Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has come under fire for changing his starting lineup. He has done this more than any other Premier League manager this season. Former player-turned-pundit Wayne Rooney criticised the frequent swaps. He says they hurt player chemistry. Maresca, however, isn’t shifting his stance.
Rooney’s Warning: Too Much Change?
On his podcast, Rooney argued that Chelsea’s senior players should “question” how often they’re changed. He said constant chopping and changing of players made it harder to build relationships on the field — and predicted it could backfire.
"We are in an era where anyone can say what they want"
"It's impossible to play with same players 65 games in a season"
Enzo Maresca responds to Wayne Rooney's criticism of his squad rotation 🔵 pic.twitter.com/XyqBuyb0mS
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 7, 2025
Maresca defended his approach by pointing out how demanding football has become.
“For me personally, it’s impossible to play with the same players 65 games a season.”
He added that rotating players is not about uncertainty but managing players across Premier League, Champions League and other cups.
The Strategy: Long Season = Long Game
Chelsea have made 85 changes to their starting XI this season. This is the most of any PL side. Their leadership supports this heavy rotation. They believe a deep squad and flexibility are keys to standing up across multiple competitions.
🚨🇧🇷 Maresca: “Estevão is ready to start. If he starts, another one is on the bench who wants to start”.
“We try to do the best for Estevao. We are helping him adapt. Last week he was complaining about too cold [smiles], we are still October – imagine December/January!”. 😁❄️ pic.twitter.com/iXGfRureSC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 7, 2025
What It Means on the Pitch
Changing the line-up often brings risks. The players may struggle for rhythm, combinations may lack cohesion. The young players may be exposed too early. Maresca acknowledged all this and said:
“When you don’t win games, then everybody looks at rotation and different things.”
Author’s Insight
Here’s what I think: Maresca isn’t wrong to rotate heavily — the game is relentless, the fixtures stacked and Chelsea’s squad built to cope with it. But Rooney’s warning isn’t baseless either. Having the right mix of stability and freshness is difficult. If Chelsea keep switching players regularly, they risk missing the “team feel” that comes from trust and familiarity.
For Maresca, the job now is finding the balance. He has to rotate for fitness and freshness. Also letting some players build rhythm together would help. His honesty about the process is refreshing. The real test will come as the season deepens and results count more.
As featured on Chelseanews.com