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Jack,

Do you think that players could continue to extend their careers if they went down through the leagues?

I’m not so sure that David Weir could have done what he has done as a part time player, as he has clearly benefited from the support that a club like rangers can provide.

Older players have so much to offer the development of younger players but the opportunities don’t seem to be there any more.

Don’t you think we need a second team set up that is more akin the old Reserve team leagues, without the restrictions of age for the younger players?

This is not a new phenomenon; remember Stanley Matthews?
With proper diets,sensible lifestyle and avoiding injuries, most players can go on until at least forty years of age. Unfortunately some of our overpaid, run-of-the-mill players see themselves as superstars and live everything to excess. The media are a lot to blame for some of their inane comments, to the extent that they eulogise a player even if they manage to trap trhe ball successfully.
This article is just a lot of nothingness.

Me & my mates were discussing this the other day!

I was commenting on how much it helped Hibs years ago when Alex McLeish brought Mixu Paatelainen, Russell Latapy & Franck Sauzee to the club. How many young players careers were massively boosted by the arrival of these 3 guys?! Each the "wrong" side of 30, hugely experienced & massively talented. These guys lived their lives the right way & had a great attitude to the game though, something I fear is lacking in many players of this ilk.

Do you not think Jack (in many cases) players like this have either made their money young & now retire earlier, or are kept on as fringe players by bigger clubs with a huge wage budget?

Perfect examples are John Hartson (retiring at 33) or Michael Owen who, when interesting Hull & Birmingham signed for Man Utd instead. Instead of being a shining example to younger players at one of these clubs, Sir Alex took a punt on a guy "only" earning £30,000 a week to last a handful of games in a season.

In the case of smaller clubs (Morton, Partick, Stirling etc.) they are concentrating on the short-term & cutting budgets to such an extent that every squad member is expected to play almost every game in the season & perhaps a 36 year old is viewed as being less likely to manage that than a keen 21 year old (with a possible sell-on value, too). Therefore, a Manager fearing the sack after 3 bad games can't risk his experienced pro being out for 3 weeks & signs 3 young, cheap guys instead.

interesting jack
it all seems to lovey dovey to be honest, there is no doubt that david weir has had and still having a fantastic career but you have to say that the job he does at rangers is a sad indictment of the way youth doesn't push through at rangers fc or is giving a chance to show or sold on as danny wilson was.
would it also be fair to say that the system rangers normally play gives david weir the utmost protection, if rangers played four four two or a four three three and played a further 10 meters up the field, would the media be less sympathetic to his lack of pace. david weir could play within the rangers system untill he's 50, and kenny miller runs his legs off.
i was always lead to believe the game was about pace, touch and movement.
for david weir to be playing at any level at age 40 and over is a testament to his professionalism but you got to have a huge slice of luck too, just ask craig levein, john kennedy etc etc..

Good older players just stick around though: their reading of the game matures and they adapt to positions and levels.

In the case of Weir age may have taken lots of the edges off DWeir's pace but his positional intelligence is still there, and thats key for that position.

He'll retire at the top in scotland and not in the Juniors.

Huh?

This is a re-hash of a earlier blog.

Instead of wasting the licence fee, how about getting people that can do the job.....

I'm sure there a lot of good 50-year-olds around that could mix it in the SPL. Heck, maybe some 60 or 70-year-olds even ;-).

When they've got 4 clubs in the latter stages in Europe I'll look again.

Interesting blog Jack. Pro-football is definately becoming a younger and younger man's game. Partly due to the influence of managers like Arsene Wenger's ridiculous rule of only 'offering 1 year contracts to player's over 30' but most of all as with everything due to finance.

For example would clubs' rather pay big wages to 'proven' pro like Robert Pires - someone who's clearly running down his career - as his achievements have been reached, who will block off the advancement of any talent coming through who could have sell-on value....or pay relatively low wages to an overly-hyped youngster that the club can hoodwink fans into believing they'll have the next Messi in 3 or 4 years time until the next one appears, he'll have a sell-on value and is still 'hungry'?

Talent and experience is criminally wasted in our society, but it's often ironic that it's only seen when most of us reach a certain age.

..You'll never win anything with oldies, heh?

Oldies but (often) goldies.

