Introduce this Weekend League Club With 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a six-two win against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a excellent veteran team who have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a collection of former pro players that have performed at the highest level of club football and global football as you aim for more honors.

A Greater Manchester club boasts an amateur vets squad with 9 ex- top-flight players in their active lineup.

222 Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans League Premier Tier.

Their lineup this season boasts nine former Premier League footballers, with a combined 1,801 top-flight games.

This star-studded roster also contains 222 Premier League goals and 325 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home-field match against reigning title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The roster for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have claimed 15 major honors and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, netting 4 goals

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

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 Premier League matches for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also had his first appearance versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

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

"If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who turn up and see are pleased and to make someone's day if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

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

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

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

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

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a hat-trick in one game up front.

The team are top of the Premier Division with three wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

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

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in more than 200 Premier League games.

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

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

"Also Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd England appearances.

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"We literally have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the way home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas.

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Robert Jackson
Robert Jackson

A tech journalist and AI researcher with a passion for demystifying complex innovations and their impact on society.

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