Meet this Weekend League Squad Featuring 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Vets during a six-two triumph versus their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a excellent veteran squad that have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from 32 games?

Recruit a raft of former pro players who have played at the elite tier of club football and global soccer as you aim for more honors.

One Greater Manchester club fields an amateur veterans squad with nine former Premier League footballers in their present squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

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

The roster this season features 9 ex- Premier League players, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

The high-profile roster also boasts over 220 Premier League scores and 325 international caps.

They include one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

The roster for this campaign also features former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have won 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of around £123 million.

Famous Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish appearances, netting 4 scores

Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this summer through good friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to join in.

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

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

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

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

"When you still love the game and you know you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to give a moment if they watch 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."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

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

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

Unreal Feeling

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 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 young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in over two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

"I think I was a little awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"We held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the journey home.

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

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Shawn Thompson
Shawn Thompson

Elara is a tech enthusiast and travel writer, sharing insights from global adventures and digital innovations.