Are these the best veterans now in the lower leagues? feat. former Man United and Sunderland stars

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The Hoyte Brothers – Justin and Gavin

After both began their careers as youngsters in Arsenal’s youth system, it’s hard to talk about one brother and not include the other; especially when their careers have veered down a very similar path.

The youngest of the two; Gavin Hoyte, hasn’t quite had the esteemed career that he would have hoped for when initially part of the Arsenal set-up. With only the solitary appearance for the Gunners in six years, he’s since had short spells for the likes of Brighton, Watford and Lincoln City before settling into a regular role at Dagenham and Redbridge.

Justin has had a far more successful career than younger brother Gavin though, breaking through into the Arsenal starting eleven and making 34 league appearances; including his best year at the club, where he made 22 starts and scored his first Premier League goal from right-back. This goal actually gave Justin the accolade of becoming the first Englishman to score at the new Emirates Stadium, a world away from Gavin who was; at the time, out of the Arsenal squad altogether.

In spite of their differences in their early careers, both are currently regulars for League Two sides. Gavin has signed a recent two-year deal at Barnet after a couple of seasons at Dagenham and Redbridge, whilst Justin has in fact taken over his brother’s vacant spot at the Daggers since the start of this campaign. At their respective clubs it seems that Gavin has the better deal though, with Justin battling to keep the Daggers in the Football League as the season draws closer to its finale.

These are only a small handful of ex-Premier League players that have taken the plunge into League Two to continue their footballing career; other notable recent examples include Kevin Lisbie, formerly of Charlton Athletic in their Premier League heyday.

Although the drop in quality is a huge contrast to their Premier League days for these players, the League Two clubs themselves go about some neat business, getting themselves a bagful of experience which can be key in the division.

With the recent additions of Sheringham and Nolan to the list, maybe it’s a small opening that would give more ex-players from the top flight the desire to play in a lower league.

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