Introduce the Weekend Division Squad Boasting Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Veterans in a 6-2 victory versus their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a stellar veteran side who have won back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Sign a collection of ex- pro players that have competed at the elite level of club football and international football as you pursue further honors.

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

222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

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

The squad list this campaign boasts nine former top-flight players, with a collective over 1,800 elite matches.

This star-studded squad also contains over 220 top division goals and 325 global appearances.

They include one forward, who notched 37 goals in 117 games for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their last home-field game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes ex- pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight players have won 15 significant trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Irish caps, netting 4 goals

Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this season through good mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked additional former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their home games, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton 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 choose?

"The spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

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

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

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 Premier League games.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

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

"Also Heskey got on and he's has over 60 English caps.

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

"We literally have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Division title last season, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Joshua Preston
Joshua Preston

A data analyst and renewable energy enthusiast who writes about sustainable gaming practices and environmental strategies.