Players Age : To me any player above 20 years ol

Players Age :

To me any player above 20 years old should not be considered a young player .


To me “experienced” players are 25 and above ……. “team” players are 20 and above . The “young” players are 20 and below .


Naturally there are exceptions and there are late developers ….but I am speaking in general terms …and if you have not shown enough and made it by 21 ….then when are you ?




Really , the weakness in my argument is that some players are really good enough ….but they have not had the chance because there is an established player ahead of them preventing them from being selected .

However , even then …those players would definitely be on the bench snd would get a chance to show what they can do . Accordingly , I have taken a look at our remaining squad (after the release of the eight players) and my conclusion is :




(1) only 3 players are “young” players …. Ronan Kpakio , Dylan Lawler and Luey Giles (with the first two already highly rated) .


(2) Three players are “border line young” players … Joel Colwill , Cain Ashford and Michael Reindorf . All three have a real chance of making it ….the most advanced being Ashford .


(3) The following 12 players can not be considered young . If by 22 they are not good enough then when ?


Fish(22) , Etete(23) , Robertson(22) , Salech(23) , Began(23) , King(22) , Evans(23) , Rubin Colwill(23) , Simic(21) , Tanner(23) , Davies(23) , Turner(23).

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How many of those 18 players plus the other 12 (we have 30 on our books) …..do you think are good enough for our 2025-2026 campaign ….assuming that we are seeking automatic promotion (this is really our stated target).


Once we determine a number ….. the rest will be what Murphy needs to add .



Remember that we are looking for a basic roster of 25 players .


Also take into consideration that the Club will be selling or letting go of a number of players (some because they want to go …others because we want to let go because they are not good enough or because we want to trim the budget).

Personally I believe that we will lose/or let go of another 8-10 (some out on loan yet again) ….. and Murphy will add about 8 players (half on loan).

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When you look at those 18 and others BBM will bring in you cant help but have some excitement for the future - and maybe relegation could be a blessing in disguise for them.

I see these as a group of players who will do well this season and by playing regularly together will have a head start in readiness for next season in the Championship and who knows from there.

I am not saying this is like Man Utds "Class of 922 - but it could be our own version "Class of 25"

When you look at those 18 and others BBM will bring in you cant help but have some excitement for the future - and maybe relegation could be a blessing in disguise for them.

I see these as a group of players who will do well this season and by playing regularly together will have a head start in readiness for next season in the Championship and who knows from there.

I am not saying this is like Man Utds "Class of 922 - but it could be our own version "Class of 25"

I am excited Paul,


But I just hope as promised we will see our younger players play more.


Sunderland were promoted this way.

Reply:

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I only see Salech there as an established player.

I’ll reserve judgement on the rest as most of them I believe have not been given a serious chance. L1will hopefully give them that.

The whole setup atm just looks risky for me.

Personally I would class anything under 21 a ‘young player’

Development teams are typically classed as U21 and by this age we should have a good understanding of where they are ability wise and what they are able to achieve.

Obviously there are some exceptions to that rule, Chris Rigg, Lamine Yamal, the Bellinghams, Jamie Vardy etc.

As for ‘experienced players’ - this is a bit more of a broad term. Technically any age can be an experienced player, you could have 5 seasons in the first team by the age of 22, whereas you can be 25+ having only really established yourself 2 years ago.

I don’t typically like to put blanket expectations on ages etc - players in different positions peak at different times

Let’s not forget some are still physically developing up to 21 years of age. Colwill is a perfect example of that, his late growth spurt changed a lot for him.

I would classify him anything as young as under 21, and would go on to say experienced isn’t on age but on seasons of first team football.

If you then have a season long injury, that’ll impact on development too (Davies for example)

Fish may come good, seen enough of him to see he needs experience and exposure to first team football.

26-28 players are at their peak, 28-30 there’s a slow decline and beyond that, depending on players strengths, they start to fade

How many of those players were we saying needed a loan to league 1, well now we are in league 1 it's time for them to show they are good enough to play for Cardiff.

For many of those players, if they don't shine this season they will end up having a career in non league or league 2.

Huge season for the players and the club. Let's hope BBM is the man to improve them on the pitch and start showing consistency in their performances.

How many of those players were we saying needed a loan to league 1, well now we are in league 1 it's time for them to show they are good enough to play for Cardiff.

For many of those players, if they don't shine this season they will end up having a career in non league or league 2.

Huge season for the players and the club. Let's hope BBM is the man to improve them on the pitch and start showing consistency in their performances.

Agreed:

Now they have to shine end off.

Don't want to nit pick here but 21 is the age - there are leagues in this country with U21's and national event going on now.
Yes some of these teams field players over that age - but you move on from 21's unless you have made the 1st team by then.

The game is changing and for once we may be ahead of thr curve

Luis Enrique, the manager of Paris Saint-Germain, has expressed a strong preference for younger players, specifically stating a policy against signing players over 28 years old. According to PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Luis Enrique has explicitly forbidden the club from buying players older than 28, emphasizing a focus on a "young fighting spirit." He is reportedly very strict on age, with the oldest recent transfers being 24 years old, as part of his strategy to build a dynamic, youthful squad.

Enrique’s approach stems from his belief in creating a cohesive, high-energy team capable of sustaining his intense, attacking style of play. This policy was highlighted in discussions about PSG’s transfer strategy, where he insists on studying and approving young talents to ensure they fit his tactical vision. This focus on youth has been a key factor in PSG’s success, including their 2025 Champions League triumph, where a squad of young players like Désiré Doué (19) and João Neves was instrumental