Former Liverpool defender and Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen made a statement that went down in footballing folklore when he said 'you can't win anything with kids' after Manchester United lost 3-1 to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995-96 before going on to win the double.
However, what is often forgotten is that the Class of 92 - which consisted of a 21-year old Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt who were all 20 and Phil Neville, who was aged 18 at time - also had a number of senior pros who helped to guide them. The Old Trafford dressing room also included experienced figures such as Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and later on Eric Cantona - once he returned from his nine-month ban for attacking a Crystal Palace supporter.
Fast forward 24 years to 2019 and Gary Johnson is pining his hopes on the youthful exuberance of his Torquay United squad, as they aim for a return to the Football League. Johnson's Gulls have already given the lie to Mr Hansen's aforementioned statement by winning the National League South title last season.
It has been calculated that the players used by Johnson possess an average age of 21.5 - a figure slightly distorted by the fact that left-back Liam Davis and utility man Ryan Dickson, who are both 32, are yet to feature due to injury. Closer examination of the United squad reveals that skipper Asa Hall is only other player over the age of 30 at 32, and only goalkeeper Lucas Covolan (28) and strikers Manny Duku and Jamie Reid - 26 and 25 respectively - are over 25 years of age.
The squad also includes one millennial in the form of Olaf Koszela (17), who recently joined Southern Premier South outfit Tiverton Town on loan. He marked his debut for Tivvy with a goal in a 2-2 draw with Hayes and Yeading.
A trust in youth isn't something that is new to Johnson as the Yeovil Town side that he led into the Football League in the 2002-03 season was also made up largely of younger players, with Roy O'Brien at 28 and captain Terry Skiverton who was 27 being the oldest two players in the squad.
To succeed in the National League, the Gulls 'Class of 2019-20' will need to learn quickly as following a hard fought win over Boreham Wood, they have since lost 3-0 to last year's National League runners-up Solihull Moors before drawing with highly fancied Bromley at Hayes Lane.
Next up for United is a home encounter with Maidenhead United before a long trip to Dover Athletic which is followed by a televised clash with Aldershot Town on BT Sport at Plainmoor, ahead of an Easter Monday journey to Barnet. These are four fixtures which could all provide a number of clues as to how the season will pan out for Johnson and his young Gulls.
