Manchester United have the second youngest squad in the Premiership.

[Getsme]

So, it seems we have the second youngest squad in the Premier league, with Newcastle being the youngest and Man City the oldest. I think our mix of youth and experience is perfectly balanced at the moment which can only be a good thing for the future.

Players who are 25 or under who have played one or more games for us this season.
De Gea -24
Blackett -20
Jones - 22
McNair 19
Rojo -25
Smalling -25
Shaw - 19
Blind -24
Herrera -25
Januzaj - 19
Lingard - 22
Wilson - 19
Then we have players like Mata, Di Maria and Evans who are 26, Fellaini who is 27 and only 3 players over the age of 30, RVP, Carrick and Fletcher.

1. Manchester City 28.80
2. Crystal Palace 28.39
3. Stoke City 28.09
4. WBA 27.77
5. QPR 27.71
6. Everton 27.33
7. Leicester 27.24
8. Hull City 27.21
9. Burnley 27.12
10. Chelsea 27.08
11. Aston Villa 26.73
12. West Ham 26.53
13. Sunderland 26.36
14. Tottenham 26.23
15. Swansea 26.13
16. Arsenal 26.00
17. Liverpool 25.68
18. Southampton 25.57
19. Manchester United 25.44
20. Newcastle 25.30

 

[okLaptop1]

Crazy, we went from relying on Rio, Vidic, Evra, as well as still playing Giggs, to the second youngest team in the league. No wonder Rooney is the captain.

 

[Browniee]

 

[Skills]

Our squad turnover was pretty awful in the last few years. We had the right idea when we moved Brown and O'Shea on for Jones and Smalling, but then we stopped. Rio, Vidic and Evra stuck around for a bit too long.

 

[WR10]

New chapter... Are you excited

 

[Trizy]

Its gonna be very interesting how City plan on staying top once their key players age and need replacing. They can no longer go out and buy ready made world class players.

 

[Galactic]

Inexperience will be a slight worry. But we do have LVG. He has seen and done them all.

 

[Sir A1ex]

Its gonna be very interesting how City plan on staying top once their key players age and need replacing. They can no longer go out and buy ready made world class players.

They'll be fine. FFP will limit them slightly, but they'll largely get round it - even with their ageing squad they don't need the sort of crazy investment they've had previously. I'm sure they'll find a way to spend £50m-£75m a season, and that'll keep them going.

What they can't do is the sort of scatter-gun approach we saw in the first few years - ie when they spent £400m in 3 seasons on the likes of Robinho, Jo, Balotelli, Santa Cruz, Tevez, Adebayor, Johnson, Lescott, SWP, De Jong, Bellamy, Bridge etc, none of whom lasted more than a couple of years.

But tbh, they've already stopped doing that - £280m in the last 4 seasons, with Rodwell and Garcia being about the only expensive flops so far.

 

[Mali_Zeus]

I thought we lost our soul.. And stuff.

 

[Joga Bonito]

Its gonna be very interesting how City plan on staying top once their key players age and need replacing. They can no longer go out and buy ready made world class players.

Don't forget their Elite Development Squad

Joking aside, they have planned ahead with the FFP in mind and went about developing youth facilities and grabbing promising youth players. Reckon there's some serious talent (Iheanacho, Lopes, Fofana and Pozzo etc) in their youth squad.

Maybe @BobbyManc or @Ronetta can give us more details.

 

[finneh]

They'll be fine. FFP will limit them slightly, but they'll largely get round it - even with their ageing squad they don't need the sort of crazy investment they've had previously. I'm sure they'll find a way to spend £50m-£75m a season, and that'll keep them going.

What they can't do is the sort of scatter-gun approach we saw in the first few years - ie when they spent £400m in 3 seasons on the likes of Robinho, Jo, Balotelli, Santa Cruz, Tevez, Adebayor, Johnson, Lescott, SWP, De Jong, Bellamy, Bridge etc, none of whom lasted more than a couple of years.

But tbh, they've already stopped doing that - £280m in the last 4 seasons, with Rodwell and Garcia being about the only expensive flops so far.

