Discover the Sunday Division Team With Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a 6-2 win versus their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you enhance a excellent experienced side who have claimed back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Recruit a collection of ex- pro players that have performed at the highest tier of club and international soccer as you target more honors.

A Greater Manchester team has an non-professional veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their current roster.

222 Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in south the city and compete in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Tier.

The squad list this campaign includes 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight appearances.

The elite team also boasts 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

The squad include one forward, who scored 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes ex- pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have claimed fifteen significant honors and moved for total transfer fees of around £123 million.

Household Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish appearances, scoring four goals

Ireland began playing for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and watch are happy and to give someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

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

"It's a bit different but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Experience

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Division with three wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than 200 Premier League matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's got over 60 England appearances.

"We held our own for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"We literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Jason King
Jason King

A tech strategist and writer with over a decade of experience in digital innovation, focusing on emerging technologies and their impact on industries.