The problem with rotation is that when it works it is because of the players and when it fails it is because of the manager.


Rafa's tinkering has been blamed previously for a derby defeat - when a motley collection of players including Josemi, Salif Diao, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Neil Mellor were beaten at Goodison Park in December 2004 - and he was culpable for this humiliation.


Granted, Graham Poll deserves censure as both of Everton's opening goals could/should have been disallowed for fouls during the build-up and he naturally favoured the home side when Pool appealed for a blatant handball by Tony Hibbert, yet Benitez paved the way for this defeat by pairing Peter Crouch and Robbie Fowler in attack.


Their ponderous play was damned in contrast by Andy Johnson's effervescent display. Where was Craig Bellamy? At home in Wales having been given the weekend off. Pool may have vital encounters with PSV and Chelski this week but Bellamy is Welsh and all Welsh footballers have the summer off. He hardly requires rest and recuperation.


Derbies should not be trifled with. Nor should the Premiership. At the heart of Benitez's avowed policy of rotation is the questionable equal billing of domestic and European affairs. "For me rotation is really important if you want to compete in three or four competitions," he confirmed last Friday.


But many will wonder why the Premiership isn't the designated first among equals.


Unlike Chelski, whose sluggish domestic performances this term stem from the acquisition of two superstars in a bid to win the European Cup, Liverpool have already enjoyed success in the Champions League.



Europe may be a cash cow - and Liverpool are short of more than a few bob - but many of us fans wonder just why the club and the manager are not prioritising a league they haven't won for twenty years rather than stressing over a mini-league - containing PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray and Bordeaux - in which second place would be satisfactory.