Meet the Weekend League Team Featuring Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Veterans during a 6-2 win against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you enhance a excellent veteran squad that have won back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double with thirty victories from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a group of former professionals that have played at the elite level of club football and international soccer as you aim for more honors.

One Greater Manchester team has an non-professional veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current squad.

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

The team Vets Over 35s are situated in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Tier.

The roster this season boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a total 1,801 top-flight appearances.

The star-studded team also includes 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

They include one forward, who netted 37 goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their last home-field game versus defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League footballers have claimed 15 significant trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of around £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Irish appearances, netting 4 goals

Ireland began playing for the side during pre-season this season through good friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for Everton from 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those fans who turn up and watch are happy and to make someone's moment if they see us playing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at full-back.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a triple in one game up front.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with three victories from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in more than 200 Premier League games.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd English appearances.

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

"Our group really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Top Tier championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Richard Watson
Richard Watson

A seasoned software engineer and tech writer passionate about open-source projects and modern web development.