Four Premier League managers are now over 50, the fewest in two decades, with the bulk of the bench in their 40s and the youngest pair still on the wrong side of 40 themselves.
The Guardian's numbers are striking: David Moyes, 63, and José Mourinho, three months older, head a thinning grey brigade, with Unai Emery at 54, Oliver Glasner at 52 and Régis Le Bris at 50 the only others above the line.
The rest? Trim, sprightly and shirt-sleeved, raised on analytics rather than ash and rasping melancholy.
Two forces are driving the change.
First, the route through the dressing room is no longer compulsory; Andoni Iraola, Michael Carrick, Gary O'Neil and Álvaro Arbeloa all ply their trade without ever having been household-name players.
Second, the career coach is in. Fabian Hürzeler, 33, switched at 22 after an ankle ended his Bayern Munich youth dream, while Matthias Jaissle, 38, traded Hoffenheim's promotion push for the dugout at 26.
The German production line of Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann tells the same story, proof that Arrigo Sacchi's old line about a jockey not needing to have been a horse has gone mainstream.
Why are Premier League managers getting younger?
Two interconnected trends: coaching is now treated as its own profession, not a retirement gig for ex-players, and German clubs in particular fast-track former players whose bodies give out in their twenties.
What does it mean for the Uganda angle?
StarTimes Uganda Premier League tacticians should note the shift; the modern dugout rewards specialism, not just silver hair and a deep voice, and the Cranes setup will feel the same pressure soon enough.
Source: The Guardian
