Discover the Weekend Division Club Boasting 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Vets during a 6-2 triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a excellent experienced side that have secured consecutive titles, including a league-cup double with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a collection of ex- professionals that have competed at the highest level of club football and global soccer as you aim for more honors.

A Greater Manchester club boasts an amateur veterans team with 9 ex- top-flight players in their active roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Tier.

The lineup this campaign features 9 ex- top-flight players, with a total 1,801 Premier League matches.

The high-profile squad also contains 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international appearances.

They include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted all six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

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

In total, the ex- top-flight players have secured fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Household Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish caps, netting 4 goals

Ireland started playing for the side during preseason this season through good mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who come and watch are pleased and to make someone's day if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, he made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I love running and just move forward - 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 running.

"That running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

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

'Surreal Scenario

Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd hit five on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a triple in one game up front.

The team are leading of the Top Division with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

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

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

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

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

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

"Our group really have not stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of regular guys.

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans team, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

John Sanders DDS
John Sanders DDS

A technology journalist and cultural analyst based in London, focusing on digital innovation and its societal implications across the UK.