Getting rid of old wood is definitely a good idea. But if they already have rounded skills (nothing to flash/expensive) and good speed and strength, then they're good to keep up to the age of 30. But if they're old, and not that good, they're out.

I basically pick the weakest link and improve that. For the time being, I am happy with my team and so it's simply a matter of building stadium, getting money, building facilities and then moving on to the upper levels later. I see little point in trying to get a lot of high talent right now since I don't have the facilities to train them anyway.

There seems to be a theme running through this thread of "get rid of your old guys", and I know a lot of managers would agree with that philosophy. My view is get rid of your old guys if thats the right thing to do, which is not always the case. Veteran players will be cheaper on the transfer market because they don't have as many years left to play but the fact they will be gone in say three/four years is not the most important fact right now. What is important right now is how good they are and how much is their weekly salary.

As a new team starting out you won't have a fitness centre or a training hall so why do you want a 17 year old kid who's going to take 4/5 years to be half decent? Better to have a veteran who will probably have physicals maxed out plus some other decent skills and can be in the team right away. My advice would be to check the market for older players ( the young ones you will be outbid on probably ) just watch their salary as that is a major cost compared to how much you will have to pay to get them in the first place.

My strategy is to get a decent team in place right now, regardless of age, and then build for the future. I used the TM to do that initially and now I just build wealth/facilities and take what I get from the YA.