Meet this Weekend League Squad With 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets during a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a outstanding veteran team that have secured back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with thirty victories from 32 matches?

Sign a collection of former professionals who have played at the elite tier of club and international football as you aim for more honors.

One Manchester side fields an amateur veterans team with nine ex- Premier League players in their present squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Division.

The lineup this campaign boasts 9 ex- Premier League players, with a collective nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

This star-studded team also includes 222 top division goals and 325 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their last home-field match versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight footballers have won 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123m.

Famous Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting four scores

Ireland started turning out for the team during pre-season this summer through good mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still love football and you know you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who turn up and watch are happy and to give someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

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

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

"The movement is what I'm after. It's good fun."

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

Dreamlike' Feeling

In addition to the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one match up front.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 wins from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over two hundred top-flight games.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these former top-flight stars," said Barrow.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"We literally have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans team, who secured the Top Division championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil ahead and had a

Troy Cox
Troy Cox

A seasoned sports analyst with over a decade of experience in prop betting, specializing in data-driven strategies and market trends.