Meet this Weekend Division Club Boasting Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

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

How do you enhance a stellar experienced team who have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty victories from thirty-two matches?

Sign a raft of ex- pro players that have competed at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you pursue further trophies.

One Manchester team has an amateur veterans squad with nine former Premier League footballers in their present squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

The team Veterans Over 35s are based in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier.

The roster this season boasts nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 top-flight matches.

This elite team also includes over 220 top division scores and over 320 global caps.

They feature one forward, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

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

In total, the former top-flight players have won fifteen significant honors and moved for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Famous Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish appearances, netting four scores

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"Those fans who turn up and watch are pleased and to make someone's moment if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"That's a little unusual but then, I love sprinting and just move 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 running.

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

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

Along with the forward's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced former Wigan full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

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

"I felt I was a little awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has over 60 England caps.

"Our side held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"We really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil up and had a

Brian Travis
Brian Travis

A political analyst and journalist with over a decade of experience covering UK governance and international relations.