Meet this Weekend League Club With Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Veterans in a six-two triumph against their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a excellent experienced team that have claimed consecutive titles, including a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Sign a group of former pro players who have played at the top level of club football and international football as you aim for additional silverware.

A Manchester club has an non-professional vets team with nine former Premier League players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Tier.

Their squad list this season boasts 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 Premier League games.

The elite squad also boasts 222 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their last home game against defending champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

The roster for this campaign also features ex- pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have secured 15 big honors and moved for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish caps, scoring 4 scores

Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly small-sided game, to participate.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.

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

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who turn up and watch are pleased and to make a day if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he made his debut at full-back.

"It's a little unusual but then, I love sprinting and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"That movement is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

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

'Surreal Experience

Along with the forward's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one game up front.

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

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in over two hundred top-flight games.

"It was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

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

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

"We competed well for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets team, who won the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil ahead and had a

Amber Kelley
Amber Kelley

A seasoned travel writer with over a decade of experience exploring luxury destinations worldwide.