Introduce this Weekend League Club Boasting Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Vets in a 6-2 win against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a outstanding experienced squad who have won back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a collection of former pro players who have performed at the elite level of club football and global soccer as you target further trophies.

One Manchester side boasts an non-professional vets team with 9 ex- top-flight players in their present lineup.

222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are situated in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Division.

The lineup this campaign includes 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight matches.

The elite roster also includes 222 top division scores and over 320 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who netted 37 scores in over 100 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a six-two win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also features former professionals such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League footballers have secured fifteen big honors and transferred for combined transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 goals

Ireland began playing for the team during preseason this summer through good mate and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love the game and you know you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who come and see are happy and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

"That movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

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

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are top of the Premier Division with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in over two hundred Premier League games.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got 60-odd England caps.

"Our side held our own for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the second match."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil up and had a

Yesenia Brandt
Yesenia Brandt

A passionate architect and sustainability advocate with over a decade of experience in green building design and eco-conscious construction practices.