Originally Posted by
redgunamo
You do realise, don't you, that referring to appearances as "minutes" is simply asking for it? Just egging them on, encouraging them.
Anyway, to your point; perhaps squad hierarchy demands that other players' needs come first, more senior individuals' also need "minutes"? Cedric in the Champions League, for example, had a greater, more long-standing claim to a spot than the youngsters everyone wanted to see?
Not certain what young ESR's preferred position is but suppose it's where the captain and the Kraut also play. We can see why he might struggle for games, when the three of them are available.