I'm not sure it'll be that easy. Their team has a lot of key player's who are all over 28 and all presumably will start to fade together. The likes of Toure will be 32 by the end of the season, Fernandinho will be 30, Zabaleta will be 30, Kompany will be 29, Navas will be 29, Silva will be 29, Dzeko will be 29. This is before even mentioning squad player's that will have to be replace within the next 3-4 years such as Sagna, Lampard, Demichelis, Kolarov, Clichy

The only player's that you could actually say will be great Premier League player's in 4-5 years time are Aguero, Kompany, Hart & maybe Nasri/Silva. People forget that City have a pretty small squad to start with; for instance their bench against Roma included Sagna, Kolarov, Caballero, Lampard, Silva, Jovetic, Boyata.

They really do have another full squad to build in the next 4 years. If people think that is a simple task look at United who have spent nearly £350m in the last 4 seasons and according to many of our fans need another £100m to be challenging.

 

[VanGaalEra]

It will be interesting to see how City re-build.

 

[jojojo]

New chapter... Are you excited

Yep. It's impressive.

It also means that we can buy "in their prime" or "for their experience" players without feeling too uncomfortable about the age profile. Plus next season we'll have the standard big club profile (shared by Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern and Chelsea of around 26 at the start of the year). It's all signs and omens of course - but this one's a good one.

 

[BobbyManc]

City will be fine. Our EDS squad is performing well and comfortably won their Champions League group, winning all the matches. We have players like Hart, Mangala, Nasri, Aguero, Jovetic, Milner and Kompany who can all improve over the next few years or at least maintain their current level. In the immediate future there are players like Lopes, Iheanacho, Pozo, Rekik and Denayer who can all make an impact, and our youth squads are performing admirably at the minute, with several of them winning their leagues last season. Plus, this season we are on course to show a profit and will be able to still spend a competitive amount each season. The main concern is with our central midfielders, all of whom are going to be need to be replaced within the next few years: Toure, Fernandinho, Fernando, Lampard. But they should still be able to maintain their level for the foreseeable future so we'll have time to sign some players and bed them in slowly, as well as see which EDS players are capable of making the step up like Fofana.

 

[Sir A1ex]

Our EDS squad is performing well and comfortably won their Champions League group, winning all the matches... In the immediate future there are players like Lopes, Iheanacho, Pozo, Rekik and Denayer who can all make an impact, and our youth squads are performing admirably at the minute, with several of them winning their leagues last season... see which EDS players are capable of making the step up like Fofana.

Aw, you crack me up man, too good!

Youth products in a City team, pfffff!

 

[Sir A1ex]

City will be fine. Plus, this season we are on course to show a profit and will be able to still spend a competitive amount each season.

This part wasn't nearly so funny, btw. But I do agree with it - you'll be fine because you'll be able to cook up some kind of "profit" enough to still spend as much as anybody else, even if you can't massively outspend everybody else any more.

 

[Sied]

What a time to be alive!

 

[ChaddyP]

We'll never win anything with kids!

To be honest it makes me proud hearing that stat. We were starting to get a bit old last season. Glad we have turned a new page yet again and we have a good core of young talent right through the squad. Exciting times

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

United have lost their identity and don't believe in youth anymore.

 

[BobbyManc]

Aw, you crack me up man, too good!

Youth products in a City team, pfffff!

How many players who we have released from our youth squad have gone on to achieve success? It's clear our previous crop of youth players just haven't had the quality to make it at the highest level. Now that should be different. I'd rather play top quality players like Toure and Fernandinho than waste time trying to develop someone like Cleverley who is clearly not good enough. As we have attained success through playing proven players we have put ourselves in a position whereby we can attract the best young talent. Pozo, Lopes, Denayer etc. will all get their chances to prove themselves capable of playing regularly for City.

 

[ChaddyP]

It will be interesting to see how City re-build.

I was thinking this very thought. Alot of their key players are getting up in age. And will need replacing. With FFP on their backs and them hardly ever looking to future when it comes to player purchases, it will be interesting to see how they navigate this new era.

 

[JustAFan]

Its gonna be very interesting how City plan on staying top once their key players age and need replacing. They can no longer go out and buy ready made world class players.

Yes they can. Maybe not at the rate they used to, but they will still be able to buy.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Ye'll never win anythin' wi kids

 

[Mersault]

A lot down to LVG playing Lindgaard, Wilson, Blackett, McNair and then of course the purchase of Shaw and the emergence of Januzaj. Haven't we also given games to the most players out of all the teams so far this season.

I wouldn't say we're a young team but I don't see other young teams in the league either.

 

[steeeb]

A lot down to LVG playing Lindgaard, Wilson, Blackett, McNair and then of course the purchase of Shaw and the emergence of Januzaj. Haven't we also given games to the most players out of all the teams so far this season.

