This post is inspired by the Rodri injury scare or maybe even injury itself
https://www.barcablaugranes.com/barcelona-la-liga/136996/rodri-injury-scare-atletico-madrid-clash

This is exactly the concern I've been raising about Flick's squad management.

Rodri reportedly experienced discomfort in his right calf against Aston Villa, prompting his substitution at half-time. While we don't yet know the extent of the issue, it's another reminder of the importance of managing players' workloads before they reach this stage.

My biggest concern with Flick isn't necessarily that he doesn't rotate. It's when he chooses to rotate.

We've seen him ease players back into action after injuries, whether it's Raphinha, Frenkie, Pedri, Bernal, Gavi etc. That's understandable and shouldn't be discounted. But there's a difference between carefully managing players returning from injuries and proactively managing the workload of players who are consistently playing.

Too often, rotation seems to happen only when a player starts showing signs of physical discomfort, suffers an injury or reaches a point where resting them becomes unavoidable.

And the small-squad argument that perhaps justified some of his decisions over the last two seasons doesn't hold up to the same extent anymore. We have considerably more options this season.

Take the Alavés game, for example. Why did both Rodri and Pedri need to start, particularly after their demanding performances (and poor performances IMO) against PSG and Real Madrid? Rodri ended up playing the entire 90 minutes in a game where we had opportunities to manage his workload.

This isn't about hindsight or suggesting that every subsequent injury is the manager's fault. Injuries are part of football, and even the best-managed squads experience them.

But workload management is also part of a manager's responsibility.

You cannot consistently run your most important players into the ground, rely on them to deliver every few days, and then act surprised when physical problems start emerging.

Rotation isn't just about having the courage to drop your best players when they're tired. It's about having the foresight to rest them before they get there.

Flick has brought a lot to Barcelona, and I'm certainly not arguing otherwise. But his squad management is an area where he needs to improve. We cannot afford to learn these lessons only after losing key players to injuries.

At Barca, we should be looking at the bigger picture, not just the next game.