Discover this Weekend Division Squad Boasting Over 1,800 Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a excellent experienced squad that have secured consecutive championships, including a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players that have competed at the top tier of club football and international soccer as you pursue further honors.

One Manchester team has an non-professional veterans team with nine former Premier League footballers in their current lineup.

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

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

Their squad list this season boasts 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 Premier League games.

This star-studded squad also boasts 222 Premier League scores and 325 international appearances.

They include one forward, who scored 37 goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have secured 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of around £123 million.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Irish appearances, netting four goals

Ireland began playing for the side in preseason this summer through good mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those spectators who turn up and see are happy and to make a day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

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

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

"That movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

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

Unreal Scenario

Along with Cisse's 6 goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a triple in one match up front.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as playing in over two hundred Premier League matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight players," remarked the player.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

"Our side held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

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

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

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who won the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Kristy Wright
Kristy Wright

Lena Voss is a seasoned meteorologist and rolling enthusiast with over a decade of experience in extreme weather.