Introduce this Weekend League Squad Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Vets during a 6-2 win against their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a stellar veteran side who have claimed consecutive championships, including a double triumph with thirty victories from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a group of ex- pro players who have competed at the elite tier of club football and global football as you target more honors.

A Manchester side fields an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- Premier League players in their current squad.

222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Division.

The squad list this season boasts nine former Premier League footballers, with a combined over 1,800 Premier League games.

This elite team also includes over 220 top division goals and 325 international caps.

The squad include one forward, who notched 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home match versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes ex- pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have secured fifteen significant trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of around £123m.

Famous Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Irish caps, scoring four goals

Ireland started turning out for the side during preseason this summer through good mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 top-flight games for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He featured for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those spectators who come and watch are happy and to make a day if they watch us playing there and to ask 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 bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

"That running is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in over 200 Premier League matches.

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

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's has over 60 English appearances.

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

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

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

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Martin Hancock
Martin Hancock

A seasoned blackjack strategist with over a decade of experience in UK casinos, specializing in card counting and risk management.