Squad Average Age

Does the average age of a squad matter much or not. On my Peterborough save in my 4th season my Squad average Age is 21 compared to the league average of 29(in Premiership).

I'm currently on a 28 unbeaten run with various youth players stepping to fill in holes left by injury and suspension of my first team squad.

The team with the highest average age is 3rd from bottom Wolves.

So does average age matter or not?

No, I don't think it matters.

Glaring especially in lower leagues where teams composed entirely of teenagers would have probably been eaten alive by grizzled old veterans.

Does it matter IRL? It may mean a team that deals better with pressure if the age is higher, but in the end what matters the most is the players' quality.

Experience is pretty important, and perhaps not important enough in FM. Look at the difference between Arsenal and Man Utd, for example. No denying that Arsenal's team is full of talented young players, or that Wenger is an excellent manager, but there's a reason they haven't won anything since 2005.

Experience is pretty important, and perhaps not important enough in FM. Look at the difference between Arsenal and Man Utd, for example. No denying that Arsenal's team is full of talented young players, or that Wenger is an excellent manager, but there's a reason they haven't won anything since 2005.

Brilliant post. I've been noticing this on FM a lot. There seems to be a groundswell of opinion on here that old players aren't worth having and that getting rid of players once they've had their 28th birthday is the way to go. In real life a team with kids throughout the side wouldn't win a thing. I appreciate the Hansen reference in there but it's true. United with those kids wouldn't have won anything were there not also the old heads around.

I'd like to see experience be a more important factor in FM. I'd like to see it as a visible attribute as well. The attribute would increase with every game the player plays with extra bonuses for different leagues, standards, continential competitions and international experience etc. In real life there is no way on earth teams would willingly let the likes of Gerrard go at 29 (Because he's too old) or Terry. But people would on FM, they'd gaze in horror at the rapidly declining pace and acceleration and cast them aside for some 17 year old Brazilian with a PA of 7 million.

They should make it so your young, talented players lose their way A LOT in big games if there are no old heads about. And that if there are not enough experienced players about the young players don't develop as well. In real life teams actively buy experienced players, particularly in the lower leagues. The majority of FM users would rather play tag on the M1 than sign someone over 30 (OMG the horror)

I march on the Dutch league with a squad age of 21 years old. But the players that I have are quality, at least six-seven of the guys in the first team are touted to move at bigger teams for fees over 100M. Sure, this will never happen because of the transfer bug.. but I am just saying

Well I think this is shown in FM already. If you have a squad average age of 21 and then 5 years down the line at the peak, the mentals and PA should fill out, leading to better performances. I would say that experienced players bring a few more mentals and stability to the team then a bunch of talented 20 year olds.

Yes, but if you have talented youngsters and a good tactic you can still be successful. Just check the Arsenal thread to see how many people won the League in the 1st season and the CL in the second. Not to mention 5 years ahead, when all the talented youngsters all on their peak.

Well I think this is shown in FM already. If you have a squad average age of 21 and then 5 years down the line at the peak, the mentals and PA should fill out, leading to better performances. I would say that experienced players bring a few more mentals and stability to the team then a bunch of talented 20 year olds.

It is no doubt in the game. I'm saying it should be amplified so it actually affects you if you don't have enough experience in the team or squad. In real life you would lose a lot of key games, as the like of Arsenal do and fail to win trophies.

A wily veteran often tends to get the better of even a vastly more talented young player.

I’d like to see much more realistically growth in mental attributes. There are a few exceptions to the rule but the vast majority of young players are not composed, do not read the game well and are inconsistent. I see mental attributes above 10 thrown out to any good young player when they should in my opinion be reserved for Febregas’ and world. These mental attributes should start much lower and have the potential to rise even near the end of a player’s career.

I think part of the problem is linked to the fixed PA system. If a player reaches his peak there is no more room for mental attributes to increase.

I would like to see mental attributes handled completely separately from PA using a hidden Mental Strength attribute combined with experience.

I once got a team promoted out of the Blue Square Premier into League 2 with an average age of 21. I even got a news message that said something along the lines of "They say you don't win anything with kids, but Manager Name has proved you can". I'd pretty much built the team out of released players from Championship and League 1 sides.

This was a one off though; usually I prefer to blend youth with experience across the team.

I don't believe the squad average age in itself has any significant impact, but I like a few older heads around the side for a number of reasons. The team as a whole seem to play more consistently well, and certain 'difficult' individuals seem to respond better with an experienced Captain over a similarly skilled and attributed skipper of a younger age. I'm also firmly of the opinion that certain players appear to continue to play at a high level, or in fact even improve their performances once they go beyond their obvious peak. The decline in technical stats doesn't really perturb me as long as they're still physically up to their role in my team. Creative players like typical playmaking AMC's, and also the usual iconic type DC seem to get better and better with age, so much so that I quite often still have players holding down a squad role well into their mid-thirties.