Discover this Weekend League Team With Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Games

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

How do you improve a stellar experienced side that have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting 30 victories from 32 matches?

Sign a group of former pro players who have competed at the top level of club football and global soccer as you pursue additional trophies.

A Manchester side boasts an amateur vets team with 9 former Premier League players in their current lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Premier Tier.

The roster this campaign includes 9 former top-flight players, with a collective 1,801 top-flight games.

This star-studded roster also boasts 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for the team in their most recent home-field game against reigning champions their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - including a half-hour opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes ex- pros such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have won fifteen significant trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Irish caps, scoring 4 scores

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

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League games for the Toffees and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's good fun'," said the striker.

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

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

"Those spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to give someone's day if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at full-back.

"That's a little unusual but then, I enjoy running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," said the player.

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

"Also Heskey came on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

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

"Our group really haven't ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Premier Division title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Summer Richards
Summer Richards

Dr. Lena Voss is a seasoned IT consultant with over 15 years of experience in digital strategy and cloud architecture.