Discover this Weekend League Club With 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 win against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you improve a outstanding experienced side who have won consecutive titles, including a double triumph with thirty victories from 32 games?

Sign a group of ex- professionals who have competed at the elite tier of club and global football as you target further silverware.

One Manchester team boasts an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their current lineup.

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

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.

The squad list this season includes nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective 1,801 Premier League appearances.

This high-profile roster also includes 222 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

They include Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their last home game versus defending champions their rivals and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour opening period triple.

The squad for this season also includes former pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have won fifteen significant trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Household Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish caps, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this season through close friend and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

"The fans who turn up and see are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse made his first game at defender.

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

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

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

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

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to Cisse's 6 goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 wins from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

"Our group really have not ceased talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the way home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of normal fellas.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans side, who won the Premier Tier championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Melanie Woods
Melanie Woods

Lena Voss is a seasoned gambling analyst and writer with over a decade of experience in the online casino industry.