Meet the Weekend Division Squad With Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

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

What do you enhance a excellent veteran side who have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a raft of former pro players who have played at the top level of club and global soccer as you target additional honors.

One Greater Manchester side fields an amateur vets team with nine former Premier League footballers in their current squad.

222 Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Tier.

Their lineup this season boasts nine ex- Premier League players, with a combined nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

The star-studded squad also boasts over 220 top division scores and 325 international caps.

The squad feature one forward, who netted thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

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

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have secured fifteen big honors and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately ÂŁ123 million.

Famous Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish caps, netting 4 goals

Ireland began playing for the team in pre-season this season through good mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 Premier League games for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He featured for the club from 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still love football and you know 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 day if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at defender.

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move 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 attacking.

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

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

'Surreal Feeling

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Division with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight players," said the player.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's got 60-odd England caps.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the opposition vets team, who won the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a

Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson

A German gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casino reviews and regulatory compliance.