Or was Alan Hansen speaking a general truth when he famously declared ‘you don’t win anything with kids’.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s once-in-a-lifetime band of fledgling superstars made the Match of the Day pundit eat his words in 1995, as they went on to deliver Premier League glory.
But there’s normally a degree of nous to the most successful sides in English football.
So how do Pompey match up to their League One rivals when it comes to experience?
Using transfermarkt.com’s research, we’ve assessed the average age of League One squads.
Whether experience or a lack of it equates to success, we’ll let you decide...
Click through to see how each team match up.
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. Portsmouth midfielder Marcus Harness during the EFL Sky Bet League 1 match between Portsmouth and Sunderland at Fratton Park, Portsmouth, England on 2 October 2021.
Pompey have an average squad age of 25.9 picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages Photo: Jason Brown
. AFC Wimbledon: 23.1 y/o
Oldest Player: Darius Charles (33) Youngest Player: Isaac Ogundere (18) (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) Photo: Charlie Crowhurst
. MK Dons: 24 y/o
Oldest Player: Dean Lewington (370 Youngest Player: Lewis Johnson (17) (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images) Photo: Pete Norton
. Lincoln City: 24 y/o
Oldest Player: Chris Maguire (32) Youngest Player: Sean Roughan (18) (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) Photo: Naomi Baker
. Crewe Alexandra: 24.2 y/o
Oldest player: Chris Porter (37) Youngest player: Zac Williams (17) (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images) Photo: Lewis Storey
. Accrington Stanley: 24.3 y/o
Oldest player: Seamus Conneely (33) Youngest player: James Trafford (19) (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) Photo: George Wood
. Doncaster Rovers: 24.5 y/o
Oldest player: Tommy Rowe (33) Youngest player: Tiago Cukur (18) (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) Photo: Ross Kinnaird
21. Bolton Wanderers: 26.7 y/o
Oldest player: Matt Gilks (39) Youngest player: Bright Amoateng (18) (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images) Photo: Joe Portlock
22. Charlton Athletic: 26.9 y/o
Oldest player: Ben Watson (36) Youngest player: Charlie Baker (18) (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images) Photo: James Chance
23. Wycombe Wanderers: 27.1 y/o
Oldest player: Adebayo Akinfenwa (39) Youngest player: Oliver Pendlebury (19) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images) Photo: PAUL ELLIS
24. Gillingham: 27.1 y/o
Oldest player: Mustapha Carayol (33) Youngest player: Gerald Sithole (18) (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images) Photo: Jordan Mansfield