Meet the Weekend Division Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two win against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you enhance a stellar experienced team who have claimed consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double with thirty victories from 32 matches?

Bring in a group of former professionals who have performed at the elite level of club and international soccer as you aim for further trophies.

A Manchester club has an amateur veterans squad with 9 ex- top-flight footballers in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

The team Vets Over-35s are situated in south the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier.

Their lineup this campaign features nine ex- Premier League players, with a collective over 1,800 Premier League matches.

This star-studded team also contains 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who scored 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley 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.

Together, the former top-flight footballers have secured 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

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

Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through close mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

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

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

"The spectators who come and see are pleased and to make a moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, he had his debut at full-back.

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three games for the side, while Boyd hit five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

The team are top of the Top Tier with three wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

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

He has played at two World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," said the player.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a good twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager coaches the opposition vets team, who won the Premier Division title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team scored 1-0 up and had a

Paula Harrington
Paula Harrington

A passionate writer exploring tech innovations and lifestyle trends, sharing unique insights and practical advice.