Age

Hey, hows it going?

I'm managing MK Dons in 2014...still in League 2!!

*Hangs head in shame*

Anyway, I'm just about to release a few players with the Mutual Termination thing because they're too old and their stats declined a whole lot with short term injuries. I've pretty much decided that 31 years old will be the cut off for my team now and I won't even accept free transfers for anyone older incase they joint, don't perform then I can't sell them.

Being in the lower leagues is a struggle lol...

I was just wondering if anyone else has any philosophies like this regarding age? Obviously the Premiership managers can affrd to ship in fresh young talent every season...I get the scraps.

Hey, hows it going?

I'm managing MK Dons in 2014...still in League 2!!

*Hangs head in shame*

Anyway, I'm just about to release a few players with the Mutual Termination thing because they're too old and their stats declined a whole lot with short term injuries. I've pretty much decided that 31 years old will be the cut off for my team now and I won't even accept free transfers for anyone older incase they joint, don't perform then I can't sell them.

Being in the lower leagues is a struggle lol...

I was just wondering if anyone else has any philosophies like this regarding age? Obviously the Premiership managers can affrd to ship in fresh young talent every season...I get the scraps.

Age is but a number...

So of you have a 34 year old, say a player like Campo, still with amazing stats your going to get shut of him?

irrelevent of age, if they cant produce the goods I get rid. If they are still on top of their game into their mid 30's, and still perform, who cares how old they are?

You can find great old players if you look, there’s no rule for the age in lower leagues. You can have 35 years old players that are looking for a club after leaving Milan or other big European club. Giggs at 35 in 2009 if I remember well, still worthy.

Remember certain position players peak at around 29-35 yrs of age. (or somehting like that)

I agree to a degree. Some of the players are fine for around 6 months, but if they get an injury and are out for a few months then their stats decline extremely quickly. Seriously, it isn't worth MK Dons holding onto a player who a few years earlier was sold for 11.5M. It's a scary world.

In real life players like Sheringham and Rivaldo did well even though they got older...just in FM an injury can ruin everything and I can't afford the wages for these players knowing that risk.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Frankie 7:

Remember certain position players peak at around 29-35 yrs of age. (or somehting like that) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Goalkeepers

I never keep a player once they hit 30 and i never buy a player in over 21, like to nurture them myself if possible.

Haha...that's how we survive! Buy the Chelsea under 18s for 50k each, train them up and sell them on for 200k with sell on clauses. It's the only way.

When you are playing at a lower level, you have to be very careful of taking older fading stars from higher divisions.

As your training facilities are much worse than the teams they are leaving, you will see a rabid drop as soon as they join you. In the same way as signing a player with-out a team usually sees them have a rabid gain.

I would class anyone of 31 as a one season signing.

Personally, I work on off loading players as soon as they reach 28. At least this way you can still get some money for them. Obviously, if the player has a high natural fitness, then I can risk holding him for a while longer.

i keep hold of players till 32-35ish goalkeepers in particular until they are 40 if they still perform why get rid?! i generally like to have a mixture of youth and experience in my head the young ones would learn agreat deal with the older ones beside them!

Yeah, you'd be getting shot of your players who are playing at their peak, for a League 2 club that is suicide - you need the old grafters with experience of a fight when you're down there...

Age is an individual issue IRL and in FM. I try not to have too many hard and fast rules. Once a player passes 32, I watch carefully for signs of decay. But sometimes, when managing at a lower level (currently at Longford in the IPD), you need to sign an aging player to deal with a short term need.

When I'm managing in the lower leagues, I tend to bring in a lot of youngsters, like a lot of people I imagine. But I always keep my eye out for that old player to be picked up cheap (or free), whether it's a rock at the centre of defence, someone who can spray the balls around well, or a Hartson-esque forward who can barely move to save his life, but can finish with the best of them. These players are often good to gel the team together, or to act as captains, as well as training younger talents.

As you get into the higher leagues, however, age becomes something you need to watch out for more.

In League 2, in 2014, I'd seriously consider spending a few hours just looking around to see who would be interested and still do a job for me at 30+, and pick them up cheap.

If I am playing the player and they are playing well, I never get rid. If the player has been with the club a long time/all their career, I will usually let them decide when to go if finances allow.

