Meet this Weekend League Club Featuring Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets during a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a excellent experienced squad that have won back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Bring in a collection of former pro players that have played at the highest level of club football and international soccer as you pursue more honors.

One Manchester side boasts an amateur vets team with 9 former top-flight players in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 International Appearances

The team Veterans Over-35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their lineup this season features nine former top-flight footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League appearances.

This elite team also contains over 220 top division goals and over 320 global caps.

They include one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for his former club 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 scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen big honors and moved for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Household Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland began playing for the team during pre-season this season through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who come and watch are happy and to make a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with structure of course."

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

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

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"The running is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

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

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

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight players," said the player.

"I felt I was a little starstruck facing him to be honest.

"Even Heskey came on and he's got 60-odd English appearances.

"We held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets team, who won the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Deborah Owens
Deborah Owens

Elara is a passionate game developer and writer, sharing her expertise on innovative gaming experiences and industry trends.