Meet the Weekend Division Squad Boasting Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a stellar veteran team that have claimed consecutive titles, including a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from 32 matches?

Sign a collection of ex- professionals that have performed at the elite level of club and international football as you target additional honors.

One Manchester club has an non-professional vets team with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their current squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Top Tier.

Their roster this campaign includes nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 top-flight matches.

The elite roster also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

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

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus defending title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League players have claimed 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Irish appearances, netting 4 goals

Ireland began turning out for the side during preseason this season through good mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," said the striker.

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

"If you still love the game and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The people who come and see are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, he made his debut at defender.

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

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

"That movement is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

'Surreal Scenario

Along with Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three wins from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

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

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

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

"We competed well for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the second match."

We Will Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Premier Division title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Lisa Howard
Lisa Howard

Tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in AI and IoT.