Source: Telegraph
Sir Alex Ferguson 'not bothered' by nature of Carlos Tévez's move to Manchester City
In fact, the last time he named the same side for consecutive games it was over two years ago, after losing the Manchester derby to Sven-Goran Eriksson's City.
Going back to that game it tells you a lot about how radically different the recent history of these two sides has been. Only one player in that City starting line-up – Micah Richards – has a chance of starting the derby this afternoon.
By contrast all but one of United's starters that day are still at the club. Who is the odd man out? Carlos Tévez, who is desperately hopeful of passing a fitness test on a knee injury so he can play against his former employers this afternoon.
The same United XI beat Tottenham a week later, on Aug 26 2007, and Ferguson has not retained a starting line up since. It is a remarkable run that will continue this afternoon: Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs were rested for the midweek defeat of Besiktas and will come back into the starting XI today.
Claudio Ranieri, the Chelsea manager, was given – and revelled in – the nickname 'Tinkerman' for the frequency with which he changed his team, while Rafael Benítez went 99 games without sending out the same side, and was roundly criticised for it.
Rotation had always been labelled a foreign practice – British managers know their best team and stick to it. Well, nobody tinkers more than Ferguson: he is the consummate squad manager.
Why is it that Ferguson's compulsive tweaking has snuck under the radar?
Success more than anything, but it is also important that players accept their role in a squad system. You rarely hear a United player complaining about being left out – in fact, the last time a player showed public dissent was in the last Manchester derby, which United won 2-0 in May.
Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted, having scored a free-kick, and showed petulance by throwing a training top and clearly mouthing his displeasure while sitting on the bench. That was an aberration from Ronaldo, perhaps impatiently awaiting his summer departure for Real Madrid, and the Portuguese was for the most part compliant in playing his role in Ferguson's rotational system.
The only player who has failed to live with it is Tévez, who left for City and the promise of regular starts.
"He did his job well and I have no complaints about that at all," Ferguson said of Tévez. "He didn't think he played enough football last year but I thought he played plenty of football last year.
"I'm not bothered about it [the way it ended]. Believe me, I'm not the slightest bit worried about it. It happens and you can't keep all of the players all the time. I always thought these players were dominated by their agents."
There is a productive contradiction at the heart of Ferguson's rotational policy: he changes the team for every game, but the squad remains largely the same. Ferguson shuffles his cards, but he does so from a well-thumbed deck. Hence his sangfroid in the transfer market after losing one of his aces to Real Madrid.
"I have got my squad," he said. "I could have bought someone at £52 million [Karim Benzema from Lyon] if I thought they were worth it. But I didn't think anyone was worth it. I didn't think there was a market. I didn't think it was a good time to buy because of what happened over the Ronaldo fee.
"It went against the grain in terms of the financial climate of the world. People must be wondering how football clubs could do that in times of a recession, but that happens."
There is more than a little implicit criticism of City in that assessment – they paid over the odds for players and in the process inflated market prices. "Well they've spent some money and had a good start to the season so you would expect a challenge from them," Ferguson said.
"That is what they expect themselves, I'm sure of that. They would not have been spending that money without getting a dividend and the only dividend you can get is winning a trophy and that is the name of the game. I was asked the other day whether they are capable of getting into the top four. I don't think that really matters.
"To be number one in the country is the main thing. That is what we have to do. Whether its City or Crewe Alexandra, you have to be number one. That is the reality of it all."
City's arrivistes have certainly ruffled the established order with their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season – there has been general surprise at the speed with which Mark Hughes has got his new signings playing coherently.
While Emmanuel Adebayor's suspension for stamping on Robin van Persie is certainly merited it is still a shame for the neutral that City's (and the Premier League's) best player so far this season will be absent this afternoon. Indeed, with Robinho also out injured, Tévez struggling and Roque Santa Cruz not yet quite fit, Craig Bellamy will be charged with leading the line.
However dismissive Ferguson is, and whatever the result this afternoon, City's challenge to their neighbours will only intensify in the coming years. The challenge for Hughes, as City continue to accumulate players, will be to match Ferguson's rotational model without provoking dressing room egos.
Over the seasons, Ferguson has cultivated a finely balanced squad ecology at Old Trafford and those who can't inhabit it, like Tévez, are expulsed. Hughes will need to build a similar environment at Eastlands if he is to enjoy sustained success.
