Winter will bring major challenge to Chelsea’s club selection policy claims journalist | OneFootball

The international break is fertile ground for debates and disputes as there are no club games to keep fans distracted. This week at Chelsea, the focus has been on rotation.

That debate was brought into focus by Enzo Maresca’s decision to change his team to face Qarabag in the Champions League two weeks ago. The Blues ended up with a draw in a game where 3 points was essential, and many blamed it on his decision to change his preferred 11 from the weekend.

Chelsea rotation is club policy not Maresca whim

Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

What we’ve heard since are plenty of briefs defending him, claiming that this sort of rotation is a club policy. Nizaar Kinsella’s quotes in a Q and A today put it very clearly:

“I can see why Chelsea are rotating so heavily, and their argument is that it will pay off in the long run,” the Chelsea correspondent wrote.

“It is important to note that this is a club-wide strategy, not merely a whim of Enzo Maresca. However, I agree that the weakness in the process lies in defensive rotation. That may be due, in part, to none of the central defenders making themselves un-droppable. Overall, Chelsea are performing well this season. Maresca has made wholesale changes against lesser opposition and, generally, they have worked well enough. But the winter period will present an even greater challenge in that regard.”

In other news…

The Q and A also had some chat about Benoit Badiashile, who is going to return to action before too long according to Kinsella. How long he stays fit for this time is anyone’s guess…

In the same interview, Kinsella also answered questions about Enzo Maresca’s future. There hasn’t been a huge amount of pressure on the Blues boss in recent weeks – but would that change should he take back to back defeats in huge game against Arsenal and Barcelona next week?