Should we be worried about our ageing squad?

[uwe rosler 28]

Not really with rekik mangala zucclinni jovetic incheno(when he signs) lopes huws I think we have enough younger players to balance this out I'd imagine in the next 4 seasons we will address the full back issue and center mid as people are saying with thev2 main men in charge there's no need to worry!

 

[S04]

Worried?.. No

But of course we might be observant about it and look out for those 3-4-5 year cycle signings that the club have alluded to, we might also keep in mind that CFG might have other clubs in mind for some players at a certain age, clubs within the group I mean.

 

[bluetonium]

Negredo has only just turned 29 mate, and Aguero 26. Jovetic is a baby still at 24, not 26. Zaba's not 30 just yet, Sagna is 31, Kolarov is 28 not 30, Dzeko 28 not 29, same with Vinny. And you need to take a year each off Fernando and Fernandinho. Rekik is 19 not 21.. Ok, basically, whatever site you used to get those ages, well you should stop using that site!

Given that speed is not something The Beast pins his game on, as long a she recovers well form his injury then there are no concerns. Pelle plainly likes the option of a big guy and a more technical guy up front, we have 2 outstanding options for each.

As posted above mentions, GK is not a concern. Hart will still be a good keeper in 5 years so no worries. In general, for every position, we will be on the lookout for younger players to come in and take places of those like Wright in the next 2-3 years. But, have you seen some of our youngsters playing recently, albiet at a lower level? I think we finally have a group of kids, of whom several can make that step up.

Plus, in Pelle, we have a manager who will, and is expected to, bring them through in the best possible way to give them the chance to step up and be first team players. Sure, we'll add to the squad and splurge every now and then for positions we need to fill, but it will be a gradual thing.

 

[MikeF]

Is the OP in the future as all of the ages I've looked at (Yaya, Aguero, Silva and Kompany) are incorrect

 

[Deleted member 58678]

Not worried. But I certainly think while Kompany Zabaleta Nasri Fernandinho Džeko and Silva are bang in their prime and while we still have Yaya for the next, possibly, two years; the time is NOW for the Champions League.

We will build our squad accordingly as these players age and Kun Fernando and Jovetić will come into their prime. But I feel this next two years, a real push for the CL semis and final should be an aim. Because when Yaya is no longer with us, we may have to wait a few years before his replacement gets into his prime, while the players listed at the top of my post get into their 30s.

Mourninho said when United beat his Inter side in the 2009 CL, that it was easy for United because so many of their big players were in their prime. Clive Woodward said the same of his 2003 World Cup winning side. When you have a large amount of stars in their prime, you can win anything. We have that NOW. The only thing is there are five other exceptional teams (Madrid Atléti Barça München and Chelsea) who all have greater CL last four experience than us. But with a bit more belief and confidence and a damn site better atmosphere from us, we could do well against any of them with our team.

 

[Citizen in Pakistan]

Good post
We don't need to be worried as long as everything goes according to plan which tixi refered to as cycles
one of the main reasons city preffered mangala over more established benatia mainly because of his age and I think this will be the tone of future transfer wibdows,with the core of the team on long term contracts the influx of new talent would be with the young players than more established ones and hopefully players coming through the academy as well

 

[adrianr]

Have you even got those ages right?

Was my first thought. A few of those don't look right at all, and I'm going to assume any that are wrong are higher rather than lower?

Edit: Aguero and Silva are both a year younger than OP. Can't be bothered going through them all.

 

[ws01]

I may have made one or two mistakes, but I'm pretty sure I've got most of them right. My post states how old players will be or will be turning at the end of the season (i.e next year, 2015). If they haven't yet had their birthday then I've simply used the age they will be turning, just to be consistent. Aguero will indeed be turning 27 next year, Jovetic 26, Kompany 29 etc.

Hope that clears up any confusion.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

I think this is one reason why we brought Mangala in. It is clear that we now plan to keep players here long term and the powers that be probably see Mangala as being as good as Kompany in 2/3 years time.

I expect our transfer policy in the next few years will be bringing in players who are in the 23/24 age group. Experienced enough to be good enough but young enough to bide their time and develop.

 

[aguero93:20]

I may have made one or two mistakes, but I'm pretty sure I've got most of them right. My post clearly states how old players will be or will be turning at the end of the season (i.e next year, 2015). If they haven't yet had their birthday then I've used the age they will be turning. Aguero will indeed be turning 27 next year, Jovetic 26.

Hope that clears up any confusion.

Jovetic is 24 now (2/11/89) so you're wrong there.
But you could surely take it a little further and show us the average age of the squad in say, 4 years if we signed nobody and all our young prospects flopped?

Right now, we have 3 outfield players over the age of 30 (our back up right back, Yaya and our back up centre half) so forgive me for not worrying.