But generally once a player hits 33 (except GK's) it is out of my control if I can play them or not

It all depends on the club and league. If i'm a big club I try to go for under 24's and then once they hit 31'ish I start to build again. If i'm a middleish table team I usualy go for an older midfielder (over 33) to act as captain and an older (over 32) centre half with plenty of experience. If i'm in for a relegation battle I would usually go for old pros (over 32) and give the younger players a decent amount of matches so as they are ready to be my first team the next season if I avoid relegations.

Age does have it's merits.

I do similar to Nomis07. At a good club I always set all my scouts to search for players under the age of 23 and prefer a youngish squad. I am loyal though generally so 8-9 years down the line I tend to have a much older first team with players who have been there since they were kids.

At smaller clubs I still tend to scout mostly for players under 23, but I like to have an ageing midfielder who has maybe a year or two left in him and can perform at lower level or even a striker if he still knows how to find the back of the net.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by glamdring:

I am loyal though generally so 8-9 years down the line I tend to have a much older first team with players who have been there since they were kids. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm just hitting 9 years now and the new batch are coming through, giving them plenty of appearances although the older hands who have been there since the start are still good they will be taking a ryan giggs-esque back seat more and more over the next two seasons.

Stern John scoring for fun for me in the Championship at age 33 (I'm Brighton).

He will probably be gone within a year or so though, and I bought Cygan (35) and Sibierski (36 now) but immediately realised they were poor purchases and simply did not have the pace and stamina required for the Championship.

That's where it becomes difficult to balance sometimes. In FM07 at Derby I was constantly scouting for young players and signing them up "for the future". Trouble was the early ones I signed were really good and devloped well to become the backbone of my team. Then over the next few years some of the later young kids were getting to 22 or 23 and starting to want regular first team football, but the previous generation ones are still performing superbly so you have to decide whether to let those go, let a generation or two of youngsters now turned 23 go and hope that the ones who are 18-19 turn out to be good at the right time when your others are getting past it or try to rotate and mix and match.

At Derby I stuck with the same core of players for ~8 years so the youngsters who came through over those seasons I ended up selling a lot of just because they couldn't break into my team and they weren't prepared to wait around until they were 26 before becoming regulars.

This game is really poor at modelling the decline of older players. Are you seriously trying to tell me that players like Scholes, Giggs and Gary Neville won't be good enough to play in the premiership at 35? You can get some real bargains if you're a lower league club as the AI teams don't rate older players at all. I picked up Marc Edworthy for a league 2 side, and I've landed Finnan, Scholes and Gravesen for nothing for Watford. But you can really give them a contract longer than a year, unless they're on low wages.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by IbrahimAliMaher:

But you can't really give them a contract longer than a year, unless they're on low wages. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I remember Guardiola doing great for me for two seasons at 35/36 at Fiorentina in FM08. Currently I have Shevchenko in my squad purely to train younger strikers with his preferred moves & mental stats. Don't underestimate how valuable experienced players can be. Milan won the Champions League with them.

Sorry that should have been Guardiola did great for me in FM07.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pr3D@T0r:

I remember Guardiola doing great for me for two seasons at 35/36 at Fiorentina in FM08. Currently I have Shevchenko in my squad purely to train younger strikers with his preferred moves & mental stats. Don't underestimate how valuable experienced players can be. Milan won the Champions League with them. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That maybe demonstrates the point though - experienced players can be hugely valuable in real life, but too few are in FM08.

i usually have all young players but get some older, i tend to give them a 1 year contract, crappy basic wage but lots for appearences and goals, then when they decline i whack them in the reserves and they go at the end of the season, done it wtih sheringham, hadji and steve fletcher, all now on my coaching staff

yeah, i don't buy anyone over 25, unless it's a short term deal (1 or 2 years/loan). they tend to be too expensive, and they don't develop any more. however, this is when i'm in the big time. LLM is a different ball game. if you're good enough, i will buy you/loan you/sign you.

Outside of the Prem age isn't a massive issue.

An experienced player, with international caps will do a good job for you till 36 ish.

i find that if you keep a couple of experenced players(1-2) up to between 34-36 and then just fill your team with good premiership youth rejects you can get for free at the end of each season is best.