Those who turned up to at Stockport Georgians to see the home side play Royton in the 11th tier of English football got a surprise bonus on Saturday: Paul Scholes was in the starting line-up for the away team.
Scholes's son Arron plays for Royton. Short players, Scholes senior pulled on the jersey to play with his son's team.
"We had eight or nine of our senior players missing and Paul said he'd be happy to help out if we were ever short as his son Arron plays for us," manager Mark Howard told BBC Sport.
"It's great for the league. He raises the level of those around him by 10-15% and opponents don't want to look stupid in front of him."
Even with the 11-time Premier League winner in their line-up, Royton were unable to take the three points. Stockport Georgians won 1-0.
Finally! 90 mins of hard graft and discipline from the 1st team sees us come away with the win against @RoytonTownFC. More than deserved and well overdue. The lad in midfield for them is one to look out for in the future though. #scholesy thanks to all that supported today!
— Stockport Georgians AFC (@OfficialSGFC) September 1, 2018
Now just over five years since he retired for the second time, Scholes still has that touch.
"We were down to the bare bones. He's 43 now but he's still got that magic wand and he was absolutely fantastic for us.
"He obviously has a lot of media commitments but he occasionally trains with us when he can and is still a great player."
Picture: Mark Fletcher
