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The Youngest In Ages

18/2/2020

 
By Ed Valentine

Close to 2pm every Saturday the football media rises to a chorus of pings generated by the landing of team sheets from the ether into the virtual timelines of the web. It’s generally followed by commentary on who’s in and who’s on the bench for the afternoon’s games with individual “big name” players who miss out on starting which generates the pre-match waffle. Very little attention is given however to the overall collective team selections over the course of the season. Below data is presented to give some insight on current trends in the Premier League 2019/20.
 
One team selection which did gain much criticism was Liverpool’s starting xi for the FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury Town. Despite The Red’s virtually unbridgeable points gap, Jurgen Klopp decided to take advantage of the winter break by fielding a team with the average age of 19yrs 102 days. This selection, in terms of age, is a clear outlier in terms of topflight men’s senior professional football. But by how much?
 
Analysis of season so far numbers shows the average age of Premier League starting xi is decreasing. Though this season’s figure has not surpassed the all-time low set in 2008/09, fans have seen 5 teams with line ups averaging 25yrs or less, an unprecedented event in the Premier League.
Picture
 There is no correlation between age of players on the pitch and more favourable numbers for shots, possession, distance run or any other key metrics. Younger players in midfield and defence generally have more positive possession turn overs (winning the ball back) than older players but the difference is not significant. What could be driving managers to select players of lower age is the speed of the game, distance covered per game and the ability of younger players to recover quickly from multiple matches per week.
Picture
​Perhaps Ed Woodward has swapped sabermetrics for age-metrics given that Ole Solskjaer’s team selections this season have been the youngest in the league and occupy 5 of the 10 youngest starting XI’s in the EPL. Watford, at the opposite end of the table, are pushing 30.  At 36 years old Ben Foster must feel like the designated driver of the Premier League.  Perhaps the Hornet’s team selection is based on who owns the most Elton John LPs in their record collection.

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