Introduce this Weekend League Team Featuring Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a stellar veteran team that have won consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of former pro players that have played at the highest tier of club and international soccer as you pursue further silverware.

A Manchester side boasts an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their active roster.

222 Premier League Scores, 325 Global Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Tier.

Their lineup this campaign boasts nine ex- top-flight players, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

This high-profile squad also contains 222 top division goals and 325 international caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 scores in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their most recent home-field match against defending title holders their rivals and netted all six scores in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also features former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League footballers have secured 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four goals

Ireland began turning out for the team during preseason this summer through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight matches for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

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

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

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

"I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"The movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Division with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in more than 200 Premier League games.

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

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"We literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we can't wait for the return fixture."

We Will Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Emily Fernandez
Emily Fernandez

Elara is a seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for analyzing slot mechanics and sharing actionable advice for players.