Meet the Weekend Division Club Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Matches

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

What do you enhance a excellent experienced team who have claimed back-to-back titles, including a double triumph with thirty victories from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a raft of former pro players who have competed at the top tier of club football and global football as you target further honors.

A Manchester club has an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- top-flight players in their current lineup.

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

The team Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans League Premier Division.

Their squad list this campaign includes 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a total over 1,800 top-flight games.

The high-profile squad also includes 222 top division scores and over 320 international caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also features former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed 15 big trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of around £123m.

Famous Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side in preseason this summer through good friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then invited additional former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

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

"The fans who turn up and watch are happy and to make someone's day if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"It's a little different but then, I love running and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

Along with Cisse's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 top-flight matches.

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

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's has over 60 England appearances.

"We held our own for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group really haven't ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the opposition vets team, who won the Top Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Jerry Kennedy
Jerry Kennedy

A seasoned casino technician with over a decade of experience in slot machine maintenance and gaming strategies, passionate about helping players maximize their wins.