HI ALL JUST THOUGHT ID START OFF WHAT COULD BE AN HOTLY DEBATED SUBJECT
Just been scouting a few leagues on the look out for that missed gem I can buy with the £0 in my bank account :( noticed the large number of aged 30 and over players in some teams and wandered what people generally feel about having them...
just some examples
England
Premiership - 1 team with 13, 2 with 11 - (87 players 30 or over)
Championship - 1 team with 9, 3 teams with 8 - (67 players 30 or over)
Division 1 - 1 team with 7, 5 teams with 6 - (57 players 30 or over)
Spain
La Liga - 4 teams with 11 (89 players 30 or over)
Segunda - 2 teams with 12 (79 players 30 or over)
Italy
Serie A - 1 team with 13, 1 with 11, 1 with 10 - (71 players 30 or over)
Serie B - 3 teams with 9 - (78 players 30 or over)
I know from personal experience investing in youth has cost me my job once, but I also hate to see some great teams fall apart and down the leagues when a large number of players announce they are going to retire at the same time, the manager inevitable leaves the clean up and rebuild job to somebody else.
so thought id like to hear other peoples perspective of players ages etc....
p.s Not sure why i looked at players aged 30 seeing as retirements don't start til 31
p.p.s Players on loan were counted for the club they are on loan at
p.p.p.s I also noted 5 teams only have 2 players aged 30 or over.. Juventus, Roma, Wolves, Everton and Middlesboro
p.p.p.p.s strange what things you do after a few drinks lol :)
I think like real football, it's about finding that right balance of old and new. You have to have players that can cut it now and sometimes, they seem to be the older players. So that you avoid what happed to Inter a couple of seasons ago where most of their players retired, you have to make sure you either have a good assistant manager with youth bonuses or you invest in players with 3 or 4 for talent. Sometimes that's harder in the lower divisions because we all know that the high talented players come with big valuations.
I think Arsene Wenger is a class example of someone that potentially has the best young squad in Britain but he's had to sacrifice silverware in the "here & now" in order to build a squad that could actually dominate for years to come. IF it comes off, Arsenal could go on to become the most successful English side ever, if it doesn't, he'll look a fool and will probabaly be forced out one way or another.
Simon Newcombe (Arsenal Fan) did the same on here when at Arsenal and I imagine Simon will say that eventually, he had to sacrifice some of his younger players to try and deal with the pressure to win something straight away. He lost his job because of it.
I know that at Southampton, I'm trying something similar but on a lower scale. There is less pressure to win the top prizes so I am working with what I can to build a young and attacking team that will hopefully improve year on year and tweak it here and there when needed. Thats a harder job in the lower league due to lack of finances and normally "lesser" players to offer in deals but you have to work with what you have.
Good question though Tony and I imagine that it's only a couple of managers on here that actually manage to get the balance right.
I actually thought before checking that all the players just headed off to sunny spain to retire lol but I agree with you there needs to be that right balance of youth and experience in reality and on here, and in some aspects the game is reflecting what is happening in the real football world - Spain and Italy's top leagues all crammed with players appraoching 35 with the sprinkling of amazing young talent.
Having tasted life at the top of the tree with Valencia and the pressures to finish with some silverware (and failing) i can see why so many managers do snap up half price superstars with fantastic stats but I do think they and the chairmen have to look longer term to, Look at the English game in the real world where the likes of Nottingham Forest, Leeds, even Southampton to an extent where chairman pushed the boat out spent for success and now the clubs are only just recovering, (you will get pressure eventually steve) and on here as you mentioned Inter as well as Roma - i can see the same happening at Real (not having a go Chris) along with the other clubs highlighted many with over 10 players that could retire in the next season or 3, managers are stuck with trying to win trophies but ensuring that if they do they can at least defend them!
once players get to 34 + they have very little re sale value and managers are stuck with them, which is why i added at the end of the vote that maybe the introduction of a cap for the number of over 30's each team can have (maybe a bit like the loan system) so maybe a 3rd (just an idea based on squad size being 22) of the squad could be 30+, this would go some way to protecting them from a total fall from grace...
Is it just me, or can you not vote for all youth?!
As you have;
'zimmer frame all the way' - opting for the golden oldies... 'mixed old and new' - self explanitory... 'middle of the road' - opting for the prime ages for players I assume?! 'youth will never win anything' - opting against youth... 'cap 30+ players limit for a team'
So you can't actually opt for all youth?
As a Utd fan, it's hard to say this but I actually like the Wenger approach! Why not fill your team with majority or all youth and get your team to gel before trying to push them for glory as they start hitting their prime?
Problem is, holding onto them when they get to their prime. Or holding onto your job when your at a big team and winning nothing...
it works in both ways i had youth at Ascoli and only youth and it worked in one league and didn't in the other the 30 year olds I have in my squad aren't even very good de lucia and colin stats are terrible but their form is great and the youngsters who are quality like Mariga have terrible form so I think you have to balance it out although I have very few plus 30's anyway i think i only have 4 if im mistaken? so im more inclined for youth with a couple of experienced pro's
I do believe that Zaragoza are one of the teams with 12 players over 30 in the Segunda. This was the case when i joined last season and the players have no resale value and i would prefer to keep the quality in my squad than weaken it significatly for no real financial gain. I do believe that you need a mixture of youth and experiance which is what i voted for and i would never buy a player whos age was 32+. I think you can still be succesful with a few golden oldies! I certainly hope so.