Yes I agree with this. Colin Cameron of Cowdenbeath springs to mind as a player who wore the Scotland jersey 28 times, turned out for Wolves and Hearts, gained great experience in the game and is now gently seeing out his career in the SFL (with Dundee for 2 years and now with Cowdenbeath). A great signing by Jimmy Nichol. It's plain from Cowbedbeath's league position how important a player he is to them (I think he has played in all of their league games so far this season).

I think the final say on a player will always rest with his manager. If a player fits into The Plan then he will be retained for as long as he can meaningfully contribute. Of course, The Plan depends upon The Budget. If you are the gaffer at Man U then your budget can allow a bit more leeway to retain experience like Giggsie, Scholes, Van der Sar and Gary Neville. If on the other hand you are the gaffer at Elgin City or Halifax Town................

Keep playing Jack. You've got 8 years before you get to young Weir's age and another 7 if you want to emulate Bobby Geddes at Dundee.

What have I said? That means another 15 years of Jack Ross blogs!!

another good article and it seems to me all successful teams have a number of 'old heads' still in the playing squads - Giggs and his Man Utd Co, Weir @ Rangers as well as the older players at top Italian sides must have a positive effect on their teams results. As well as age, the length of service is positively correlated with success..ie, if it ain't broke don't fix it! My team, St Johnstone was going great guns last year then brought in news players as there seemed to be an appetite for change which, to me - the untrained eye, upset the karma or team spirit and has had no beneficial effects. In summary, older players are important and key role models but successful clubs also need consistency which should come from good youth systems and a desire to nurture talent rather than purchase it. Jack - you've got plenty left in the tank and I hope to be giving you pelters at McDiarmid Parkl next season - in the SPL!!! Have a good Christmas, hope Santa is good to you! Mark K

gorbals mick... You say, "This article is just a lot of nothingness."
Frankly, so are your comments! Stanley Matthews may have played past 50, but like David Weir, he was the exception to the rule and while we're on the subject, have you ever seen footage of football in the 50's?? It's like watching our current teams in pre-season! Jack is simply making the point that experienced players - ie. over the age of 30 - are invaluable to a squad and i couldn't agree more. This country is obsessed with promoting youth and that idea is fine in principle, but the motives behind it are more to do with the fact young players are 'cheap labour' rather than being retained on merit.

Another great example for both Hibs and especially the Pars is Craig Brewster. Also like Davie Weir he took care of himself and played beyond Scotland which I think helps a player. Without him Dunfermline would never have went to Iceland and the Brewster/Crawford partnership is legendary so there is definitely a space of veteran players in Scottish Football.

I agree look at the likes of Scholes and Giggs at United!!!

Have a read of 'Inzaghi, Scholes and the fountain of youth'

All this user's posts have been removed.Why?

I think a lot has to do with your strengths as a player when you were in your prime.

I remember watching Davie Weir when he was in his early twenties at Falkirk & commenting on how slow he was even then! But, his reading of the game was superb & he has improved that with age. He's also looked after his body well and (as somebody alluded to earlier) he has been extremely fortunate to not have had more injuries than he has had.

Craig Brewster is the same, his strengths were always about being good in the air & holding the ball up to introduce others into play. These aspects of your game, for all intelligent players, improve with age. His game was never about pace or his "engine" hence how he continued to improve after these things naturally drop off.

My amateur coach once told me that in your teens, an average player can become a professional by working on his weaknesses. In your twenties, an average pro can become an excellent pro by capitalising on your strengths.

That's exactly what Weir, Brewster, Scholes etc. have done.

Glad to see someone ("sambaben") stick up for your main point after "gorbals mick" rubbished it.
The game now and the game then are completely different. George Best lived to excess and still played at top level for years, and many a player in the 70s and 80s had fitness issues. Then there's Gazza.
Davie Weir wouldn't be able to do what he does in the rigours of the EPL: you need more pace and power on top of footballing intelligence. But Giggs and Scholes show that experience has a part to play. Something, arguably, that Hibs and Arsenal have lacked in the last few years.
"blogcritic" makes some interesting points, but I think Hartson and Owen are extreme cases. Hartson admitted to struggling with his weight even in his prime, and found fitness training at 33 too intense. Owen meanwhile was too injury prone to star as the focus point of a strike force at Hull or Birmingham, where he would have played week-in, week-out. Instead he opted for superior training facilities and being played off the bench as a shock troop, which has been something they've been doing in the more sedate continental leagues for years.