Meet this Weekend League Club With Over 1,800 Premier League Games

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

What can you improve a stellar experienced team who have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two matches?

Sign a raft of ex- pro players that have played at the highest tier of club and international football as you aim for more trophies.

A Manchester side fields an amateur veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League players in their active lineup.

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

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their lineup this season features 9 former top-flight players, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

The elite team also boasts 222 Premier League goals and 325 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game against reigning title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this season also features ex- pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight footballers have won fifteen major trophies and moved for combined transfer sums of around £123m.

Famous Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four goals

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side during pre-season this summer through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 top-flight games for Everton and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I say 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 watch are happy and to make someone's moment if they see us playing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at full-back.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - 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 after. It's good fun."

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

Unreal Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Division with three wins from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in over 200 Premier League games.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," said Barrow.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

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

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Division championship last season, along with his co-manager.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

James Todd
James Todd

A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in creating impactful online presences for diverse industries.