Nicolaus_Copernicus
Self imposed break
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2017
- Messages
- 6,365
- Reaction score
- 8,876
I think its about desire as much as anything, 32 is no age still and a super fit 25 year old with the desire will no doubt run rings around a 32 year old.
That said i wonder if the World cup hangover is affecting the likes of Pogba etc
If there were two bell curves, one showing age & levels physical fitness, the other age & number of footballers playing, I suspect they’d near enough match each other. For outfield players, 27 is their peak and 35 is the best most players can get to with luck, after 30 the drop off dramatically starts. There will always be exceptions to any rule, but having three of your most important attacking players at 33 isn’t clever, nor is it a solution to the problem to bring in 30 yr old (31 in November) with a history of injuries as a back up. Although if that’s all we can afford.....
AC Milan basically did the same thing. They thought with Milan Lab that they could push player’s careers out to 40. They couldn’t and they’ve still not recovered as a football team.
Porterfield had a go at it in the latter stages of his career at BDTBL, with Thompson, Lewington, McNaught, Withe, Mortimer & Burridge.
Other than issues of fitness, buying younger players also increases the chances of resale value, which is something we need to consider, because it’s our best chance of long term survival/success.