Meet this Weekend Division Team Boasting Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Appearances

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

How do you improve a stellar veteran squad who have secured consecutive titles, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a group of ex- professionals that have performed at the top level of club and international soccer as you pursue additional trophies.

One Manchester club fields an non-professional veterans squad with 9 former top-flight footballers in their present squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, 325 International Appearances

The team Vets Over-35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Premier Division.

The lineup this season includes nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight appearances.

The elite team also contains 222 Premier League scores and 325 global caps.

They include one forward, who notched thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home game against defending champions their rivals and scored all six goals in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also features ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight footballers have claimed 15 major honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Players

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

Stephen Ireland began playing for the team during pre-season this season through close friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who come and watch are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at the club, he made his debut at full-back.

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

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

"The running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

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

'Surreal Feeling

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.

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

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

"We held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group really haven't ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a

Shelly Diaz
Shelly Diaz

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