For the last few weeks I have watched with interest as members on this forum have analysed/criticised/welcomed the impending signings of Green, Johnson and Nelson all players over 30. To be perfectly honest I have been amazed at the reaction, specifically to their ages. Since when is over 30 too old. Maybe as a 35 (almost 36) year old I am at the turning point in my life as regards my ability to play contact sports but I can assure you that other than a little conditioning I could match many players basic fitness and beat most in mental and physical toughness and attitude. Several posters on this forum react as though players should gracefully disappear to retirement or to the lower leagues once they break that magical age of 30. I say this is complete rubbish and I will give you examples to prove my point. Mental toughness and the right attitude are more important. Firstly, look at football. Does Scholes, Giggs, Beckham, Keane etc etc ring a bell. Scholes was Utd's only outstanding player last season and almost dragged them back into contention by himself. At 36 he marshaled their midfield and passed other teams to death. He still managed to get from box to box and scored a few crucial goals as well. Giggs has taken up meditation and Yoga and changed his lifestyle. His hamstring problems are long gone and he easily can play 20-25 games a season. Despite Derryâs age he showed in several games last year that natural ability was his only hamstring and not fitness. Let's look at other sports as well. Anybody who saw Brian O Driscoll's magnificent display yesterday against the All Blacks would want gum shields and a head pad before telling BOD that at 33 almost 34 he is too old. His attitude determination and desire to win, will always ensure that he can make the hard yards. In modern football all players are pampered beyond belief. Masseurs, physios, nutritionalists, dieticians etc all ensure that the modern players are treated as the multi million pound asset that they may or may not be. Their conditioning is perfect. Training programs are designed to ensure that players get adequate rest and peak for match days. They really could not get it any easier. What MH is doing now is very shrewd management. Before the mayhem of the transfer window really opens he is adding vital experience and leadership to our team and squad. IMHO the main reason last year for our abysmal poor away form was our lack of real leadership. This will not be lost on MH. We need leaders. A one year contract for Nelson is excellent business. His leadership/experience/knowledge will benefit a young and relatively inexperienced duo of Fabio and Onouha. He might not play much but his presence on the training ground and in the match day squad may prove vital. At 32 Green is only coming into his best years. He is the second best English keeper and he is free. I really can't understand the objections. Johnson is a strange signing but maybe MH is buying him for a reason. Maybe away from home he needs somebody to run the line hard for 60-65 minutes. Zamora or Cisse can't do this. At 31 he still has 2-3 good years left. In July we will see MH buy some youth and begin to shape his squad for the coming years. We have released almost half our squad, he canât replace all these players with youth or inexperienced players. He has to add experience as well. IMHO the free signings are good business and in football terms 30-34 is not too old. Stop looking at their age but instead at the type of player we are getting. We are getting them for free so will lose nothing when we release them in a few years. Onwards and upwards.
Excellent piece, well written Nuts. Have to agree with most of what you have said. As with Nelson, MH is not offering crazy contracts for these players. Good, sensible and calculated team building... so far.
Ten years ago I'd have agreed with every word you said, however, the game has moved on since then and the tempo it is played at, especially in the Premier League means that mere percentages in fitness levels can make a big difference in performance levels. MH is really into the science side of football fitness management, players are wired up for monitoring in training and every minute detail is analysed to the nth degree. The Man U players you quote are exceptional and cannot be considered average, for every one of them there are 100 or more who lose enough in fitness to suffer minor niggling injuries or just enough of a drop in overall performance to render them a liability at that level. MH will be aware of who can perform at what level and what role but at the highest level the Scholes and Giggs of this world have been blessed with a talent that bridges that gap, but even they can't play 75% of the time on the pitch they would have five years ago. I think you're spot on with your assessment of the three oldies we've signed and those are the right reasons. On the other hand so many top players in their 20s drift rapidly downwards in their 30s often failing to be retained by League One or Two clubs who realise that younger, hungrier players are often better in reality...
