Zappa 0 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 If we still have this squad of players listed below come September the average age would be 28. McGregor - 29 Alexander - 33 Papac - 31 Weir - 41 Bougherra - 28 Whittaker - 27 Broadfoot - 27 Jig - 33 Davis - 26 Edu - 25 Ness - 20 Hutton - 20 Fleck - 20 Naismith - 25 Lafferty - 24 Jelavic - 26 Beattie - 33 Healy - 32 Average age = 27.77 (call it 28) Obviously we might not sign Healy in the summer and Weir might retire, but if they're all still here next season we'll have 6 players over 30 from a core squad of 18 players and an average age of 28. Is that maybe too old?? It might not seem too alarming at first glance, but what if we lose all of the thirty-something players in the one go? This is something which the manager next season is going to have to pay serious attention to because come May 2012 we're going to have a bunch of these older guys as well as other players out of contract and most likely all of the older guys won't bring us in any money to use for finding replacements. Still not worried? Well, what if we still don't have a new owner willing to invest in the squad come May 2012? What if we don't win the league this season or next? What if we don't have a run in Europe next season that brings in cash? Could we be in very serious trouble? I'm not trying to be a pessimist or scaremonger here, but if we don't win the league this season and if we don't start sorting out this ageing squad, we could find ourselves right in the shit and sitting with a core squad with an average age which is too low due to having to promote even more youth players through to the 1st team. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totti 0 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) We have about 5 youngsters who look very promising and should be used much more frequently, aside from Ness who is getting a good amount of action. That gives me some hope. I would have them all featuring very regularly. Why Hutton gets no game time now God only knows. Even 20 mins as a sub against a shit team will give him the confidence to develop. I think you make a valid point though. We could do with more < 26/27 year olds Edited February 8, 2011 by Totti 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
juffery 0 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 The problem is, if the likes of Ness continue to progress, will we be able to keep him? And we can look at it another way - we have at least 8 first team players about to come into their prime, with promising youth to back them up. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totti 0 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Ness signed a 2 year extension I believe, should have been offered more than that. At least in the summer if he does attract interest we SHOULD be in a position to do the hard sale. Sadly, there's every chance he could leave soon. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
metlika 0 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 For me it is getting too old. We are also targeting over 30's which is all wrong and means they really have no real future at our club, we do need quality but the stop gaps and reasonable wages on these journeymen doesn't help our club out at all. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyk 158 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Apart from Weir there's no other dinosaurs in our squad and this should/has to be his last season. I have no problem with us having some players up to mid 30s as they give expericence which can only help the youngsters coming through. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 The problem is, if the likes of Ness continue to progress, will we be able to keep him? Really not convinced that we will. It's a major catch 22 because he's looked so impressive that most of us will be delighted if he keeps getting games and experience, but that's going to put him right on the radar of scouts. Wouldn't surprise me at all if we started getting bids for Ness this summer. And we can look at it another way - we have at least 8 first team players about to come into their prime, with promising youth to back them up. Not so sure if there's 'at least 8 first team players about to come into their prime' that I'd want us to hold on to though... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ness signed a 2 year extension I believe, should have been offered more than that. He's probably not on very high wages, so wouldn't have wanted a longer contract. He'll probably get an improved contract and wages in 12 - 18 months if he keeps getting plenty games for us. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 For me it is getting too old. We are also targeting over 30's which is all wrong and means they really have no real future at our club, we do need quality but the stop gaps and reasonable wages on these journeymen doesn't help our club out at all. Couldn't agree more. At first glance it seems like short-sightedness and lack of forward planning, but I have to wonder if we're deliberately not thinking too much about the future while there's still takeover speculation. We seem to be just thinking about the immediate future rather than anything longer term and I'm not sure whether that's the right thing to be doing or not. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Apart from Weir there's no other dinosaurs in our squad and this should/has to be his last season. I have no problem with us having some players up to mid 30s as they give expericence which can only help the youngsters coming through. If we had a bigger squad like we've had in the past I'd agree with you, but I think 6 players over 30 including one over 40 when you've got a core squad as small as ours is a bit much. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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