Why Chelsea’s rotation policy is a significant problem for Dream Team gaffers
CHELSEA are sitting pretty in fourth after ten Premier League games.
Only Tottenham and Manchester City have scored more league goals than the Blues in what has generally been viewed as an encouraging start to Enzo Maresca’s reign at Stamford Bridge.
Solid start[/caption]
It’s only natural that Dream Team managers would be drawn to one of the league’s strongest teams but Chelsea’s bloated squad has caused an unusual problem for gaffers.
Much has been made of the excessive strength and depth of the player list caused by Todd Boehly’s recruitment strategy.
As a result, Maresca has consolidated a core group of regulars for the Premier League while making extensive use of rotation for the Conference League and the Carabao Cup.
This is not totally unique to Chelsea but the extent to which the line-up changes from league fixtures to European outings is noticeably more pronounced when compared to the Champions League clubs.
This is partly because the Conference League is not as prestigious (or competitive) as the Champions League and so the ex-Leicester manager feels comfortable resting his top stars.
Jackson tends to make way for Nkunku in the Conference League[/caption]
The problem is that Dream Team bosses don’t want the likes of Cole Palmer (£6.3m), Nicolas Jackson (£4.4m) and Noni Madueke (£3.1m) to be rotated.
More appearances equal more opportunities to score points and so it’s painful for gaffers to see their Chelsea assets miss out against favourable Conference League opposition.
Palmer wasn’t even included in the squad for the league phase of the continental competition, with Maresca keen to manage his talisman’s workload.
The 22-year-old, who features in 61.8% of teams, averages 10.7 points-per-game this season compared to Mohamed Salah’s (£7.3m) average of 9.6.
However, while Palmer rests in midweek, Liverpool’s main man has banked 26 points from three European outings to date, hence why the latter is ahead in the rankings despite his inferior average.
Similarly, Jackson has scored six goals and provided three assists in just ten league outings but he hasn’t played a single minute outside the top flight – Christopher Nkunku (£4.2m) has led the line in the additional competitions.
The Senegal international averages an impressive 7.9 points-per-game, a rate only bettered by four forwards, but his overall tally of 79 points put him just 11th among assets in his position.
The fact he sits out on Thursday nights is a huge blow to his viability.
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Last season, Dream Team managers were able to target the Conference League match-ups because many of Aston Villa’s regulars in the competition were also starters in the league.
That simply isn’t the case with Chelsea this time around and so gaffers would almost be better off treating the West Londoners as a non-European team.
Maresca might see things differently if his side qualify for the knockout stage, which they are well on course to do as current league leaders, but that’s a while away yet.
Palmer is the second-most popular player in Dream Team[/caption]
Such is Palmer’s quality, his comparatively relaxed schedule hasn’t been an issue so far as he’s racked up 107 points from ten outings via seven goals and five assists – Bukayo Saka (£6.7m) is the only midfielder above him in the rankings.
But his backers must be somewhat frustrated he won’t be unleashed upon the likes of FC Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers between now and Christmas.
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