This sounds like the sort of thing I would have posted, although I don't recall weighing in on the Billing thread. I think there is a disconnect between someone being too old to be good enough for the level we are at, it is more than he is too old to provide value for money given the output we would be getting.
Simply, a player at 29:
- has almost certainly peaked in terms of ability (at least for outfielders, I'll allow keepers develop later and can play much longer arguments), so you have no magic upside in terms of him rising to new levels
- is almost certainly at the peak of what he can demand in wages. Outside of those who have been at Chelsea, they will be on their third/fourth contract and demanding the highest package they'll have ever been on, knowing they are in the window for "last big contract"
Stick these two things together and you get a combination of someone only (at best) being good enough for the present level, and you are paying a relative fortune for the privilege. In what way is that sort of signing in any way a sensible use of resources, regardless of where you intend to go in the league? If you were to nick promotion, player needs replacing and he will not be easy to offload. If your expectation is to stick around the same level for the life of the player's contract, why would you not buy someone younger and cheaper, even if they might not be as good now, in the knowledge that 2-3 years there is a fair chance they will be better than the older player at that point.
Now I'm not going to throw all older players under the bus, there's a time and a place for them. Ings coming in on a one year rental is probably fine. Mee, if that happens, would be similar. But at the same time, you have to be completely aware that they are stop gaps, nothing more, and can not stop you investing and planning in getting younger and better in the longer term - and you need to be aware that said buys will have a "development blocking" effect which will just slow down what should be the long term goal (and no, just loaning out younger players who would be affected by this, just so that they are playing football, is usually not the answer)
