Introduce this Weekend League Squad Featuring Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two win against their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a outstanding experienced squad who have claimed back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a collection of former professionals that have played at the top level of club football and global football as you aim for further silverware.

A Manchester team boasts an non-professional veterans squad with 9 former Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 International Appearances

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

Their roster this season boasts 9 ex- top-flight players, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

The high-profile roster also includes 222 Premier League goals and over 320 international appearances.

The squad include one forward, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match against defending title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

The team for this season also features ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have won fifteen major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish caps, netting 4 scores

Ireland began playing for the team in pre-season this season through good friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

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

"Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

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

Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just go forward - I'm not defending 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 looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has scored 8 in three games for the side, while Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Division with three victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," said the player.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets team, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went one-nil ahead and had a

Terry Franco
Terry Franco

A passionate gaming enthusiast and expert in online casino reviews and strategies.