Meet this Weekend Division Club Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Vets during a 6-2 triumph versus 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 stellar veteran side that have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 games?

Recruit a raft of former professionals who have performed at the top tier of club football and international football as you pursue additional trophies.

One Greater Manchester team fields an amateur veterans team with nine former Premier League footballers in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Division.

Their squad list this campaign boasts nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

This high-profile roster also contains over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international appearances.

They include one forward, who notched 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his debut for the team in their last home match versus defending champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also includes former professionals such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have won 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Irish appearances, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through close friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 top-flight games for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for the club from 2016 and 2020

"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

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

"When you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who come and watch are happy and to make a day if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender.

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

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

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

Unreal Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored five on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

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

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in over two hundred Premier League games.

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

"I think I was a little awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd England caps.

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

"We literally haven't ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Alexis Wright
Alexis Wright

Professional poker player with over a decade of experience, specializing in tournament strategy and mental game coaching.