Former Wolves man Ben Marshall 'signs' for 12th-tier side
Former Wolves winger Ben Marshall has 'signed' for a club in the 12th tier of English football in a bid to revive his career – or at least give Stoneclough FC's social media following a boost.
The 28-year-old – who only left Molineux 18 months ago – has joined the West Lancashire League Division One side, according to a post on the club’s Twitter account.
Some believe that the announcement – which came with a rather tongue-in-cheek video of Marshall speaking about playing for them – is a wind-up.
However, he has been pictured in action for the Greater Manchester outfit after having his contract cancelled by mutual consent at Norwich last summer, with Stoneclough suggesting he has actually been playing for them for a fair portion of the season so far.
Marshall, having a bit of fun with the situation in a mock interview, said: "I had a few offers. I've played a few games in my career.
"Obviously, the lads were a big part. The gaffer is a big part of it.
"The main thing that appealed to me is you can train once a week – and it is optional."
Marshall joined Wolves in January 2017 on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Blackburn, for around £1million, when Paul Lambert was in charge.
He went on to play a handful of games under Nuno Espirito Santo too before going out on loan to Millwall and then joining Norwich for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2018.
Plagued by injuries in his time at Carrow Road, he is now looking to get back into the professional game – and seemingly keeping his fitness up with his friends at Stoneclough.
On how he has found it playing there compared to his old clubs, having also been at Leicester, Marshall added in a light-hearted manner: "It's easy. It's a lot easier.
"These guys, no disrespect to them, but they're not on my level.
"It's nice to be able to come in and be the top dog.
"I want the armband, eventually. In a nutshell, I'm really happy to be here."
Stoneclough are second in the West Lancashire League Division One table, having won 1-0 at Millom over the weekend.
Marshall was reported to be the subject of interest from Rotherham, in League One, earlier this month – but interest from the Millers is said to have cooled.