Good post NUTS tbf. I think it's essential to manage expectations. A lot of the over reaction to signings is probably indicative of our recent history. We've had too many "one last pay-cheque" merchants in the not too distant past. They've come in with each manager and as the managers have gone they've remained. Things have changed. We've now got the most stable and ambitious ownership since Jim Gregory. Everything about our club is saying we're in the right place. We have a plan. We know where we are now. We know where we want to be. Everything speaks to me of a set-up that knows what it's doing. Happy days.
Fair response Sooper. I did mention attitude, determination and mental strength being as important as basic fitness. You are dead right about many players dropping off the radar in their late 20's early 30's. For me this is not because of fitness or ability to continue playing at the top level, it's about being so filthy rich that they no longer have the desire or hunger to put in the hard yards. Perfect example is Michael Owen. Attitude is everything. Hunger and desire not far behind. Going by what i have seen in the media about Nelson, he seems to have all of these in abundance. He has great leadership qualities. Exactly what we need.
excellent artilce Nuts. The "It's been about being so filthy rich they no longer have the desire or hunger to put the yards in" comment is one that is so so true. When we first signed Vine, I thought we had ourselves a decent sriker. Two injuries certainly didn't help his career, but then again, when you are on a silly money contract why take a risk and play football when you can get rich sitting on your backside.
Good article. At 34, Green is probably reaching his peak, that is certainly no age for a keeper these days, just look at Brad Friedel for example. Also, Derry and Hill proved last season that they could still compete at the highest level. The reference to hunger and attitude for me hits the nail fairly and squarely on the head, if a player has the desire to play every week, he'll do all the things necessary to ensure that happens, diet, fitness etc. He will also be aware that as the years pass, even more effort will have to be put in to achieve fitness levels and mental sharpness.
Please god....dont let Flyer read this!!! Mate...i had no input in this..... light the fuse and wait for the ..........!!
We need experience in the team of course but also lots of younger players to build onwards and upwards for the future. Now we have an excess of the former and are short on the latter, so hopefully that will change later in the summer.
Yes is does, 30+ footballers are just after one big payday. They are in decline and nowhere near as good as they once were. They are also on massive wages mean if we give them a long contract, we will be stuck with them a la Vine Rowlands etc because we wont be able to get rid of them on a free. Think of Hargreaves, Owen, Bridge, Konchesky etc Old slow and injury prone. Now it might not be a problem if we didnt already have the oldest squad in the league. The only exception would be for truly great players. Cisse for example because wed have no hope of getting him if he was 25. Sing more players like Traore and less like Zamora. Derrys natural ability was a problem because he was restricted by pace due to his age. Some games he couldnt get near the opposition.
Morning (to you) evening mate Have a feeling this ne is gonna run & although i cant agree with a 30 yr old limit...i agree with your stance mate!
Arsenal have it right, only offer 1 year deals to 30+ players because they often hit a wall and stop being useful. Look at the scum, they let Drogba leave because he wanted 2 years. We have no future if we sign old players. Spend a fortune on Santa Cruz for 2 years or sign Rhodes and try to turn him into a £20m player and make £15m. I know what makes the most sense. i agree we couldnt do it last season but we need a change in philosophy is Hughes is confident about a mid table finish,.
Problem only if the majority of the first team are over 30. That's no way to build for the future, which is apparently what we're trying to do?!
I have long been an advocate of the young and hungry mantra, I spent most of last summer writing that very phrase. Obviously though there is a need for some experience and definitely some leadership. Hill added both to the back four when he was drafted back in last season. Like a decent St. Emilion it is about getting the right blend. We do seem to have a fair number of older players, but do they have the right experience? A few more with a good number of Premier League appearances under their belt will help, but we must also be looking for up and coming young and hungry players.
Young, hungry and (potentially) able are best found in or just beyond club academy stage - so we'll have to wait a while before we see youth coming through... Provided, as NUTS says, they're fit and have the right attitude, thirtysomethings are par for the course for a recently promoted / relegation fodder club like ours and always have been. Not sure what the average age was of our runners-up side of 1976 but there were a fair few veterans in there. Remember the match at Newcastle that season and their captain, Bobby Moncur, mocking the age of the Rangers' players before the game... Score? 2-4 to QPR!! COU(OLDER)RRRssss!!
The game has changed since the 70s, you could smoke and have a pie and chips before the game. Fitness speed etc are much more important now.
