Wednesday 24 May 2017 07:42, UK
When Manchester United take to the field for the Europa League final against Ajax on Wednesday, the players should, mostly, be well rested after weeks of first-team rotation.
That sounds like ideal preparation, but have United have found the right balance? Or does their own past suggest not? James Walker-Roberts takes a look...
"In the end, it was a blessing that we didn't play in the FA Cup semi-final."
"You are punished because you are doing well."
"The Premier League matches are the ones we do not want to play."
The complaints from Jose Mourinho have been stacking up in recent weeks as the fixture list has continued to pile up. There are substance to them as United's 64 games this season is the joint-third highest played by a Premier League side.
But that does come with a slight caveat: by deciding to make the Europa League the main priority and sacrificing the league, Mourinho has been able to rotate his team. Not only against Crystal Palace on Sunday, when United played their youngest-ever starting XI in the Premier League, but also in previous league games against Arsenal, Tottenham and Southampton.
Of the players who might be expected to start in Stockholm, Marcus Rashford has not started a league game since April 30, Ander Herrera has played just 107 league minutes in May, Henrikh Mkhitaryan started two of United's last five league games while Paul Pogba, who returned to France for personal reasons, played less than a half against Palace having last played in the league on April 23.
Those same players have also accrued minutes in the two-legged Europa League quarter-finals at the end of April and semi-finals in May. But it has been an interesting balancing act from Mourinho, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp surprised that there has not been more focus on a strong finish to the league season.
"You want to be bouncing into the final and there seems to be a bit of negativity around the league," he said before United's goalless draw with Southampton last Wednesday. "Manchester United have always played a lot of games when they have been successful and you want to be finishing the season strongly and then going into cup finals full of confidence."
As they did against Palace on Sunday, United rotated heavily on the final day in 2009 when, having already won the title, they played Hull, with the Champions League final three days later.
In a bid to keep his players fresh for the final against Barcelona, Sir Alex Ferguson made 10 changes for the match at Hull. Not a single player appeared against Hull and then also against Barcelona in Rome.
Did it have an impact in a 2-0 defeat to a brilliant Barcelona? Ferguson's team selection ahead of the 2011 Champions League final hinted that maybe in hindsight he would have done things differently.
In 2011, with United having again wrapped up the Premier League title, several first-team players featured in the final match of the season against Blackpool.
Speaking the weekend before, with the league title won, Ferguson said: "It gives us a real opportunity to look at how we can rest players and who needs to be kept going because maybe that was a weakness in our last European Cup final. We played a reserve team against Hull City."
We had two weeks to prepare for the final against Barcelona in Rome and we kind of rested beforehand. But sometimes, if you rest up too much, you can become a little bit lackadaisical.
United defender Rio Ferdinand also suggested he preferred to go into the 2011 Champions League final with momentum, rather than a lack of minutes under his belt. "Looking back to last time, we had two weeks to prepare for the final against Barcelona in Rome and we kind of rested beforehand. But sometimes, if you rest up too much, you can become a little bit lackadaisical," he said.
Due to the Champions League final being moved from Wednesday to Saturday, United did have longer to prepare for the final in 2011 than 2009. But in 2011 not only did first-team players feature against Blackpool, six days before the Champions League final, but some also took part in Gary Neville's testimonial, which was three days before the final.
Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs both played 30 minutes of the testimonial and then started the final while Paul Scholes featured in both games and Rafael Da Silva was on the bench against Barcelona after coming on as a substitute at Old Trafford a few days earlier.
For Mourinho it has been about making sure the players are in the right "condition" for the final. Speaking ahead of the trip to Tottenham, he said: "These last three [league] matches we are going to try not to accumulate too many minutes with any one of the players…I don't think it is about results I think it is more about arriving in Stockholm in the best possible conditions."
But what about building partnerships within the team? Goalkeeper Sergio Romero is set to start the final, but who will start in defence? United have juggled at the back over the last month, with Eric Bailly, who is suspended for the final, and Phil Jones their only regular starters. Daley Blind has only played one league game since the start of May while Antonio Valencia has not featured at all.
Thierry Henry said over the Christmas period that he values consistent selection. "To build confidence you need consistency of selection," he wrote in The Sun. "You need partnerships all over the pitch - and especially at the back. With centre-backs and the goalkeeper it is difficult to create that understanding so you need to play together a lot.
"It is vital that the goalkeeper builds up an understanding with the centre-backs. I always say it's a back five, not a back four. The bottom line is, with winning teams down the years, you can practically name the starting XI - and that is no coincidence."
Has Mourinho got the balance right to win United's first European trophy since 2007/08? We will find out on Wednesday…
