Meet the Weekend Division Squad With Over 1,800 Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a stellar veteran team that have won consecutive titles, including a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of ex- professionals that have competed at the top level of club football and international football as you target more honors.

One Manchester club fields an amateur vets squad with nine former top-flight footballers in their present roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

The team Vets Over-35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Division.

The lineup this campaign features nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 elite games.

The star-studded team also includes over 220 Premier League goals and 325 international caps.

The squad feature one forward, who scored thirty-seven goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former top-flight footballers have claimed 15 significant trophies and moved for total transfer fees of around £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish caps, scoring 4 goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team during pre-season this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He featured for the club from 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen said 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"Those fans who turn up and see are happy and to give a day if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, he had his debut at full-back.

"That's a little unusual but then, I love running and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

"The movement is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Tier with three wins from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight games.

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

"I think I was a bit awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has over 60 England appearances.

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

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

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Premier Tier championship last season, together with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Tracy Chan
Tracy Chan

A tech enthusiast and lifestyle writer with a passion for exploring how innovation shapes everyday experiences.