This week on Stat Attack we throw our two pennies worth into the age old debate over squad rotation by looking at the clubs who have used the most and least players so far this season.

So by the end of this insight will tinkering with the talent or sticking with your best XI prove the most effective for clubs up and down the Football League?

npower Championship

With all that has gone on and off the pitch at Doncaster Rovers this season, it is not surprising to see that they have used the highest number of different players.

The revolving door at Keepmoat Stadium has continued to spin as a whopping squad of 37 players have been used so far this season not to mention a change of management. New boss Dean Saunders took over from departing Sean O'Driscoll in September and has been doing all the shuffling he can to get the Donny out of the relegation zone.

And with his side currently sitting 22nd in the table - four points adrift from safety and will need to be on top of their game as they face Reading, Crystal Palace and Blackpool in their next matches.

From excess to minimalism, Peterborough United have used just a paltry 23 players so far this campaign - making them the smallest squad in the npower Championship. Boss Darren Ferguson did try to add this during the January transfer window as he targets a stronger league position than 17th as the season moves into crunch time.

The Posh have lost their last three matches and haven't won since Boxing Day so a bit of squad reshuffle may well be expected in the coming weeks.

npower League 1

Preston North End have used 38 different players this season - the most in npower League 1 - which has helped them to a solid mid-table position.

With a few changes in the dug out this season it is perhaps no surprise that there has been changes in the dressing room too as they bid to find the winning formula they need to bounce back to the Championship. In January Graham Westley took over from Phil Brown - who was sacked in December; Graham Alexander and David Unsworth had been in temporary charge in the spell in between.

Last year Preston used 42 different players as their ill-fated campaign resulted in relegation from the second tier of English football. It looks like Westley could well tip the scales with that total this season, but with over a third of the season left to play, the six-point gap to seventh place is certainly not insurmountable.

At the other end of the spectrum is two clubs that have used just 23 different players each - the lowest in the league. Walsall sit just outside the relegation zone in 20th place, but are on equal points with Scunthorpe United who are in the danger area.
Manager Dean Smith will be hoping he can guide his Walsall side to safety and will be buoyed by recent form that has seen them lose just twice in their last 10 matches.

The other club to show the same stringent policy is Colchester United and it appears a little more successful for manager John Ward. United currently sit mid-table in a solid position which will add further testimony to the benefit of sticking with your best team.

npower League 2

Sticking with the lowest number of players used, it is Morecambe that have the smallest tally in the whole Football League. The Shrimps have made numbers count this season as their 19 different outfield players have helped them earn a strong league position.

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley has been very shrewd in team selection as his side have picked up 36 points already this campaign - putting them in 14th place.

At the other end of the scale is Northampton Town who have used the highest tally of different players in the whole Football League this season. The Cobblers have shuffled the pack with an excessive 39 different faces as manager Aidy Boothroyd - who replaced Gary Johnson - tries everything get his side off the bottom of npower League 2.

But with the club three points adrift of safety, the arrival of the experienced Clarke Carlisle from Burnley on deadline day will help and Boothroyd may need to draw on the wise heads in his squad to produce the goods if he is to avoid relegation at the end of the season.

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Please note statistics are based on information supplied by the Press Association.