The Daily Hilario: Friday - We Ain't Got No History
The internet has lit up with claims that PSG’s squad has a young average age. This is apparently some kind of validation for our “youth at all costs” strategy. And you apparently don’t need “old” players. My reply would always be that experience is what really matters and you can’t build success without it. But because I’m apparently “naive” I’m not going to leave it at a comment this time. So I’m going to show my working out by comparing the players and their experience between PSG and us. Donnarumma 26 300+ Donnarumma is younger than Sánchez by a year and a bit. But Donnarumma also started his career so young and has so much more experience. He has 72 appearances for Italy compared to 129 top flight starts for Sánchez to put the difference into perspective. And there is no universe in which Sánchez ever comes close on talent. Hakimi is 26 and also has 300+ top flight appearances. Surprisingly close to double James. And more than 4 times as many international appearances. James’ injury record explains a lot of that. Hakimi is also 26 and less than a year older than James. Marquinhos is 30 and has over 500 top flight club appearances and nearly a hundred appearances for Brasil. An illustrious career. I like Chalobah but there really is no comparison here. Pacho is 23 and has 142 European top flight appearances. Colwill is 22 and has 85 appearances. Nuno Mendes is 22, with 89 appearances and 35 for Portugal. Cucurella is 26 and has 203 along with 15 for Spain. João Neves is 20 with 74 appearances and 14 for Portugal. So, he’s younger than Palmer and with a little less experience. Vitinha is 25 with 197 top flight appearances and 27 appearances for Portugal. Caicedo is 23 with 138 appearance for club and 53 for Ecuador. Ruiz is 29 and has well over 300 top flight appearances and 37 for Spain. Enzo is 24 and has 93 top flight appearances in Europe and 36 for Argentina. Kvaratskhelia is 24 and has 125 appearances for Napoli and PSG along with 41 appearances for Georgia. Madueke is 23 159 appearances for PSV and Chelsea and 5 for England. Dembélé is 27, has 348 top flight appearances and 55 for France. Jackson is 23, boasts 120 appearances and also 19 for Senegal. Barcola is 22, with 93 appearances and 13 for France. Neto is 25 with 181 and 15 for Portugal. PSG certainly have some young and relatively inexperienced players. But a few things stand out. Obviously their squad is balanced with a lot of experienced players alongside the younger ones. And when you look in detail at each player there’s a breadth of experience as well. What’s clear is when you look down the spine of the side, Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ruiz, Dembélé, there’s loads of experience to draw from. They have lowered the average age of the squad. But they also hired a really good coach. And managed the transition to create a squad that balanced youth with experience. Kudos to them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Daily Hilario: Friday - We Ain't Got No History
The internet has lit up with claims that PSG’s squad has a young average age. This is apparently some kind of validation for our “youth at all costs” strategy. And you apparently don’t need “old” players. My reply would always be that experience is what really matters and you can’t build success without it. But because I’m apparently “naive” I’m not going to leave it at a comment this time. So I’m going to show my working out by comparing the players and their experience between PSG and us. Donnarumma 26 300+ Donnarumma is younger than Sánchez by a year and a bit. But Donnarumma also started his career so young and has so much more experience. He has 72 appearances for Italy compared to 129 top flight starts for Sánchez to put the difference into perspective. And there is no universe in which Sánchez ever comes close on talent. Hakimi is 26 and also has 300+ top flight appearances. Surprisingly close to double James. And more than 4 times as many international appearances. James’ injury record explains a lot of that. Hakimi is also 26 and less than a year older than James. Marquinhos is 30 and has over 500 top flight club appearances and nearly a hundred appearances for Brasil. An illustrious career. I like Chalobah but there really is no comparison here. Pacho is 23 and has 142 European top flight appearances. Colwill is 22 and has 85 appearances. Nuno Mendes is 22, with 89 appearances and 35 for Portugal. Cucurella is 26 and has 203 along with 15 for Spain. João Neves is 20 with 74 appearances and 14 for Portugal. So, he’s younger than Palmer and with a little less experience. Vitinha is 25 with 197 top flight appearances and 27 appearances for Portugal. Caicedo is 23 with 138 appearance for club and 53 for Ecuador. Ruiz is 29 and has well over 300 top flight appearances and 37 for Spain. Enzo is 24 and has 93 top flight appearances in Europe and 36 for Argentina. Kvaratskhelia is 24 and has 125 appearances for Napoli and PSG along with 41 appearances for Georgia. Madueke is 23 159 appearances for PSV and Chelsea and 5 for England. Dembélé is 27, has 348 top flight appearances and 55 for France. Jackson is 23, boasts 120 appearances and also 19 for Senegal. Barcola is 22, with 93 appearances and 13 for France. Neto is 25 with 181 and 15 for Portugal. PSG certainly have some young and relatively inexperienced players. But a few things stand out. Obviously their squad is balanced with a lot of experienced players alongside the younger ones. And when you look in detail at each player there’s a breadth of experience as well. What’s clear is when you look down the spine of the side, Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ruiz, Dembélé, there’s loads of experience to draw from. They have lowered the average age of the squad. But they also hired a really good coach. And managed the transition to create a squad that balanced youth with experience. Kudos to them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