Meet the Weekend Division Club With 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two win versus their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a outstanding veteran squad that have claimed back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting thirty victories from 32 games?

Sign a raft of ex- pro players who have played at the top tier of club and international soccer as you target additional honors.

A Manchester side boasts an non-professional vets team with 9 ex- top-flight footballers in their active squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 Global Appearances

The team Vets Over 35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Premier Division.

Their roster this season features 9 former top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 top-flight games.

The high-profile roster also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

They feature one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their last home game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

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

In total, the former Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen big trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, scoring four scores

Ireland began playing for the side in preseason this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight games for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for the club between 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those people who come and see are happy and to make someone's day if they see us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

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

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

'Surreal Experience

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three games for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.

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

"Even Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd English appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the way home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Tier title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Donald Jimenez
Donald Jimenez

Eleanor is a seasoned journalist and analyst covering UK business, culture, and lifestyle with over a decade of experience.