Eleven maybe were moaning out loud (4)
I believe the answer is:
side
'eleven maybe' is the definition.
(both can mean a football team)
'were moaning out loud' is the wordplay.
'were moaning' becomes 'sighed'.
'out loud' shows a homophone (sound like).
'sighed' is a homophone of 'SIDE'.
(Other definitions for side that I've seen before include "superciliousness" , "Position to the right or left of" , "Spin given to a ball by striking it off-centre" , "faction" , "Manchester United, for example?" .)