Robin Van Persie has implied that Manchester United is the perfect club for any ageing stars, what does he mean?
Manchester United have plenty of examples of players who have and will play well into their 30s. they also boast the freak example of Ryan Giggs, a player who is naturally so fit he’s been able to compete in a midfield for well over two decades.
Is it a fluke or is it something which runs a little deeper? Well according to current United striker, Robin Van Persie, it’s the latter of those two things. Funny he should bring this up now, as he turns 30 before the start of next season.
United are a well established club with a solid infrastructure which allows the establishment to take care of players at all age levels. They have some of the best facilities around both in their stadium and their training complex.
That is going to help players who are trying to get fitter than they ever have been and stay in that condition because it will allow them to play at the highest level for much longer.
The club are also fortunate that Sir Alex Ferguson has stayed in the game for as long as he has done, because he hits the nail on the head every single time when it comes to his older professionals.
He takes care of them and looks after them. Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes are some of the best examples of players who have not lost any part of their importance and the majority of that is because Fergie has used them sparingly.
United are never going to willingly go out and buy players who are well into their 30s because they are a forward thinking football club and a business which invests in younger players.
However, every so often a player will become available at a later stage in his career, who could find United ideal because of the way they protect an older generation of players.
The most recent example has to be the short term deal that United offered to Michael Owen, a player that very few other top sides would not have taken a chance on at that stage in his career.
A possible future signing could be someone like Frank Lampard of Chelsea, yet to sign a new deal with the Stamford Bridge giants and the sort of player who would fit into United’s old people’s home very quickly and very easily.
When you look at the number of players United have who are already in, or are entering the later stages of their careers, you can see they must be doing something right; Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Robin Van Persie and the list goes on…
What’s the secret?
image: © Doha Stadium Plus
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