Introduce the Weekend Division Squad Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Veterans during a 6-2 win against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a outstanding veteran team who have secured back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with 30 wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of former professionals that have performed at the highest level of club and international football as you pursue more honors.

A Greater Manchester club has an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- Premier League players in their active roster.

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

The team Veterans Over 35s are based in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Division.

The squad list this season boasts 9 ex- top-flight players, with a combined 1,801 Premier League appearances.

This high-profile roster also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their last home match versus reigning title holders their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have claimed 15 major honors and moved for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Famous Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this season through good friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and still goes to their home games, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

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

"After that he told me we were facing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Everton kits - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"Those people who turn up and see are happy and to make someone's day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his first game at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I love running and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

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

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

Unreal Feeling

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match up front.

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

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

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in over 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 English appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

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

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the opposition vets side, who won the Premier Division title last season, along with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Holly Dougherty
Holly Dougherty

A seasoned betting analyst with over a decade of experience in sports wagering and casino strategy, specializing in UK markets.