Meet the Weekend Division Team With 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Vets during a 6-2 victory against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a excellent veteran side who have secured back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Bring in a group of ex- pro players that have performed at the highest tier of club football and international soccer as you pursue additional trophies.

One Manchester side has an amateur vets team with nine former top-flight footballers in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are situated in south the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Division.

The squad list this campaign features 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined over 1,800 Premier League appearances.

The star-studded roster also contains over 220 top division scores and 325 global appearances.

The squad feature one forward, who notched 37 scores in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home-field game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The team for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have won 15 big trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of about £123 million.

Famous Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four scores

Ireland began turning out for the team in pre-season this season through good mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided game, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who come and watch are happy and to make a day if they see us competing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

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

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running.

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

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

Dreamlike' Feeling

In addition to Cisse's six scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with 3 victories from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in over two hundred Premier League games.

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

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 England caps.

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

"Our group literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of regular guys.

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

'We'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil ahead and had a

Angela Barker
Angela Barker

A seasoned gambling analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos and sports betting strategies.