Discover the Weekend League Squad Featuring Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 triumph against their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you enhance a stellar experienced team who have won back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a raft of former professionals that have played at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you aim for further honors.

One Manchester team has an amateur vets squad with nine former top-flight players in their active lineup.

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

The team Vets Over 35s are situated in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Tier.

Their lineup this campaign boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a combined over 1,800 Premier League matches.

The star-studded squad also contains 222 Premier League goals and over 320 international appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 goals in 117 games for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have secured 15 significant honors and moved for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Household Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, netting 4 scores

Ireland began playing for the side in pre-season this summer through good friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who come and see are happy and to give a moment if they see us playing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at defender.

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

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

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

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Division with three victories from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," said the player.

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

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

"Our side held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We literally haven't 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 facing a group of regular guys.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Premier Division title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Stephanie Watson
Stephanie Watson

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering online casinos and slot mechanics across the UK market.