One of the big talking points over the appointment of Ange Postecoglou is whether or not he will fast track the next generation of Socceroos into the first team line-up.
Ever since the 2006 World Cup, Socceroos fans have been eager to see a flow of young talent into the national team set up.
In fairness to Pim Verbeek and Holger Osieck we have seen a stream of younger players who have had mixed success.
I am eager to see how Postecoglou will address this issue, surely he couldn’t overhaul the whole team, or could he?
Maybe the fairest way to decide would be a square off between to Australian line-ups; the over 28 year olds and the under 28 year olds.
If the Australian “Special One” opts for this method of selection here is my pick of the teams to take the field.
Note: Mark Milligan is currently 28-years-old so he is not eligible for either however I would certainly have him in the overall Socceroos squad. Both sides will play with the 4-2-3-1 formation.
The Senior XI
Goalkeeper: Mark Schwarzer, 41 (years old), 109 caps, Chelsea FC
Right back: Luke Wilkshire, 32, 79 caps, Dynamo Moscow
Centre back: Lucas Neil, 35, 95 caps, Omiya Ardiji
Centre back: Sasa Orgnenovski, 34, 22 caps, Umm-Salal
Left Back: David Carney, 29, 48 caps, New York Red Bulls
Centre midfield: Mile Jedinak, 29, 41 caps, Crystal Palace
Centre midfield: Marco Bresciano, 33, 72 caps, Al-Gharafa
Right wing: Brett Holman, 29, 63 caps, Al-Nasir
Centre attacking midfield: Tim Cahill, 33, 65 caps, New York Red Bulls
Left wing: Archie Thompson, 35, 54 caps, Melbourne Victory
Striker: Joshua Kennedy, 31, 32 caps, Nagoya Grampas
Average age = 33 years
Average caps = 62
The Next Generation XI
Goalkeeper: Matt Ryan, 21, 3 caps, Club Brugge
Right back: Ryan McGowan, 24, 7 caps, Shandong
Centre back: Rhys Williams, 25, 13 caps, Middlesbrough
Centre back: Matthew Spiranovic, 25, 16 caps, Western Sydney Wanderers
Left back: Jason Davidson, 22, 3 caps, Heracles Almelo
Centre midfield: James Holland, 24, 12 caps, Austria Vienna
Centre midfield: Aaron Mooy, 23, 3 caps, Western Sydney Wanderers
Right wing: Robbie Kruse, 25, 27 caps, Bayer Leverkusen
Centre attacking midfield: Dario Vidosic, 26, 19 caps, FC Sion
Left wing: Tommy Oar, 21, 10 caps, FC Utrecht
Striker: Matthew Leckie, 22, 5 caps, FSV Frankfurt
Average Age = 23 years
Average Caps = 11
Personally, I believe the 51 extra caps per player in the Senior XI would be overshadowed by the energy of a side a decade younger. If these two line-ups were to play each my prediction would be a 3-1 victory to the Next Generation XI.
The teams selected are made up of regulars of their respective clubs other than Mark Schwarzer who has not been able to overtake the established Petr Cech at Chelsea.
It is clear to see that despite what many have said, the Socceroos do have fairly decent depth which bodes well for the next World Cup and Asian Cup in 2015.
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