Premier League 
/ Ralph Ellis / 20 February 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Squad rotation was unheard of during Liverpool's successful 1984 season
"Sunday was the first time Dalglish has been able to start Suarez, Andy Carroll and Steven Gerrard in the same side and that might just give some momentum to make [4.4] for a top four finish some real value."
Both Norwich and Tottenham made changes ahead of their FA Cup ties last weekend, and both failed to win, whilst Arsenal left out their first choice goalkeeper. Ralph Ellis discusses team selections.
George Orwell thought 1984 would be when Big Brother Is Watching You. In the event Big Brother was probably too busy watching Liverpool.
The Reds played 66 games that season as their team won a treble of the League, the European Cup and the League cup. When I say the team, that is the right word - definitely not the squad. They used only 15 players in that epic season - and one of them, David Hodgson, started only one of the 42 matches in the old First Division.
I suspect the memories of that campaign have helped form Kenny Dalglish's view that, by and large, he doesn't do rotation when it comes to picking teams for Cup matches. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina made his 34th appearance in Liverpool's 6-1 romp over Brighton yesterday out of 34 matches in the season so far, and it's a certainty he'll take that record to 35 in Sunday's Carling Cup final.
Incidentally there was probably one more memory of 1984 that informed Dalglish's selection for yesterday's game and that was the one black spot when they got knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round - by Brighton. It was one that, very rarely, he missed because of injury but enough to drive home the point that the threat of an upset is always there.
Liverpool's commitment to cup competitions has been clear since they began the Carling Cup campaign at Exeter back in August with Reina in goal and Luis Suarez in the starting line-up. It's why I think the Reds deserve to be [1.43] favourite for Sunday's meeting with Cardiff and ought to be clear favourite rather than second at [3.85] for the FA Cup.
Dalglish is still talking optimistically of a treble with a top four finish too. His side are only four points off the Champions League places at the moment. Significantly Sunday was the first time he's been able to start Suarez, Andy Carroll and Steven Gerrard in the same side and that might just give some momentum to make [4.4] for a top four finish some real value among the clubs chasing the Champions League.
I'm not saying Dalglish hasn't used the chance to give some squad players a game in the knockout matches. It's just you sense he always picks a team to win the game, rather than choose one which might win.
Norwich, for instance, have done great things in their first season back in the Premier League but boss Paul Lambert was clearly not too bothered about getting through Saturday's tie with Leicester. He gave England youth goalkeeper Jed Steer a game among four changes and duly got beaten 2-1.
And what was Arsene Wenger doing with Lukasz Fabianski in goal at Sunderland? Doesn't giving the second string goalkeeper a game send out the message that this match doesn't really matter quite as much?
But it should have mattered. A 2-0 defeat means it's now seven years without a trophy and the critics who have been picking at Wenger were out in force on Saturday night. Wenger has two years of his contract left and, quite rightly, has the support of the board if not a growing band of fans who want change. Arsenal are in the top four currently, but would you back them even at [2.76] to stay there?
Wenger's critics hate his insistence on signing kids for the future rather than established stars for the present. Ironically it was one of those prospects, Japanese teenager Ryo Miyaichi, who got one of the goals for Bolton that clinched a 2-0 win at Millwall. He was part of a strong side selected by Owen Coyle who must have fancied that a Cup quarter-final would boost confidence for the relegation fight. Bolton are currently [1.8] to go down.
Tony Pulis knows all about marathon seasons. Yesterday's 2-0 win at Crawley was Stoke's 41st game of the season and they have at least another 15 to go. He's also followed the principle of trying to win cup games rather than not caring - skipper Ryan Shawcross has missed only six of them while striker Jon Walters, who tucked away the first goal from the penalty spot, has played in 40.
I love Stoke's attitude and between [7.4] and [15.5] in the early market for them to turn round a 1-0 deficit and qualify over Valencia in the Europa League on Thursday has to be the best long odds punt of the week.
Tottenham are [3.75] favourites for the FA Cup despite still needing a replay over Stevenage to take their place in the quarter-finals. Harry Redknapp did make loads of changes for yesterday's tie and it showed. Surprising, really. He might not know too much about George Orwell's version of 1984, but I bet he could name every one of Liverpool's 15 players!
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