Introduce this Weekend Division Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a six-two win versus their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a stellar experienced team who have won back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting 30 victories from 32 games?

Recruit a collection of ex- professionals who have played at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you target further silverware.

A Greater Manchester team has an amateur veterans squad with 9 former Premier League footballers in their current lineup.

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

The team Veterans Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their squad list this season boasts nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective over 1,800 elite appearances.

This high-profile team also includes 222 top division goals and 325 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their last home match against defending title holders their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two victory - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also features former professionals such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League footballers have won fifteen significant honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Famous Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Republic of Ireland caps, netting 4 goals

Ireland began playing for the team in preseason this season through close friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

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

"If you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and see are happy and to make a moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his debut at defender.

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

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

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

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

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one game up front.

The team are top of the Top Tier with 3 wins from three and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Wigan defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," remarked the player.

"I think I was a bit awestruck playing against him to be honest.

"Also Heskey came on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

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

"We really haven't ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Tier championship last season, along with his co-manager.

"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a

Brent Klein
Brent Klein

Digital strategist with over a decade of experience in helping startups scale through innovative marketing techniques.