Discover this Weekend League Club Boasting Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Matches

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

How can you boost a outstanding experienced squad that have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with 30 wins from 32 games?

Bring in a group of former professionals who have performed at the elite tier of club football and global soccer as you target more trophies.

One Greater Manchester team boasts an amateur veterans squad with nine ex- top-flight footballers in their active lineup.

222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Division.

Their lineup this season boasts 9 former Premier League footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

This star-studded team also boasts over 220 top division scores and 325 international caps.

They include one forward, who scored thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes ex- professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League footballers have won 15 significant honors and transferred for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 goals

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the team during preseason this summer through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly small-sided game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 Premier League games for Everton and even now goes to their home games, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

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

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

"Those fans who come and watch are pleased and to make someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"It's a little different but then, I love running and just go forward - 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 attacking.

"The running 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 Feeling

In addition to Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are top of the Premier Division with 3 wins from three and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young 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 wildfire they had all these former top-flight stars," said the player.

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

"Even Heskey got on and he's has over 60 England caps.

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

"Our group literally have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas.

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

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Cindy Wu
Cindy Wu

Professional poker player and coach with over a decade of experience in high-stakes tournaments across Europe.