Introduce this Weekend League Team With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

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

How do you boost a outstanding experienced team that have claimed back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from 32 games?

Recruit a raft of ex- pro players who have competed at the top level of club football and international football as you pursue further trophies.

A Greater Manchester club fields an amateur veterans team with 9 former Premier League players in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

The team Vets Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Premier Tier.

Their lineup this season features 9 ex- top-flight players, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight matches.

The high-profile squad also boasts over 220 top division scores and 325 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home match against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

The team for this season also includes ex- professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have claimed 15 big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Household Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side in preseason this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were facing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The people who come and watch are happy and to make someone's moment if they see us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three games for the side, while Boyd hit five on his first match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Division with 3 wins from three and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Wigan defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at two global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over two hundred top-flight games.

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

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got 60-odd English caps.

"We competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally have not ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Aaron Fernandez
Aaron Fernandez

Experienced poker journalist and lifelong Londoner covering the city's vibrant poker scene.