Introduce the Weekend Division Club Featuring Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you enhance a stellar experienced team who have secured consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double with 30 victories from 32 games?

Bring in a collection of former pro players who have performed at the highest tier of club football and international soccer as you aim for further trophies.

One Greater Manchester team has an non-professional vets squad with 9 former Premier League footballers in their present squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Division.

The squad list this season features nine former top-flight players, with a total over 1,800 elite games.

The star-studded squad also contains 222 Premier League scores and 325 international appearances.

They include one forward, who netted 37 scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match against reigning champions their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - including a half-hour first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight players have won fifteen big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of around £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish caps, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his first appearance versus the opposition - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for the club from 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen told me 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who turn up and see are pleased and to make a day if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at the club, Niasse made his debut at full-back.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"The running is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight games.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had all these former top-flight stars," said the player.

"I felt I was a little awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd English caps.

"We held our own for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"We literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Premier Division title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil ahead and had a

Diane Hall
Diane Hall

A lifelong gamer and tech enthusiast, Maya writes about gaming culture and industry trends with a focus on community engagement.