Old foes ready to battle again

Former Derby County, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Notts County players will battle it out this Saturday in the Central Masters Cup.

The likes of Muzzy Izzet, Gary Lund, Gary Mills, Dean Sturridge and Ian Woan will renew old rivalries for the tenth year of the annual tournament.

The winners will go through to the Grand Final in September, where they join winners from seven other regions.

Forest won the first-ever Masters tournament held back in 2000.

Gary Mills was part of that victorious team nine years ago. After winning their regional heat, the Reds old boys won the Grand Final, also held in Nottingham.

"It's great for the likes of myself to still be involved in competitive action"

The full-back was a European Cup winner at the City Ground. He also managed Notts County and spent time playing for Derby and Leicester.

The 47-year-old now manages newly-promoted Conference side Tamworth.

He said: "I am really looking forward to it again.

"It seems to get more competitive year on year which is great, but everyone seems to be getting younger in the squads as I get older.

"It's great for the likes of myself to still be involved in competitive action, but you have to keep in shape. You can't just turn up and expect to play - you have to prepare for it and keep fit."

The event takes place at the Nottingham Arena on Saturday, 11 July.

Squad lists

Derby County Masters: 1. Chris Holmes, 2. Mark Patterson, 3. Shane Nicholson, 4. Darren Wassall, 5. Mark Edworthy, 6. Dean Sturridge, 7. Craig Ramage, 8. Phil Gee (c), 9. Robert Briscoe

Leicester City Masters: 1. Gavin Ward, 2. Paul Ramsey, 3. Paul Reid, 4. Ali Mauchlen (c) 5. Muzzy Izzet, 6. Paul Groves, 7. David Oldfield, 8. Lee Philpott, 9. Jamie Lawrence

Nottingham Forest Masters: 1. Darren Heyes, 2. Gary Mills, 3. Des Lyttle, 4. Dave Phillips, 5. Steve Chettle (c), 6. Ian Woan, 7. Paul Evans, 8. Lee Glover, 9. Jason Lee

Notts County Masters: 1. Steve Cherry, 2. Richard Dryden, 3. Ian Barraclough, 4. Andy Legg, 5. Ian Richardson, 6. Alan Paris, 7. Shaun Murray, 8. Gary Martingdale, 9. Gary Lund

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Football on the BBC
Football Masters official site
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