Introduce the Weekend Division Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 triumph versus their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a stellar veteran side who have claimed back-to-back titles, including a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 games?

Sign a raft of ex- professionals who have performed at the elite level of club football and international soccer as you pursue further honors.

One Manchester side boasts an amateur veterans team with nine former top-flight players in their current squad.

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

The team Vets Over 35s are based in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Division.

Their squad list this campaign boasts nine former Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 top-flight appearances.

The elite squad also contains over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

They include one forward, who notched 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in 2012.

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

The team for this campaign also includes former pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley 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.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have won fifteen major honors and moved for combined transfer fees of around £123m.

Well-Known Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side in pre-season this season through close friend and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, 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 played for the club between 2016 and 2020

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

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still love the game and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

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

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at full-back.

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"That running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

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

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a bit awestruck playing against him to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a good twenty mins but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"We really have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Premier Division title last season, together with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Terri Howell
Terri Howell

Lena is a digital strategist with over 8 years of experience in web development and content marketing, passionate about creating user-centric designs.