Denis Mortimer

[Eastleigh Seagull]

Wasnt Mortimer the catalyst for Dean Saunders' great season - and when Mortimer left he turned from a million pound player to...well.....

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Trouble is that the Prem league players are paid so much that veteran players seem to prefer to boost their pension funds than drop down the leagues.

I suppose Darren Anderton was one of the last to play at a lower level but, as you know, it was not so unusual in the old days. We had Bobby Smith in div 4 not long after he had been England Centre forward and this could be a good thread of old greats who played at lower level. I remember Bobby Charlton & Nobby Stiles, world cup winners, playing for Preston, Alec young, the golden Boy of Everton, playing for Stockport.

It's sadly true that very few top-class international, trophy winning, Premier League players drop down through the divisions nowadays, but one exception has to be our very own Matt Upson.

Many will argue that he was never a 'top class' Premier League player, but he graced that stage for many years with the likes of Arsenal, West Ham, Birmingham and Stoke. Was also an established England international, and of course scored the last goal to be scored by England in the World Cup finals, against Germany four years ago.