Meet the Weekend Division Squad Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Games

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

What do you boost a stellar experienced squad who have secured consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from 32 games?

Bring in a raft of ex- pro players who have performed at the elite level of club football and international football as you aim for further honors.

A Greater Manchester side fields an amateur vets team with 9 former Premier League footballers in their present roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

The team Veterans Over-35s are located in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Premier Division.

The squad list this season boasts nine ex- top-flight players, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

The elite squad also includes over 220 top division goals and 325 international caps.

The squad include one forward, who scored 37 goals in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game against defending title holders their rivals and scored all six scores in a 6-2 victory - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have won fifteen major honors and moved for total transfer sums of around £123m.

Famous Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 scores

Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who come and watch are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, faced former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in over two hundred Premier League games.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"We competed well for a good twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

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

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal guys.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager coaches the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Kenneth Nunez
Kenneth Nunez

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in casino industry trends and slot machine mechanics.