Feel like I’m jinxing us by saying this, but rafa’s philosophy of Keeping players at 85% fitness is paying dividends and when taking everything in to account is the right thing to do. Though it may hinder us slightly earlier on in the season when our opposition are at 100%, we benefit when they have nothing left in the tank towards the end and have stockpiled multiple injuries. Rafa of course historically has a very good record of keeping his players/teams fit, something we as a club do not.
in the occasional event we do decide to spend money, we can look more for quality, as a fewer injuries mean numbers are less important than they may get otherwise have been. It’s also means we give more focus to playing smart than hard, reading the game, teamwork, taking up good position etc.
In an unrelated topic I wonder if this may be why some teams benefit from bringing in another manager so much mid season. For example players not giving their all, then suddenly giving everything to impress their manager.