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Yeah we had the youngest lineup against Liverpool in the Cup final but nobody is talking about it. They only see billions and not toddlers
I don't know much, that sale went under the radar but I recall it was all tied to ownership, you know, the big sports consortia that own multiple clubs. Newcastle stems from the same Saudi sovereign funds so he was moved to leverage or optimise some of their finances. The club fans did a mini revolt but he was plenty crucial to their performance, despite his injuries. I loved watching him play. But the owners used him to adjust their books. This is modern football, I guess.
It wasn't so much the age of your players but their experience. I believe you had a lower starting average age (Liverpool ended up lower after subs) but collective experience was well above ours. Half our squad had not even 90 minutes in a senior game, a couple had their first starts last night.