Discover this Weekend Division Team With Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 triumph versus their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a outstanding experienced squad who have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a collection of ex- pro players that have played at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you pursue additional trophies.

One Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur veterans team with 9 former Premier League players in their active lineup.

222 Premier League Scores, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Tier.

The lineup this campaign boasts nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League appearances.

This elite squad also includes over 220 top division goals and over 320 global appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes ex- pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight footballers have claimed fifteen major trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Famous Figures and Global Stars

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

Ireland started turning out for the side in pre-season this season through good friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"The spectators who come and watch are pleased and to give a day if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, he had his debut at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

"I warn my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

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

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's got over 60 England caps.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We really haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Premier Tier championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Jacob Mcknight
Jacob Mcknight

A passionate writer and explorer, sharing experiences and wisdom to inspire others on their personal journeys.