Introduce this Weekend League Squad With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets in a six-two win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a excellent experienced squad that have claimed back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting 30 victories from 32 matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- pro players who have competed at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you pursue additional honors.

One Greater Manchester side fields an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- top-flight players in their current lineup.

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

The team Vets Over 35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Tier.

The roster this campaign includes nine former top-flight players, with a collective nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

The star-studded roster also includes 222 Premier League scores and 325 international appearances.

The squad include one forward, who netted 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga side Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home match versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The team for this season also features former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen significant trophies and moved for total transfer sums of about £123m.

Household Names and International Players

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

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for Everton from 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"The people who turn up and watch are pleased and to give someone's day if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, he had his first game at defender.

"That's a little different but then, I enjoy running and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one game up front.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 wins from three and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

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

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

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

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular fellas.

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

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the opposition vets team, who secured the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Laura West
Laura West

Fashion enthusiast and urban lifestyle blogger with a passion for sustainable trends and city living.