Seven former Premier League players who are still going strong in the lower leagues
- Matt Whiley
- 31 March 2022
An FA Cup winner and six internationals are among the ex-top-flight players who can still be found playing in Leagues One and Two.
One of many wonderful things about the structured nature of the English football pyramid is the clear opportunities for progression it offers ambitious players. Play well, and you may be rewarded with promotion and/or a lucrative transfer.
However, it can also work in the opposite way. Not in terms of regression for playing poorly or losing - though of course that does happen - but for players looking to gently wind down their careers at a level more suited to their current ability.
As it turns out, there are plenty of famous names who once plied their trade at the top level of English football now doing so in the third and fourth tiers. Planet Sport brings you seven former Premier League players still going strong in the lower leagues.
Adlene Guedioura (Burton Albion)
Vastly-experienced midfielder Guedioura was signed by Burton as a free agent in February, after departing Sheffield United three weeks prior. He has previously played for Wolves, Crystal Palace, and Watford in the Premier League, racking up a total of 70 appearances in the top-flight and scoring two goals.
The Algerian has also represented Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough in England, and, after winning both Forest and Wolves' club Goal of the Season awards in 2011/12, is thought to be the only player to receive that award for two clubs in the same campaign.
Ben Watson (Charlton Athletic)
Watson will be known by most for his last-minute header in the 2013 FA Cup Final that saw his then-team Wigan Athletic win the trophy for the first time. He departed the Latics, for whom he scored ten Premier League goals in 77 appearances, in 2015, and has since gone on to represent Watford and Nottingham Forest before moving to The Valley ahead of the 2020/21 season.
He also turned out for his boyhood club Crystal Palace for six years before moving to the DW Stadium, and received top-flight experience there, as well as his latter spell at Watford. In all, the midfielder played 145 times in England's top flight, scoring a total of 12 goals.
Connor Wickham (Milton Keynes Dons)
Once touted as a future top-level star, striker Wickham moved from Ipswich to then-Premier League Sunderland for £8million in 2011 at the age of 18. It was the largest fee the Tractor Boys had ever received, and also broke the record for a Football League player moving to the top flight.
He remained with Sunderland until 2015, though was shipped out on continuous loan spells from 2012 after his career failed to ignite at the Stadium of Light, scoring just 11 times in 79 games. He moved permanently to Crystal Palace, where he stayed for six years, adding 41 more Premier League games and eight goals, before passing through Preston North End last season on his way to signing for MK Dons in January.
3…2…1… BANG! 🚀@CPFC’s Connor Wickham delivers a stunning #GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/jdmXbh6MmW
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 9, 2017
Glenn Whelan (Bristol Rovers)
Comfortably the man with the most Premier League experience on this list, Irish midfielder Whelan has 277 appearances under his belt, all for Stoke City between 2008 and 2017. He left the Potteries for Aston Villa, who were in the Championship at the time, remaining there for two further years, before signing for Hearts in Scotland, and then for Fleetwood Town.
He joined the Gas in summer 2021, once again in collaboration with his former manager at Fleetwood, Joey Barton, after a short spell at North West Counties Division One South outfit Wythenshawe Amateurs. Whelan has also been capped 91 times for his country.
Saido Berahino (Sheffield Wednesday)
A protracted transfer battle between Berahino and Tony Pulis when the striker was at West Brom proved to overshadow the once-promising Burundi international's career. All but 28 of his 133 Premier League appearances were for the Baggies between 2013 and 2016, with the remainder coming while he spent two-and-a-half years at Stoke between 2017 and 2019, a period within which they were relegated to the Championship.
He did not score at any point in the top flight for the Potters, but did notch 23 while at West Brom. He joined Belgian outfit Zulte Waregem after being released by Stoke, before returning to England with Wednesday in August 2021 to again work with Darren Moore, who coached him while both were at the Baggies.
Sam Vokes (Wycombe Wanderers)
Welshman Vokes will be fondly remembered by Burnley fans after he spent eight years at Turf Moor and was part of two promotion-winning teams. He gained all but 11 of his 113 Premier League appearances with the Clarets, with the remainder coming while he was at Wolves between 2009 and 2012.
He has also represented Leeds, Bristol City, Sheffield United, Norwich, and Brighton on loan, as well as having had permanent spells at Bournemouth and Stoke.
He joined Wycombe from the Potters in July 2021, and though he has not played in recent months, also has 64 caps and 11 goals for Wales.
Wes Hoolahan (Cambridge United)
Our final entry on this nostalgic list is a former Norwich man who may have dropped down the leagues, but clearly retains a very strong sense of attachment to East Anglia. He made more than 350 total appearances for the Canaries between 2008 and 2018, 112 of which were in the Premier League.
He moved to West Brom after leaving Norwich, and then spent a season with Newcastle Jets in Australia's A-League in 2019/20. It was from Down Under that he came back to England with the U's, joining them in July 2020, and he helped the side gain promotion to League One. Norwich fans affectionately christened him 'the Irish Messi', and in addition, he also has 43 caps for his country.
