I'm fed up of the media banging on about the average age of our squad, yes it's a bit old but we are slowly changing it, and its not as big a problem as they make out. We have brought in Stekelenberg who is a decade younger than the player he has replaced, Boateng who although 30 has replaced the 36 year old Karagounis and Amorebieta who is half a decade younger than Hughes. With these changes and the fact I hope Kaca and Frei get games next year plus all the over30 squad players who have been replaced to hopefully be replaced by a few of our youth team players I expect the average age of our squad to come down by a good 3/4 years this summer.
The move to Stekelenburg from Schwarzer knocks a whole year off the average age! The thing is that despite our moves thus far this summer the average age of our first team is just under 30, with seven players over that 30 mark. I do expect that to come down a bit more with a new left back (Riise is our oldest first team player now) and hopefully the new CM we all prize. We are definitely moving in the right direction with signings like Stek and Amorebieta, with some real talent developing in our Academy. We're just going to have to be patient. And let's not forget that with our reasonable away form last year, the pundits lost one of their talking points about us. I suspect the average age thing will be it's replacement!
The fact that our away form has improved won't stop our 'bad' away form being one of their regular talking points, so it won't need replacing.
Our away form last season was better than both West Brom's and Swansea's. Did you hear any journalist criticise their away form? Absolutely not. The media have hated us ever since MAF took the reigns. If it's not 'Berbatov one man team' or 'poor away crowds' 'silent/tourist fans' 'poor away form' it will be 'old squad'. The epitome of this will be when Hodgson is sacked from being England manager and people will come out with stuff like 'Massively out of his depth, belongs at a nothing club like Fulham'
I seem to be on a bit of a statistics binge today, so here are some facts on our current squad for everyone to consider: - The average age of our 24 man squad as of the end of January 2013 was 29.7. The average age of our current 19 man squad for the end of August 2013 is 28.1. - The average age of our first team as of the end of January 2013 was 30.0. The average age of our current first team for the end of August 2013 is 29.5. We have lost 16 years from the combined age of our first team with the departure of Schwarzer and Karagounis for Stekelenburg and Boateng, but of course everyone else is now a year older. These figures include Senderos as our starting CB rather than Hughes. - Our 24 man squad as at January 2013 had 8 home grown players. Two of these are not expected to return, being Baird and Davies. - Our 24 man squad as at January 2013 featured 4 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 8 midfielders and 4 strikers. - Matthew Briggs and Alexander Kacaniklic no longer qualify as under 21 players for the 13/14 season. Their inclusion in our full squad helps lower the average age. Both these players are considered home grown. - Our current 19 man squad features 8 home grown players. These are Stockdale, Etheridge, Richardson, Briggs, Senderos, Hughes, Sidwell & Kacaniklic. Of these, Etheridge and Briggs are club trained for UEFA purposes. This means that, barring any departures, there is no restriction on the nationality of any signings. - Our current 19 man squad features 3 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 strikers. Irrespective of potential sales (such as Stockdale), we have plenty of room for some more midfielders and strikers. (Note: Our stated squad does not include players deemed as under 21 by Premier League rules for the given season. All ages are calculated as of 1 August of the beginning of the respective season, for comparisons sake) So in conclusion we are definitely getting younger, but we are also a little bit light on depth at the moment following all our departures at the end of last season. However only two first team players have departed, meaning most of the turnover was with squad players. Hopefully we can hold the remainder of our first team together next season, allowing us to develop and move forward rather than having a repeat of the Dempsey/Dembele departure at the end of August.
I'm surprised that Kaca is considered home-grown. I wouldn't have thought he had trained in the UK that long, but it is a definite plus that he is.
Great stuff Surly. Two of your observations are particularly revealing, viz: Still work to be done then on both the age and, as you say, strengthening the depth. I'm not so bothered about the age thing, especially since over and above the "declared squad" there will be the 3 or 4 Academy players that Jol suggests can break through next season. The 'depth' point is a concern though if you look at the 8 home grown players you've listed in the 19 man squad - not too many of them will be automatic first team choices. We definitely need a few more quality signings.
I made a small typo error there - the average age of the current 19 man squad for the end of August 2013 is 29.1, rather than 28.1. Everything still stands though.
