Introduce the Weekend Division Team Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets in a six-two triumph versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you enhance a outstanding veteran squad that have secured consecutive championships, including a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from 32 games?

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

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

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

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

Their roster this campaign includes nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

The star-studded squad also contains over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their most recent home game against reigning champions their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two win - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have secured fifteen significant honors and transferred for combined transfer fees of around £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Players

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

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this summer through close mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

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

"Those people who turn up and watch are happy and to give a day if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

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

"That's a little different but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

"The movement is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over two hundred top-flight games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," said Barrow.

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

"Even Heskey got on and he's got over 60 England caps.

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

"Our group literally have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who won the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Charles Bailey
Charles Bailey

A blockchain enthusiast and tech writer with a background in finance, sharing practical insights on crypto adoption and innovation.