Introduce the Weekend Division Club With 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This 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 improve a outstanding veteran team that have won back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double with thirty victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a collection of former professionals who have competed at the highest tier of club football and international football as you pursue more honors.

One Manchester side fields an amateur veterans team with nine ex- top-flight players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are based in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their lineup this season includes nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League matches.

This elite team also includes 222 top division goals and over 320 international caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

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

In total, the ex- Premier League footballers have secured 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish appearances, scoring four scores

Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and even now goes to their home games, also had his first appearance versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

"The people who come and watch are happy and to give someone's moment if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

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

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

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

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

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

Unreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

The team are top of the Premier Division with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

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

"It was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 English caps.

"We held our own for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We really haven't ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans team, who secured the Top Division title last season, along with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks

A seasoned game analyst with a passion for urban gaming subcultures and emerging technologies.