Introduce the Weekend Division Team Featuring 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

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

How do you enhance a outstanding veteran side that have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 matches?

Sign a collection of former professionals who have played at the highest tier of club football and international soccer as you aim for further trophies.

A Greater Manchester team fields an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their current roster.

222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans Division Premier Tier.

The lineup this campaign boasts nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

The star-studded squad also boasts over 220 top division goals and 325 international appearances.

They include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his debut for the team in their last home-field game against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

The roster for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League footballers have secured fifteen significant trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Household Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish caps, netting four scores

Ireland began playing for the side in pre-season this season through close friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

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

"When you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those people who turn up and watch are happy and to give a day if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his first game at defender.

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

"I warn my centre-back '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
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three games for the side, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

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

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over 200 top-flight matches.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," remarked the player.

"I think I was a bit starstruck facing him to be honest.

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

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

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

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular guys.

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

'We'll Still Take the Title'

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

"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a

Gina Barron
Gina Barron

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in the online casino industry, specializing in game reviews and player strategies.