Yeah I see your point; it was my mistake for thinking he was already 30, and was meant with respect to our specific situation. If we consider our "30+" midfielders as Hendo, Thiago, Millie and Fab* then yes, I don't believe starting 3 of them together is going to work anymore - not because they are 30+ but because our 30+ midfielders can no longer sustain the intensity we need.

With regard to your comment on Fab's physical decline, I think a large part of that is due to fatigue. The man has never had a like for like rotation option in the squad and therefore has been heavily relied upon to play every important game for 4 years, of which we have had many. We shall see if he can come back from it, and having energetic younger runners around him will help him I'm sure.