Pelle Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 i've been thinking about our players ages and that we have a very young squad, especially the starting 11. 1 Tom Heaton 34 12 Jed Steer 28 26 Emiliano Martinez 28 28 Lovre Kalinic 30 2 Matty Cash 23 3 Neil Taylor 31 4 Ezri Konsa 22 5 Tyrone Mings 27 18 Matthew Targett 25 22 Björn Engels 26 24 Frédéric Guilbert 26 27 Ahmed El Mohamady 33 30 Kortney Hause 25 6 Douglas Luiz 22 7 John McGinn 26 8 Henri Lansbury 30 10 Jack Grealish 25 14 Conor Hourihane 29 17 Trézéguet 26 19 Marvelous Nakamba 26 20 Ross Barkley 26 21 Anwar El Ghazi 25 41 Jacob Ramsey 19 9 Wesley 24 11 Ollie Watkins 24 15 Bertrand Traoré 25 36 Indiana Vassilev 19 39 Keinan Davis 22 That gives 5 players in the whole squad who's 30 or older and a medium age of 26. In the most used starting 11 there's no player who's 30+, Martinez being the oldest at 28, and a medium age of 25. I wonder if we've had such a young squad ever since the PL started. And with that in mind and how good this season has started it's quite encouraging to think about our future. If we can keep the core of this sqaud and build on it steady, then in a couple of years we should be able to compete about the CL spots and even the title. But to do that I think the most important thing is to keep Jack, Douglas Luiz, Martinez, Barkley and Konsa, in that order. These 5 are IMO the most talented players we have and a very solid foundation to build our future on. Keep them and get players around them of similar talent and we're half way there. In other words, the future looks bright atm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted October 19, 2020 We could keep the starters together for 4 years and not need to consider changing one of them. That's an exciting prospect. We can add and build as we see fit merely to improve instead of standing still, Barkley aside. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's Your Round Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 I was thinking about this recently, if we can keep the core of this group together can you imagine how good they’ll be as they develop together. I mean we’re pretty damn good now after very little time. Three years from now most of this team/squad will be coming into their prime after having played together for years. We’ll have upgraded key positions but should still have that continuity running through. It’s hard to not get excited by that prospect, title challenge? I don’t see why not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddywhack Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 There's never been a Villa squad where every player is younger than me. Heaton is the only one keeping this true at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Pelle said: i've been thinking about our players ages and that we have a very young squad, especially the starting 11. 1 Tom Heaton 34 12 Jed Steer 28 26 Emiliano Martinez 28 28 Lovre Kalinic 30 2 Matty Cash 23 3 Neil Taylor 31 4 Ezri Konsa 22 5 Tyrone Mings 27 18 Matthew Targett 25 22 Björn Engels 26 24 Frédéric Guilbert 26 27 Ahmed El Mohamady 33 30 Kortney Hause 25 6 Douglas Luiz 22 7 John McGinn 26 8 Henri Lansbury 30 10 Jack Grealish 25 14 Conor Hourihane 29 17 Trézéguet 26 19 Marvelous Nakamba 26 20 Ross Barkley 26 21 Anwar El Ghazi 25 41 Jacob Ramsey 19 9 Wesley 24 11 Ollie Watkins 24 15 Bertrand Traoré 25 36 Indiana Vassilev 19 39 Keinan Davis 22 That gives 5 players in the whole squad who's 30 or older and a medium age of 26. In the most used starting 11 there's no player who's 30+, Martinez being the oldest at 28, and a medium age of 25. I wonder if we've had such a young squad ever since the PL started. And with that in mind and how good this season has started it's quite encouraging to think about our future. If we can keep the core of this sqaud and build on it steady, then in a couple of years we should be able to compete about the CL spots and even the title. But to do that I think the most important thing is to keep Jack, Douglas Luiz, Martinez, Barkley and Konsa, in that order. These 5 are IMO the most talented players we have and a very solid foundation to build our future on. Keep them and get players around them of similar talent and we're half way there. In other words, the future looks bright atm. I think the age of c 25 with so many players helps the team spirit and camaraderie....I think it is spooky the togetherness has emerged....I'm sure Dean is aware of it and has nurtured it. It galvanises that central mentality of winning, with all your mates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 19 minutes ago, Paddywhack said: There's never been a Villa squad where every player is younger than me. Heaton is the only one keeping this true at the moment. Whelan, Jed and Hutton all leaving at the same time ended that for me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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