Meet this Weekend League Club Featuring 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets during a six-two win against Collegiate Old Boys 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 boost a stellar veteran side who have claimed back-to-back titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Sign a group of ex- pro players who have played at the elite level of club football and global soccer as you target more silverware.

One Greater Manchester side boasts an non-professional veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their active roster.

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

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

The squad list this campaign features 9 former top-flight players, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League matches.

This elite squad also boasts 222 top division scores and over 320 global appearances.

They include Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game versus defending title holders their rivals and netted all six scores in a six-two win - including a half-hour opening period triple.

The team for this campaign also features former professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League players have won 15 big honors and moved for combined transfer sums of about £123 million.

Famous Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the team during preseason this season through good friend and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use 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 play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"After that he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

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

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

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go 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 continue attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to Cisse's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored five on his first match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match up front.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked Barrow.

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

"Also Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd English appearances.

"Our side held our own for a good twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"Our group really have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Premier Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil up and had a

Michael Wood
Michael Wood

A seasoned betting analyst with over a decade of experience in sports wagering and statistical modeling, known for his data-driven approach.