Meet the Weekend Division Team Featuring Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two triumph against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a outstanding veteran side that have won back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Bring in a group of former pro players who have performed at the highest level of club football and international football as you pursue additional trophies.

A Manchester team fields an non-professional veterans team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their active roster.

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

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are based in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Tier.

The roster this campaign includes nine ex- Premier League players, with a combined 1,801 Premier League games.

The star-studded roster also includes 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after joining them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his debut for the team in their most recent home game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have claimed fifteen significant honors and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Household Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting four scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through close friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He featured for the club between 2016 and 2020

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"If you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those people who come and see are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the joy of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

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

"I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's six scores on his first game, Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for his country, in addition to playing in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has over 60 English appearances.

"We held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the opposition vets team, who secured the Premier Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Tamara Stewart
Tamara Stewart

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering casino trends and strategies across North America.