Meet this Weekend League Club With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Veterans during a six-two triumph versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a outstanding experienced squad who have claimed consecutive championships, including a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from thirty-two matches?

Sign a raft of former pro players who have competed at the top tier of club football and global soccer as you aim for additional honors.

A Greater Manchester club has an non-professional veterans squad with nine former Premier League footballers in their current squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

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

Their lineup this season includes nine ex- Premier League players, with a collective nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

The star-studded roster also boasts 222 Premier League scores and 325 global appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for the team in their most recent home game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

The team for this season also includes former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight players have claimed 15 major honors and transferred for combined transfer fees of around £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring 4 scores

Ireland started playing for the team during preseason this summer through good friend and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen told me 'join and play, it's good fun'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"If you still love football and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The people who turn up and see are pleased and to give a day if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, he made his first game at full-back.

"It's a little different but then, I love running and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

"The running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

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

Unreal Feeling

Along with Cisse's 6 goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with 3 wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight players," said the player.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 English appearances.

"We competed well for a good twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

"We really have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans side, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

Jennifer Moon
Jennifer Moon

A passionate gaming enthusiast with years of experience in slot machine analysis and casino trends.