Meet the Weekend Division Club Boasting Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Matches

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

How do you enhance a outstanding experienced side that have claimed back-to-back titles, featuring a league-cup double with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a collection of ex- professionals that have played at the elite tier of club and international soccer as you aim for further trophies.

A Manchester team has an amateur vets squad with 9 ex- top-flight footballers in their active lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

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

The squad list this campaign includes 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

The star-studded team also includes over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

The squad feature one forward, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 games for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a six-two win - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

The team for this season also features former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have won fifteen significant honors and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Ireland started turning out for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 Premier League games for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for the club between 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

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

"The fans who come and see are happy and to give a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

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

"It's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Scenario

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced former Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over 200 Premier League games.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

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

"We literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

Kristen Jensen
Kristen Jensen

A seasoned lifestyle journalist with a passion for luxury brands and contemporary culture, bringing over a decade of editorial expertise.