Meet the Weekend League Squad Boasting Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two win against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a stellar veteran squad who have secured consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a collection of ex- professionals who have performed at the highest level of club and international football as you target more honors.

One Greater Manchester team fields an amateur vets squad with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their present roster.

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

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

The squad list this season includes nine ex- Premier League players, with a combined over 1,800 Premier League games.

This high-profile squad also includes over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game against reigning champions their rivals and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

The roster for this campaign also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League players have secured fifteen big trophies and moved for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish caps, netting four scores

Ireland started turning out for the side in preseason this season through close friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for the club between 2016 and 2020

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

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

"If you still love football and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those spectators who come and watch are happy and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

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

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Experience

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with three victories from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 Premier League games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," said the player.

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

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

"We held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

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

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of regular guys.

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

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Tier championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a

Stephen Perez
Stephen Perez

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