Meet this Weekend League Team With 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets during a six-two win versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you enhance a stellar veteran side who have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Sign a raft of former pro players who have played at the highest tier of club football and global football as you pursue additional honors.

A Manchester team boasts an non-professional veterans team with 9 former Premier League footballers in their active roster.

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

The team Vets Over-35s are based in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Premier Division.

The roster this campaign boasts 9 former top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

This high-profile team also boasts 222 top division goals and 325 international caps.

They feature one forward, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their last home match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The team for this season also features former professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have claimed fifteen significant honors and moved for combined transfer fees of around £123m.

Famous Figures and International Stars

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

Stephen Ireland began playing for the team during preseason this season through close friend and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen told me 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

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

Such is the squad depth at the club, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - 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 continue attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Scenario

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over 200 Premier League matches.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," remarked the player.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has over 60 England caps.

"We competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of normal guys.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the opposition veterans side, who won the Premier Tier title last season, along with his co-manager.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Adrian Brown
Adrian Brown

A seasoned business consultant with over 15 years of experience helping startups and SMEs in the UK achieve sustainable growth through innovative strategies.