Discover this Weekend League Club Boasting Over 1,800 Premier League Games

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

How do you enhance a excellent experienced side that have secured back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a raft of ex- professionals who have played at the top level of club football and global football as you pursue further trophies.

A Greater Manchester club fields an amateur vets squad with 9 ex- top-flight players in their active roster.

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

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Division.

The lineup this season boasts 9 former top-flight footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League appearances.

This high-profile squad also includes over 220 top division goals and 325 global caps.

They include one forward, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after signing for them for £9m from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

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

Together, the former top-flight footballers have secured 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish caps, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side during preseason this summer through good friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided game, to join in.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and even now goes to their home games, also made his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still love football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"Those spectators who come and watch are happy and to give a moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at defender.

"It's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

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

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

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in over 200 Premier League matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd England caps.

"We competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

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

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of normal guys.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans team, who won the Top Tier title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Laura Aguilar
Laura Aguilar

Elara is a seasoned software engineer with over a decade of experience in full-stack development, passionate about sharing knowledge and mentoring aspiring developers.