| BARRY | Gareth, English former midfielder who made a record 653 appearances in the Premier League (5) |
| LAMPARD | Frank, English former midfielder who has managed Derby County, Chelsea and Everton FCs (7) |
| ADAMVINATIERI | Colts kicker who made a record 14 field goals in the 2006 NFL postseason: 2 wds. |
| FAKED | PlusWord No 653 |
| ICHIROSUZUKI | He never made it to the World Series despite playing in 2 653 regular-season games with the Mariners Yankees and Marlins: 2 wds. |
| MALONE | Gareth, English choirmaster who directed Military Wives on their 2011 UK Christmas No 1 hit Wherever You Are (6) |
| MACHIN | Mel ___, former midfielder who led Manchester City to promotion out of the Second Division in 1988?89 as manager |
| GRAEMESOUNESS | Football pundit and former midfielder who won 54 caps for Scotland (6,7) |
| DEANE | Brian, striker who scored the first goal in the Premier League in 1992 (5) |
| TOURE | Kolo and Yaya, Ivorian former footballing brothers who played in the Premier League (5) |
| SWIFT | Surname of Clive, the actor who played Hyacinth's husband in Keeping Up Appearances in the 1990s (5) |
| THREE | Number of points awarded for a win in the Premier League (5) |
| SKIPP | Oliver, English midfielder who made his debut for Tottenham Hotspur FC in 2018 (5) |
| NODES | One of the premier clubs in the Premier League |
| DEFOE | Jermain, England footballer who played in the Premier League for clubs including West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland (5) |
| KELLY | Geelong midfielder who made 2019 AFL All-Australian team and was later that year traded to West Coast (5) |
| EARLE | Robbie _, NBC football pundit and former midfielder for Wimbledon and the Jamaican national team (5) |
| NIVEN | Derek ..... , former midfielder whose clubs included Chesterfield, Grimsby Town and Buxton (5) |
| NOTED | Made a record, but Mr Heath evidently wasn't there (5) |
| ZIYECH | Dutch-born midfielder who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League; he was a member of the Dutch national team in his early international matches before joining Morocco's team in 2015 and then represen |
