Introduce this Weekend Division Team With 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a outstanding experienced side who have won back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph with thirty victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a collection of former pro players that have played at the highest tier of club and international soccer as you target additional trophies.

A Manchester side boasts an non-professional veterans team with 9 former Premier League footballers in their active lineup.

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

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Premier Division.

Their roster this season includes 9 former top-flight players, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League matches.

The high-profile squad also boasts over 220 top division goals and 325 international caps.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus reigning title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this campaign also includes former professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed fifteen big trophies and moved for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Household Figures and International Players

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

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team in pre-season this summer through close friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other former professionals, who all compete in a weekly small-sided game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their home games, also made his debut against the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those spectators who come and watch are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, he had his first game at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

"That running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Feeling

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

He has played at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over two hundred Premier League matches.

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

"I felt I was a little awestruck facing him to be honest.

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

"We held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular fellas.

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

We Will Still Take the League'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Top Division title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Katherine Herring
Katherine Herring

Elara is a linguist and writer with a passion for exploring how words shape our world and connect cultures.