I wouldn't say we're a young team but I don't see other young teams in the league either.

Is that a morph of Lingard and Lindegaard?

 

[Mersault]

Is that a morph of Lingard and Lindegaard?

That was me trying to write Lingard. And. Failing.

 

[khoazany]

City will be fine. Our EDS squad is performing well and comfortably won their Champions League group, winning all the matches. We have players like Hart, Mangala, Nasri, Aguero, Jovetic, Milner and Kompany who can all improve over the next few years or at least maintain their current level. In the immediate future there are players like Lopes, Iheanacho, Pozo, Rekik and Denayer who can all make an impact, and our youth squads are performing admirably at the minute, with several of them winning their leagues last season. Plus, this season we are on course to show a profit and will be able to still spend a competitive amount each season. The main concern is with our central midfielders, all of whom are going to be need to be replaced within the next few years: Toure, Fernandinho, Fernando, Lampard. But they should still be able to maintain their level for the foreseeable future so we'll have time to sign some players and bed them in slowly, as well as see which EDS players are capable of making the step up like Fofana.

As long as you don't sell your best talents to Barca you will be fine...Contradict to the popular belief in the caf I think some of your lads will make it.Most of those listed are imported anyway so you certainly have to get some to the first team to continue attracting those young talents.

 

[ChaddyP]

Even if we put the average age of what may be our strongest starting 11 *I have gone with ddg, Valencia, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Carrick, Herrera, Di Maria, Mata, Rooney, rvp*

Our average age is 26.54 that's pretty good. It could be less if we put in Rafael instead of Valencia and Blind instead of Carrick.

 

[ChaddyP]

Even if we put the average age of what may be our strongest starting 11 *I have gone with ddg, Valencia, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Carrick, Herrera, Di Maria, Mata, Rooney, rvp*

Our average age is 26.54 that's pretty good. It could be less if we put in Rafael instead of Valencia and Blind instead of Carrick.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Giggs alone would have dropped us a year and half on average.

 

[SharkyMcShark]

Even if we put the average age of what may be our strongest starting 11 *I have gone with ddg, Valencia, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Carrick, Herrera, Di Maria, Mata, Rooney, rvp*

Our average age is 26.54 that's pretty good. It could be less if we put in Rafael instead of Valencia and Blind instead of Carrick.

Why would you not have Rafael in an ideal starting XI?

 

[ChaddyP]

Why would you not have Rafael in an ideal starting XI?

My reasons are irrelevant and of my own opinion and answering I can see us going off a tangent. My point was just to state that even if we put in the more obvious players that would play if we were full strength, we would still have a fairly young team and that to Me Is very good.

 

[Damien]

City will be fine. Our EDS squad is performing well and comfortably won their Champions League group, winning all the matches. We have players like Hart, Mangala, Nasri, Aguero, Jovetic, Milner and Kompany who can all improve over the next few years or at least maintain their current level. In the immediate future there are players like Lopes, Iheanacho, Pozo, Rekik and Denayer who can all make an impact, and our youth squads are performing admirably at the minute, with several of them winning their leagues last season. Plus, this season we are on course to show a profit and will be able to still spend a competitive amount each season. The main concern is with our central midfielders, all of whom are going to be need to be replaced within the next few years: Toure, Fernandinho, Fernando, Lampard. But they should still be able to maintain their level for the foreseeable future so we'll have time to sign some players and bed them in slowly, as well as see which EDS players are capable of making the step up like Fofana.

How is Fofana doing? He's on loan to Fulham, right?

And do you think Rekik can be a first team squad player? Was bit surprised to see him loaned out again

 

[Getsme]

Thought I’d bump this thread to show how much trouble City could be in if they fail to qualify for next seasons Champions league. It’s obvious that their squad needs an overhaul, however given the age of their players (oldest in the Premiership) and the salary (highest in the Premiership) they are on then they may have trouble shifting them on to other Clubs. Us on the other hand, well we are looking sweeeeeeeet

 

[SirAF]

Thought I’d bump this thread to show how much trouble City could be in if they fail to qualify for next seasons Champions league. It’s obvious that their squad needs an overhaul, however given the age of their players (oldest in the Premiership) and the salary (highest in the Premiership) they are on then they may have trouble shifting them on to other Clubs. Us on the other hand, well we are looking sweeeeeeeet

Excellent bump! I'd say City are in trouble even if they qualify for the CL though (which, to be fair, I'd like to see them do ahead of them).