Introduce this Weekend Division Club With Over 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets in a 6-2 triumph against their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a stellar veteran side that have claimed consecutive titles, including a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Bring in a raft of ex- pro players who have played at the top level of club and international soccer as you pursue more silverware.

One Manchester club fields an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are situated in southern the city and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Division.

The squad list this season includes nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 Premier League matches.

This star-studded squad also boasts 222 top division goals and over 320 international caps.

They include one forward, who scored 37 goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus reigning title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

The squad for this season also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League players have won fifteen big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of around £123m.

Famous Names and Global Players

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

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this summer through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"The people who turn up and watch are pleased and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, he had his first game at full-back.

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

"That movement is what I'm seeking. It's good fun."

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six scores on debut, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

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

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

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

"Our side held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Angela Clark
Angela Clark

Maya is a tech strategist with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and software development, passionate about empowering businesses through innovation.