Anyone noticed how young?

bigtoga · Sep 28, 2003

I was reading Rednews today and he has an interview with Rio Ferdinand that just struck me. I've followed the Reds forever but, I guess with our defense having played together for so long, it just didn't hit me...

Did you realize that most of our defense, with the exception of Gary, are all around/under 25? Think of the stingy-ness of years to come! <prayer> Please let Tim-MAY be the real thing!</prayer>

"It excites me to think what this defence can achieve together."

"I played in quite a young defence at Leeds with Jonathan Woodgate, Ian Harte and Danny Mills, but this is probably even younger.

"John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Tim Howard and I are all under 25 and Mikael Silvestre is just over. Then you have the old man, Gary Neville!

"But it is a young average age and we have put together something which we can build on. We have great players in there and we are all confident in each other's ability.

"We have all the credentials to be one of the great defences. Putting it all into place is a different thing. You have to work hard and have a little bit of luck.

"It is not just about the defenders, it is about the team. Defending starts from the front

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prk166 · Sep 29, 2003

I noticed that last year. If Wes can stay healthy and O'Shea keeps playing well in the future, there could a good core of players there for years and years to come. And the Neville brothers aren't very old either.

Potomac Red Devil · Sep 29, 2003

They really are starting to gel as a unit. When we get Wes Brown healthy and into the rotation, we will be even better.

Motterman · Sep 29, 2003

Yes, this is also part of the reason I wasn't that upset about spending 30 mil on Rio. He was only 23 or 24 when we bought him. And being that defenders tend to improve with age, I can see him being the centerpiece of our defense for a long time.

I think we could have bought an experienced defender for Europe, but for the League, we are set for years and years to come.