He did rotate vs. Leganes.
Of all the starters against Roma the following did not start vs. Leganes: Alba, Umtiti, Busquets, Iniesta.
Plus Messi was coming back from international break where he sat out 2 consecutive games.
I would believe the tiredness excuse if the team did somewhat well and started going downhill after an hour or so. We got dominated from start to finish though. And that's never down to EV only. He did fuck up with the formation (4-4-2 vs. 3-5-2) and never reacted to the obvious which is a big concern in itself but this club somehow never puts blame on the players except the fringe players who rarely leave the bench anyway, like Gomes. It's always "Fraudrique, Fraudverde, Patata". With the quality gap between Roma and Barca this team should be able to see out a 4-1 advantage even without a coach.
True. It's also on the players big time. But the manager should be able to motivate his players. It's one of his attributes. When you sign for a big club, you win in some areas, you lose in others. You have higher quality players, but these players can lose focus easier, and put up more flat, spirit-less performances, acting like they're better just by name and status, not by proving it out there on the field. It would be unfair to credit Valverde when the players play well and are sharp and focused, like in the Copa final, and to blame it on the players when they show up not caring and not being as focused. The manager is supposed to handle these issues. He is supposed to make sure his players show up, ready to match the kind of adversity that is thrown at them.
Valverde is the person in charge with the management of the team, and when the team is proven to be of great quality, but isn't showing it in the big games in CL, it's the manager's fault mostly.