The Age Issue

[Andy_M]

Has been identified by Jol but the stats from the weekend show perhaps why he considers this such an issue. The following are the average age of the starting line-ups from the weekend:

Manchester United (24yrs, 5months)
Liverpool (25yrs, 4months)
Wigan (25yrs, 4months)
Arsenal (25yrs, 7months)
Sunderland (25yrs, 8months)
Swansea (26 yrs, 1month)
Man City (26yrs, 2months)
Wolves (26yrs, 5months)
Newcastle (26yrs, 9 months)
Norwich (26yrs, 9months)
Blackburn (27yrs, 9months)
Stoke (27yrs 10months)
West Brom (27yrs 10months)
Chelsea (28yrs, 8months)
Aston Villa (29yrs, 2months)
Bolton (30yrs, 0months)
QPR (30yrs, 3months)
Fulham (31yrs, 3 months)

I know Jol has and wants to bring in younger players but surely they need to be younger players that are going to be used and actively part of our first team and starting line-up?

[CincyFulham1]

I think Mark and Danny skew it a bit, but I see your point.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

I can see the worry, but why replace good older team members with young players for the sake of it?

This team has been built on continuity, and a gradual shift towards a younger team is all that is needed - Jol appears to be doing this by signing the likes of Kasami and Gecov, who are not immediate starters but I get the feeling one of them may be by the end of the season.

[Andy_M]

I think the stats from the weekend just give clear evidence to back up Jol's strategy and my feeling is that this is why we haven't signed anyone else just yet as he is clearly trying to find the right players within a certain age range which obviously lessens the field of players to choose from.

[Jimpav]

We're the oldest team in London and we're off to Wembley bed with a cup of Horlicks.

[Andy_M]

I think Mark and Danny skew it a bit, but I see your point.

Agreed, but equally all we'd need is for a couple of youngsters to be in there and it would dramatically drop out average. I suppose even having Dembele in there instead of AJ for example must bring it down by a year or so, as he's a fair bit younger than AJ.

[LBNo11]

...I wonder what man ure's was with Giggs, Scholes, and Neville in the team...

[MJG]

just by replacing MS with DS it becomes 30 years, 22 days. which ok does not make  a major change but shows how these things can look different.

[WhiteJC]

...I wonder what man ure's was with Giggs, Scholes, and Neville in the team...

and VDS

[BalDrick]

Always think these should be just from the 10 outfield starting players (easier to work out that way too!). But as pointed out above, even replacing Schrwazer with Stockers doesn't exactly make us a team Michael Jackson would have come to see...

On a slight segue, which follows from this nicely, is the Murph issue. How many more seasons can we expect from him? Even seasons that don't involve European tours. I'm guessing this and maybe one more. Now that is going to be an expensive hole to fill. Shame we wasted so much time and money on players who were clearly never up to the mark - the Saffer and Greening being two that spring to mind.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Always think these should be just from the 10 outfield starting players (easier to work out that way too!). But as pointed out above, even replacing Schrwazer with Stockers doesn't exactly make us a team Michael Jackson would have come to see...

On a slight segue, which follows from this nicely, is the Murph issue. How many more seasons can we expect from him? Even seasons that don't involve European tours. I'm guessing this and maybe one more. Now that is going to be an expensive hole to fill. Shame we wasted so much time and money on players who were clearly never up to the mark - the Saffer and Greening being two that spring to mind.

I think this will be Murphy's last season. I also don't think we will replace him with a similar player and that might be the start of a change in the way we play in that we will become younger/faster/more direct in terms of attacking.

[finnster01]

Always think these should be just from the 10 outfield starting players (easier to work out that way too!). But as pointed out above, even replacing Schrwazer with Stockers doesn't exactly make us a team Michael Jackson would have come to see...

On a slight segue, which follows from this nicely, is the Murph issue. How many more seasons can we expect from him? Even seasons that don't involve European tours. I'm guessing this and maybe one more. Now that is going to be an expensive hole to fill. Shame we wasted so much time and money on players who were clearly never up to the mark - the Saffer and Greening being two that spring to mind.

I think this will be Murphy's last season. I also don't think we will replace him with a similar player and that might be the start of a change in the way we play in that we will become younger/faster/more direct in terms of attacking.

Mr AFC,
I think you may be right, but I have said the exact same thing 3 years in a row now and the man keeps just defying science.

[finnster01]

I think what is even scarier with that picture is the fact that Man U fielded the youngest team at 24 y and 5 months...

[Andy_M]

I think what is even scarier with that picture is the fact that Man U fielded the youngest team at 24 y and 5 months...

Definitely a scary fact. Although I think it was probably aided by their keeper being only 19, significantly younger than any other keep in the league so that don't have "the old guy" in goal to put up their average.

[HatterDon]

...I wonder what man ure's was with Giggs, Scholes, and Neville in the team...

and VDS

I believe that theirs was among the oldest last season -- especially when Berbatov started instead of Hernandez.

[Logicalman]

Always think these should be just from the 10 outfield starting players (easier to work out that way too!). But as pointed out above, even replacing Schrwazer with Stockers doesn't exactly make us a team Michael Jackson would have come to see...

On a slight segue, which follows from this nicely, is the Murph issue. How many more seasons can we expect from him? Even seasons that don't involve European tours. I'm guessing this and maybe one more. Now that is going to be an expensive hole to fill. Shame we wasted so much time and money on players who were clearly never up to the mark - the Saffer and Greening being two that spring to mind.

I think this will be Murphy's last season. I also don't think we will replace him with a similar player and that might be the start of a change in the way we play in that we will become younger/faster/more direct in terms of attacking.

Mr AFC,
I think you may be right, but I have said the exact same thing 3 years in a row now and the man keeps just defying science.

I dunno about science, Finn, belief maybe!!  :011:

The problem is that anyone we seem to look at to replace him is not exactly going to be too much his junior. As we can see with keepers, the midfield generals depend on vast experience rather just just plain skill, and the older they get, the more experienced they get, unfortunately the body just doesn't keep pace.

Another factor is who he is saddled with. far from just having a single midfield authority, there is nothing that says we can't change to have two such people in midfield, each complimenting each other (uh-huh, I wait for the jokes) in their skills, allowing for that lesser singular experience, but a greater joint one (just as long as tutu isn't one of the them).

[HatterDon]

I'm not nearly as concerned about the average age of a starting XI as I am about the average age of the first team squad. I keep hoping that we'll bring younger, quicker players in to train with and benefit from exposure to our veterans.

It's when the half that doesn't make the game day squad is older than the bunch that does that I begin to worry.

[White Noise]

I'm not worried about the average at all. Someone has got to have the oldest side and this time its us. We only get players of this calibre because they are older. It also means we don't lose several of them against our will each transfer window.

Murphy has said he will play this season and next and then review it. I think he will play plenty this season and not so much next and will then retire.