere (if he stays healthy) up front. Never thought I'd be missing Kanu or Wiltord, but at least they provided some experience in depth.

Ok, so not Kanu, but Wiltord was always useful.

[GriffinGunner]

Should (insert team here) have two good players for each position? Well, within roster-size limits I think the answer is a resounding "DUH!" But as you pointed out there is that little matter of being able to afford it. Arsenal's case is clear in the back where they have extra bodies but marginal skill, comparably speaking. Had Cygan panned out as hoped and one of the keeper's proven their worth in the ECL than it could be argued Arsenal matches the overall profile of this "strategy."

n4100's point about Arsene's desire to avoid over-tinkering with the roster is another factor. Part of the success Arsenal has had is due to the two-way run of loyalty between Arsene and his players (generally). It's tough to have players the calibre of Henry and Campbell and imagine them being subbed out on a regular basis. One wonders how much less experience the likes of Van Persie, Reyes and others might have missed out on if Bergkamp flew to games on the continent?

In saying that teams would want and need depth is a given, but I don't know if we can say there's a standard formula for having a deep roster and rotating them on a regular basis. Perhaps if Chelsea goes on to win 4 league titles in a row...

[Bluto11]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[rgrayson]

Just wanted to say that at porto jose implemented a rotation system. Its obviously part of his managerial style. As n4100 said Arsene keeps the squad pretty much the same if possible. Thats just his style but it is pretty clear that a couple more solid, experienced as he has stated, players are needed and look to be on the way in the summer...

[Rick B]

Just wanted to say that at porto jose implemented a rotation system. Its obviously part of his managerial style. As n4100 said Arsene keeps the squad pretty much the same if possible. Thats just his style but it is pretty clear that a couple more solid, experienced as he has stated, players are needed and look to be on the way in the summer...


You seem to be pretty up on Jose's "style", is there something you want to tell us.........oh, thats right you already did...... :D :p

[Jasonisimo]

*zing!*

[nicephoras]

As I said on this very thread in the ManUtd forum, Mourinho doesn't do much rotating. This is mostly a myth.