Introduce the Weekend League Team With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 win against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a stellar veteran squad who have claimed consecutive titles, including a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Recruit a group of ex- professionals who have competed at the highest tier of club football and global football as you target more silverware.

A Manchester side has an non-professional veterans squad with nine ex- top-flight players in their current lineup.

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

The team Veterans Over 35s are based in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Tier.

The squad list this season includes nine former top-flight footballers, with a collective over 1,800 Premier League matches.

This elite roster also includes over 220 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

They feature one forward, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home game versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes ex- pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees 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 top-flight footballers have secured 15 significant trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during preseason this season through close mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"Those fans who come and see are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy running 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 attacking.

"That running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Experience

In addition to Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit five on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over two hundred Premier League games.

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

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

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

"We held our own for a solid twenty mins but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not ceased talking 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 group of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who won the Premier Tier championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Brandy Byrd
Brandy Byrd

Elara Vance is a seasoned journalist specializing in UK cultural commentary and lifestyle trends, with over a decade of experience in digital media.